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Play or Be Played: What Every Female Should Know About Men, Dating, and Relationships [Paperback]

Tariq "K-Flex" Nasheed (Author)
3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)

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Book Description

December 30, 2003

Got Game?

It's a fact. Every woman needs game. Take Oprah, Jada Pinkett-Smith, and Beyoncé Knowles. All three of these women have the one intangible quality that every mack, male or female, must possess: they all have game. In other words, they have intelligence, hustle, and common sense that they apply to every aspect of their lives -- especially in their relationships.

Play or Be Played is an instruction manual for women who are tired of being played by men and who want to be players themselves. Though women may not want to play games, the truth is men often do. So women who hope to win in the game of love must first learn the rules. Bestselling author and true mack, Tariq "K-Flex" Nasheed shares:

  • ways to spot a scrub
  • what it takes to get with a baller
  • why men cheat
  • how men really judge women
  • the top three mistakes women make in relationships

Street-smart and straightforward, Play or Be Played will help you get with a king without being a hoochie, groupie, or a chickenhead.


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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tariq "K-Flex" Nasheed is the author of the bestseller, The Art of Mackin'. A popular guest on both radio and television, Tariq has been featured in Vibe, Honey, and Source magazines. Mr. Nasheed lives in Los Angeles and can be reached at www.kingflex.org.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

1: What Men Really Want

I was appearing as a guest on this one talk show, discussing my philosophies on relationships, and one of the topics was "How a women can please her man." There were a couple of female authors on the panel who were trying to explain what men want, and how a woman can make them happy, and so on. These women were so off the mark, it was ridiculous.

They were advising women to use all sorts of sex toys, scented powders, exotic oils, and bubble baths. One of the women on the panel actually advised women to use a dildo on their man if they want to get him aroused.

These women were so caught up in relaying their misinformation they didn't even bother to notice the uncomfortable reactions coming from the men in the audience. As I looked around, I saw some of the male audience members cringing as they listened to the nonsense coming from these female "experts." These women were going on about how women can please their men by using candles, rose petals, aroma beads, and the like, until I just broke in and said what was on all the fellas' minds.

"Look ladies, men don't really like none of that stuff. We're relatively simple. If you want to please us, just give us oral sex and food."

The men in the audience erupted into applause. The women on the panel were flabbergasted. One of the female panelists replied, "Well, some men like these sexual accessories." I explained to her that men will tolerate those accessories, because they don't want to do anything to kill the mood. But generally, men can do without all those foreplay items.

Then, one of the ladies made the million-dollar statement that revealed their real agenda.

"Well, what about a woman's needs?"

But the topic was supposed to be about how women can please their man. You see, that's the problem. A lot of women claim they want to know how to please their man, but they really have an ulterior motive.

Ladies, men are very, very simple. If women aren't pleasing their men, it is because they don't want to please their men. If a woman has an Indian-giver mentality, or if she is disingenuous in her motives, men who may be looking at her as a potential mate can sense that.

Many women ask me what it takes to keep a quality man. Yet, when I then ask them, "If you want a quality man, what are you willing and able to bring to the table?" a lot of these women are stumped. At the same time, many of these women have a whole list of "what I ain't gonna do" for a man.

The four most common items on the "what I ain't gonna do" list:

1. I ain't gonna cook for no man ('cause I ain't no slave).

2. I ain't gonna let no man tell me what to do ('cause I ain't no child).

3. I ain't gonna clean no house ('cause I ain't no maid).

4. I ain't gonna suck that thing ('cause I ain't no ho).

Ladies, if you are trying to get into the dating game with any of these hang-ups, you are losing before you begin, and you will be in a perpetual state of frustration.

In order to have a relationship with a quality man, a woman must have qualifications and credentials. Many women mistake having credentials with having potential. Everyone has potential. If you play the lottery, you have the potential to win a million dollars. But if you educate yourself, acquire specific knowledge, and master certain business skills, you then will have the credentials to make a million dollars.

This is why it is important for women to accumulate bargaining chips. Many women in the dating game make the mistake of relying solely on physical attributes to try and maintain a relationship.

Any woman can get a man. But the game a woman has to back up her looks will help her keep a man. When a man is first getting to know a woman, he usually puts her into one of two categories:

1. The potential girlfriend category.

2. The potential sex partner category.

Now the requirements for a woman to be placed in the potential girlfriend category vary, depending on a man's particular wants and needs. Before a man places a woman in this category, he looks at her credentials. And the credentials could include a hundred things. A man might take a woman's educational background into consideration. He might consider her culinary skills. He might take her sense of humor, her diet regimen, her sex appeal, or a host of other things into consideration before he puts a woman into the potential girlfriend category.

But it doesn't take much for a man to put a woman into the potential sex partner category. The requirements are minimal. As a matter of fact, a woman just needs to have two things in order to get placed into the potential sex partner category:

1. A poon-tang

2. A pulse

In most cases, when a woman is first dating a man, if she doesn't meet any of his qualifications to become a potential girlfriend or mate, she automatically gets placed in the potential sex partner category.

On the other hand, a woman in most cases actually has to like something about a man before she will have sexual relations with him, and she will require him to have certain credentials before she gets physical with him. So a lot of women end up thinking that just because a man wants to sleep with them, he must see some special qualities in her as well. Which brings us to:

Play or Be Played Rule #1

A man does not have to like you to have sex with you.

A very common question that I often hear women ask is, "If a man just wants sex, how come he doesn't just say that in the beginning?" The answer is, most men at least have some common sense. Let's be realistic, ladies. Do you honestly think that a man is going to step to you and say "Hey look, I don't really want a relationship with you, I just want to hit that ass?" If he did, you would dismiss him with the quickness. Men know that, so guys at least have enough common sense to know what to say, and what not to say, to get what they want and not salt their own game.

So ladies, it's up to you to figure out what a man's true agenda is, instead of complaining about what he should tell you, and what he ought to be doing.

In order to do this, you have to break relationships down to their basic components. There are basically three types of relationships:

  • 1. emotional
  • 2. sexual
  • 3. financial

That's it. There are relationships for emotional gratification, sexual gratification, and financial gratification.

If you are in a relationship with a person, it will be for at least one of these three reasons. The problems come when the two parties have different relationship agendas. A woman may be dating a man because he is paying her bills, and he may be dating her strictly for the sex. Or a woman might be dating a guy whom she's emotionally attached to, while he is dating her because she gives him a couple of dollars every now and then.

In the ideal relationship the two people dating are on the same page emotionally, sexually, and financially. If there is a deficiency in any one of these areas, and the deficiency has not been rectified, the relationship will be temporary. So ladies, when you start dating a man, you must first be real (with yourself especially) about what your true agenda is. If you are dating a man strictly because of his financial contributions, acknowledge that to yourself. Don't try to justify your agenda by getting into a BS relationship with the person and deceiving yourself into believing that you can learn to like other qualities about the person.

You must also figure out what the other person's true agenda is. Don't leave it up to them to tell you. In any game, you have to at least play good defense until you are absolutely sure that the other person is willing to be on the same team as you.

When you first meet a person, you can't tell if they are with you or against you. And if someone has plans to get over on you, or to get what they can from you without reciprocating, they damn sure aren't going to tell you this up front.

Over 90 percent of all communication is nonverbal. So it's up to you to look and listen very closely to a person's nonverbal language (and not your own hopes and expectations) so you can figure out where they are coming from.

What Do Men Really Want?

Even though people have unique qualities and characteristics, all men have a common thread, and all women have a common thread. Every man has two basic needs: a primal need and a social need. A man's basic primal need is to have an orgasm (I think a lot of you ladies have figured that one out already). And a man's social need is to have power through leadership.

When I say power, I don't mean in an Ike Turner, "sing-the-song-like-I-wrote-it" context. I mean power as far as a man being his own man. I mean power as in being a leader, and not having to conform to anyone. I mean having the power to be the king of his castle. The master of his domain. I mean the power to lead his family in the right direction, and the power to achieve financial freedom.

If a man doesn't utilize his energy to achieve social power, he will settle for just achieving an orgasm. An orgasm gives a man a false sense of power. The basic instinct of every living species is self-preservation. And when a man doesn't have social power, he will resort back to his basic primal need, which is to procreate. And in the mind of a primal thinking man, having an orgasm will ensure his lineage.

Since a man's two basic needs are to have an orgasm and to have power, the level of his game depends on how important one is over the other. Now a man who is disciplined and secure with himself will usually seek out power. But a scrub, or other socially powerless man, will settle for an orgasm.

Now notice I stated that a man's primal need is to have an orgasm, and not just to get coochie (many women erroneously assume that this is basically what all men really want, which c...


Product Details

  • Paperback: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Touchstone; Original edition (December 30, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0743244923
  • ISBN-13: 978-0743244923
  • Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #45,762 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

48 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.7 out of 5 stars (48 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Denial is not a river in Egypt, July 28, 2005
This review is from: Play or Be Played: What Every Female Should Know About Men, Dating, and Relationships (Paperback)
The funniest thing about this book, is that the women that stand to learn the most from it are most likely the same women that wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole. Yes, the overwhelming majority of it is good old-fashioned common sense, but as the saying goes, common sense ain't common.

I found Nasheed giving sound arguments and solid answers to questions that I've been pondering since I was fresh out of high school. I liked the way he broke the personalities down into categories that both men and women fall into, and both men and women that have spent the equivalent of a month's time in the dating arena will most likely nod their heads in affirmation of them. No, every single observation he makes doesn't apply to every single man or every single woman, nor do they have to in order to be accurate.

What I liked most about the book, however, is how Nasheed doesn't pull any punches and speaks his mind fully regarding regressive behavior that he's witnessed in the opposite sex, from attempting to get over solely on looks to crippling their children with "ghetto" names, and everything in between. Truth is, Nasheed really isn't saying anything that anyone outside of the group targeted wasn't already thinking anyway, but having access to the venue of publishing affords him a little more freedom than those of us within earshot of said group. Much respect for chapters Four (Are You a Hoochie? Take the Chickenhead Test) and Six (The Victim Hustle).

A wise woman once told me that her mother told her, "When a man cares enough about you to tell you the truth, the least you can do is listen to him." Ladies: if you've been contemplating giving this one a read, then don't be turned off by the negative reviews of the book here. If I were a betting man, I'd bet that most of the reactions to the book displayed here stem from women seeing themselves in Nasheed's words, and not in a flattering light. No collective group of people on the planet likes to be told the truth about themselves, and in the face of the truth, everyone wants to believe that they're the exception and not the rule.

If you prefer someone telling it like it is over what the numbers indicate and political correctness, then you probably won't gather much new material here (because you'll already know the deal), but this is still a quick and very entertaining read, and you'll probably find yourself agreeing with Nasheed repeatedly.

It's also an entertaining read for the guys. (Well, at least it was for this guy.)
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Play or be Played...Understanding Yourself First!!!, July 23, 2005
This review is from: Play or Be Played: What Every Female Should Know About Men, Dating, and Relationships (Paperback)
This book was inspirational and very eye opening, an absolute must for any woman of any race!!! It covers everything in a text that is easy to read and easy to understand and/ or apply to life's everyday dealings with the opposite sex.

As it covers all the variety of topics and types of men, the message is for women to look deeper within themselves and take responsibility for the actions at hand. Nothing happens to you that you aren't allowing to happen, or in some cases happening again and again...change your views and habits and look for better men instead of falling for the same lame losers!

This author hits it where it hurts and goes right to the core of the issue, society promotes problems! Quit being alone and work as a couple and family. Deal with the issues at hand and understand there are differences between the sexes, agree to disagree on the small stuff, and if you don't have trust or faith in your man... QUIT INVESTING TIME.

You can't change a cheater no matter how much he begs for your forgiveness...don't die thru your crotch;AIDS or any STD isn't worth a man's infidelity or your trouble to worry about it. Kick a cheater to the curb...'cause the same fate awaits you!

READ THIS BOOK!!! Life's to short to keep staying with or dating neanderthal a**-pickers!
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars EACH ONE, TEACH ONE!! GET THIS BOOK AND SCHOOL YOURSELF, LADIES!!, November 30, 2005
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This review is from: Play or Be Played: What Every Female Should Know About Men, Dating, and Relationships (Paperback)
I found myself reading the first few pages in a Waldenbooks, buying it and reading it right then and there in the food court at the mall; WORTH EVERY DIME LADIES!!! If you consider yourself a classy, quality lady, and are tired of getting pushed up on by (practically) every ignorant bottom-feeding scrub in a 5 mile radius, or if you look at another sister and wonder what has her so together, THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU. Whether you like the premise or not, Mr. Nasheed is a man with tight game whose goal is to lace the ladies with some strategies on how to get theirs together, period. He keeps it real on what makes you a chickenhead, what type of females there are and how they get that way, and most importantly, HE ALLOWS YOU INTO THE MINDS OF MEN. This book should be REQUIRED READING and has even helped me to find my own king, as well as polish my game up. He has some observations and opinions that some may find offensive, but what you learn is far more valuable in the long run. GET THIS BOOK, DON'T SLEEP!!! (this would be a great stocking stuffer for your clueless, dateless, no self-esteem having girlfriend/sister/cousin who never seems to 'get it.')
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
I was appearing as a guest on this one talk show, discussing my philosophies on relationships, and one of the topics was "How a women can please her man." Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
sex partner category, super scrub, attention freak, rich black men, real gold digger, paternity shows, true hustler, teenage player, gambling player, smooth player, multiple women, professional victim
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Prince Charming, Captain Save-a-Ho, Tammy Faye, Halle Berry, Bill Clinton, Eric Benet, Star Jones, The D-class
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