Pimpology: The 48 Laws of the Game (2007) spoofs in the title the “48 Laws of Power” by Robert Greene.
Pimpin’ Ken, the author, teaches social strategies, manipulation, as well as dark psychology techniques to succeed in the pimpin’ business. But, ultimately, he also teaches the mindsets to eventually transcend and move beyond pimping.
Contents
- Summary
- More Wisdom
- Takeaway For Women: Avoid Pimps
- CONS
- PROS
- Quotes
- Pimpology Review
Summary
About the Author:
Pimpin’ Ken is a businessman, writer, and a former pimp. He says he wants to be remembered as a man that went from the streets to the executive suites.
The 48 Laws of Pimping (List)
- Law 1: Purse First, Ass Last
- Law 2: Get a Name in a Game
- Law 3: Don’t Chase ‘Em, Replace ‘Em
- Law 4: Keep a Hoe in Arrears
- Law 5: Prey on the Weak: a pimp depends on a hoe as much as a hoe depends on a pimp. But the key is to make the hoe believe that they need you
- not wanting to take responsibility is what makes a hoe in the first place
- pick women who want (or need) to be taken care of
- keep hoes financially dependent on you
- tell them they need you
- play up your support
- Law 6: When Pimpin’ Begins, Friendship Ends: there is too much treachery in the game for the bond and trust of a friendship
- “in business you have to exploit every situation you can – if friendship prevent it, then you’re not on even footing with the competition, and you will lose“
- Law 7: Pimp the Game
- Law 8: Don’t Let Your History Be a Mystery
- Law 9: Learn the Rules
- Who better to teach how to pimp than how to pimp a ho than a veteran ho herself? She really taught me that this game is won between the ears, not between the legs
- How to mindf*ck a guy
- Law 10: Plan Your Work and Work Your Plan
- Law 11: Avoid Gorillas and Godzillas
- “A real pimp is a gentleman, but these are pimps in gorilla suit”
- “They hang around pimps, they have hoes on the track, they may even look like pimps, they are straight simps“
- “A magilla gorilla brings the police to the track with his sucker-ass behavior. In the pimp game, this motherf*cker has no place, and he’s got to go. (…) This is one instance where the real pimps may work together to take care of the situation”
- Law 12: Ain’t No Love in this sh*t
- Law 13: Pimp Like You’re Hoeless
- Law 14: Better a Turnout Than a Burnout
- Law 15: Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say
- “They say honesty is the best policy. That doesn’t mean you have to tell the whole truth, but you must always keep it real -with yourself, if no one else. Lying shows a lack of character and an inability to face reality. There are better ways to manipulate someone than to lie”.
- Law 16: Give Motivation and Inspiration
- Law 17: Get You a Bottom Bitch
- Law 18: Cop and Blow
- Law 19: Turn Hoe Ends into Dividends
- Law 20: Get in a Hoe’s Head:
- “These women informed me that it’s the small things in life that count when it comes to a woman. The kind words, or bringing her a gift for no reason, or remembering her birthday, and listening when she talks -those things really matter to them”
- “Pimps don’t do that square sh*t (…), never treat a ho with much kindness. But I took this lesson and made it work for me. It took my pimpin’ to a whole other level”
- “Unless she feels love for you, a ho is not going to give you her money for eight and ten year stretches”
- “Some hoes want you to be hard on them, but with others it’s like pimp C says: “you serve vinegar, you gonna get pickles” -the trick is to figure out each ho’s mind”
- “She told me “most hoes are lost little girls who have been neglected growing up, now living in a woman’s body. Hoes don’t this because they enjoy turning tricks. Most hoes don’t even like sex. They believe a pimp will give them the love and care they didn’t have growing up”
- Law 21: A Hoe Without Instruction is Headed for Self-Destruction
- Law 22: Keep Hoes on Their Toes
- Law 23: A Hoe Joins a Stable to Ruin It
- “In the pimp game, we call a group of hoes a stable, but there isn’t anything less stable. It takes a lot of work to keep any household in balance -much less a group of jealous and competitive women sharing one man”
- “The pimp is the boss, and there are two things employees love most: undermining the boss, and undermining each other“
- See: recognizing toxic employees
- Law 24: Set the Trend
- “A true leader is someone who people want to follow because the person is doing things that no one else is doing. You set the standards and it gives you the appearance of being superior to the people who try to imitate you”
- Law 25: Grind for Your Shine
- “One of the biggest misconceptions is that a pimp is someone who wears loud suits and big hats (…) Those are clowns, not pimps. Everyone loves a clown, but no one wants to take a clown home”.
- “When I was pimpin I looked more like a Wall Street executive, than the stereotype of a pimp”
- “He has to distinguish himself from the average Joe on the street. My Davoucci costs 1500 dollars, and a ho would know that. I have knocked many a ho in my career simply because of my style”.
- “A ho wants to be seen with the flyest nigg* on the street, so I made it my business to be that nigg*”
- Also see: types of players (the “refined player”)
- Law 26: The Game is to Be Sold, Not Told: don’t teach and don’t give wisdom for free. Sell it.
- “The less a young pimp knew, the better for me. I wanted him to pay in blood, like I had”
- “The only way I’ll tell it is if I sell it”
- “Ignorance is bliss, but only for the person with the knowledge. That’s why there’s so much misinformation and confusion out there. People with the knowledge don’t really want those without to have it.”
- Law 27: Keep Your Game on the Low
- “being on top and staying on top is about control. Not just control of the hoes, but controlling myself and my mouth”
- Ken would never tell a ho what he was really thinking, how much money he had, or how many other hoes he had
- “Good pimps have a gift for gab, but smart pimps talk a lot and at the same time don’t say much at all”
- The less someone knows about you, the better
- Law 28: Be a Leader
- Law 29: Play One Hoe Against the Next
- Law 30: Prosperity Over Popularity: too many people enter the game for popularity
- “Being popular isn’t a bad thing, but it should be a means to an end”
- “you can be known by the whole world, but if you’re broke, it ain’t worth sh*t”
- Law 31: Look Out for Suzy Choosy
- Law 32: Turn a Tramp Into a Champ
- Law 33: Bring Your People with You to the Top
- have a few brothers in arms you can rely on
- don’t make people unappreciated
- don’t make enemies
- The irrefutable laws of power
- Law 34: Show Respect to Get Respect: “treat people the way you want to be treated. at least to their faces”
- Law 35: Trust Nothing But the Game
- Test people around you. Leave some money around, see if they take it
- Law 36: Be Internationally Known, Nationally Recognized, and Locally Accepted
- Law 37: Let a Hoe Know
- Let a hoe know that you’re a pimp, and if she stays… You got a new ho
- Law 38: Wreck a Hater
- Law 39: Switch Up
- Law 40: Don’t Down It, Crown It
- Law 41: Keep Your Front Up ‘Til You Come Up
- “Everything that glitters ain’t gold, but if you appear perfect, you will more than likely be seen that way”
- “if people think you are flawed like them, they will try to prove that the yare better than you”
- Law 42: If You Can See It, You Can Be It
- Law 43: Talk sh*t and Swallow Spit
- Law 44: You Need Fire and Desire
- Law 45: Get Rid of the Word If
- Law 46: Move and Shake Like a Pimp Shakes
- Law 47: Pimpin’ Is What You Do, Not Who You Are
- Law 48: Don’t Believe the Hype
- “The value of this game is in learning how to pimp the same way that Uncle Sam, big business, and power brokers in this world pimp”
- The real pimp game will never change. It’s all about money and power, the control of dollars and people.
- “If you can’t figure out how to flip the script and pimp on something that can really make you rich, something that is legal and can make sure you never have to work again, then you shouldn’t really call yourself a pimp”
Amen to that.
The Best Pimps Are Not Pimps
Says the author:
The absolute best pimps -business tycoons, power brokers, and politicians- don’t have girls on the street, but they make countless dollars living off of other people’s intelligence and hard work.
Good Pimps Make Hoes WANT to Work For Them
Says Ken:
Good pimps don’t have to steal or take anyone’s money by force, becuase hoes will give pimps their money willingly.
Pimping is a Non-Contact Sport
The worst pimp is a pimp who doesn’t know pimping.
Pimping is psychological warfare, it’s not physical combat. Pimping is a straight mind game. Every game has its rules. The best players are the ones who not only learn the rules, but master and manipulate them.
More Wisdom
- Don’t chase the girl, go for her most hated enemy: When Ken was dumped by the girl he liked, he went after the girl his ex hated the most. And then his ex wanted him back
Takeaway For Women: Avoid Pimps
Generally speaking, one trend emerges:
Pimps are more often there to take than to give.
Albeit some pimps may help with connections to higher quality clients, most pimps do not add any real value.
Pimps are often leeches who manipulate, swindle, or force women to work more and part with more cash.
Pimps are takers.
We added this important note after this summary was linked in this sex workers subreddit.
Just to be clear, TPM’s summary of Pimpology was of course never meant as an endorsem*nt of pimping.
TPM generally is not a big fan of leeches and abusers, and pimps are often leeches and/or abusers.
Generally speaking, we agree with that sex worker’s advice to avoid pimps.
And we advise sex workers who are already working with pimps to dispassionately look at their relationships with pimps and ask hard yet often simple questions such as: “am I better off with or without this guy?”, “is this guy making me better or worse?”, “is this guy aggressive, manipulative, pushy, and often lying”?
Generally speaking, people who want the best for you are not aggressive, manipulative, or pushy.
A guy who wants to make you better off seeks to add value to your life, encourage your growth and independence.
If the pimp pushes you to work longer and harder and takes out a big chunk of your income, then… Quit being naive. He does have your best interest in mind.
CONS
- Sometimes overdoes the self-promotion
Sometimes it feels like Pimpin’ Ken overdoes a bit the self-promotion.
Like in his list of notable achievements on his author page on Amazon. I feel that successful self-promotion is more understated. Too much self-promotion becomes self-damaging.
- Advises on triangulation without considering the risks
The author recommends playing a ho against another with triangulation.
But triangulation is risky.
People can talk to each other, realize you’re playing them, and then they will ally to play against you.
- Some stories didn’t add up…
… Or at least I didn’t understand them.
PROS
- Some true deep wisdom
This book might be about pimpin’, but it’s also about deeper mindsets and about transcending pimping.
- Some good psychology
Here and there there are some real gems of psychology and social strategy.
Also good to understand some psychology of pimps’ controls on hookers -a good chunk of which hinges on hookers’ own “buttons for manipulation” -as manipulation expert Braiker would call them (Braiker, 2013)-.
- Some great psychology of success -or failure-
More or less hidden in some jargon, there were some real gems of what makes someone successful in life, or dependent.
For example, it was enlightening what Ken says really makes a hoe: the relinquishment of control over one’s life.
- Many top-notch quotes
So many great quotes, both funny/catchy ones, and deep ones.
Quotes
I was only 13 and had little knowledge about the game. So I was into square sh*t, such as falling in love. I had other girls, but I thought Candy was the one.
On not trying to keep hoes:
Hoes belong to the community
On ignorance and wisdom:
“Ignorance is bliss, but only for the person with the knowledge”
On wisdom and money:
“The only way I’ll tell it is if I sell it”
On paying for that good wisdom:
The only thing that’s free is air. So keep breathing nigg*.
On talking without really sharing any valuable intel:
“Good pimps have a gift for gab, but smart pimps talk a lot and at the same time don’t say much at all”
On “empty popularity”:
You can be known by the whold world, but if you’re broke, it ain’t worth sh*t
On calling a ho a ho:
“You’re a pimp, ain’t you?” she asked. You’re a ho, ain’t you?” I shot back. “Hell no!” she said indignant, “I’m an entertainer”. “Ok ho, I said”
On appearing perfect to avoid competition:
“if people think you are flawed like them, they will try to prove that the yare better than you”
Pimpology Review
“Pimpology” is both entertaining, and instructive.
The technical-level knowledge of actual pimping is limited.
There isn’t much for things like how to first approach a hoe, how to start out with a hoe, how much money to keep, how much to pay out, or the likes.
But there is much more in terms of higher-level strategies and general mindsets.
For those who aren’t interested in pimping, there is much to learn in terms of power dynamics, psychology, and power moves.
Sex workers should also learn from pimps and, often, should resist and avoid pimps unless they add real and practical value to their lives.
Check the:
- Best books on power
