How to know when you're dating a loser?

Nice guys, bad boys, losers, lovers, tossers, crazies or keepers ... When it comes to meeting someone new, unfortunately there's really no hard and fast way to tell whether or not they'll turn into a bona fide date ... or a dud.
When dipping your toes into the icy waters of modern dating, it's easy to see how someone who seems charming, funny, generous and monogamous can turn out to be quite the opposite down the track.
"Why didn't I notice the 'red flags'?" you might ask yourself. "How could I have been so blind?" you wonder.
Well, you're not alone ...
I often find myself searching bookstore shelves for hours looking for answers to the myriad questions..
Many readers find themselves discovering strange and incomprehensible stuff about their new partner which raises the questions: "How did I not see this coming?", "Was I blind to my date's foibles?", "Did I refuse to acknowledge the signs because I was so desperate for sex and a cuddle in the morning?"
After all, by their reckoning, there are least 25 different types of such "losers", including the Abuser, the Wanderer, the Leech, Mr Ego and The Burdened Beast.
The good news is that these guys are actually easy to spot, as long as you know what to look for.

Introducing the "loser formula".
* Bad upbringing
* Current life problems
* Bad experiences in dating
* Bad attitude
* Loser Potential

Now, I'm not too certain how you would ascertain this sort of information within the first three dates without coming across like a bona fide machinist, but when I put the question to my readers, it emerged that there were at least four distinct categories when it comes to ascertaining what's a red flag and what's not ...

The bill

Many are quick to quip that when it comes to a first date, what happens when the bill arrives determines a lot about how they view their date.
Women say red flags are when a man stares at the bill waiting for her to pay; a man who divides it up until the last cent even though he asked her out, and a man who conveniently "forgets" his wallet after suggesting an expensive restaurant for dinner.
Men are equally offended by the bill shenanigans. One writes that he finds it "offensive if a woman starts filing her nails, looking at the ceiling or excusing herself to go to the bathroom when the bill arrives ... contribution and/or gratitude equals good manners in this age of gender equality".

The Ex

"Anyone who talks about their ex-girlfriend all the time," says one gent.
 "If a guy has had an on and off again girlfriend recently, I would stay so far away till he has been off with her for AT LEAST over a year," she writes. "You can never compete with history."

The first date

You'd better watch what you say on a first date because, according to the ASK SAM readers, red flags include any of the following:
If the first question is "So what do you do?"
If he says "I love you."
If he wants to know your star sign but doesn't know the difference between a sun sign and a rising sign.
If he wants to go to the casino.
If he checks out a waiter.
If he has to start texting or checking his mobile.
If he asks you how many kids you want to have and proceeds to debate baby's names.
If he says he's looking to move overseas for work ...
And if he says, "it's like I've known you my whole life" - RUN.

In a relationship

Some examples of red flags from readers include ...
If you can't get hold of him.
If you don't see each other on weekends.
If there are strange phone calls or constant messaging.
Not being Facebook friends.
They don't introduce you to their friends.