simultaneously planning for opposite scenarios

one cowboy sits at the bar, another cowboy sits down beside him

one cowboy has no opinion about another cowboy

another cowboy behaves and communicates in a pattern that makes another cowboy 

either friendly and incompetent 

or hostile and devious

one cowboy prepares for both scenarious simultaneously,

one cowboy prepares to murder another cowboy while at the same time,

one cowboy tries to charm another cowboy to avoid conflict