I've been on seddit for a long time, and it seems like now more than ever there's a huge influx of new posters asking for tips and advice. The goal of this post is to give newbies a few core fundamental things to focus on instead of getting bogged down with details that are ultimately irrelevant when starting out.

Reading material

Read everything in the sidebar, this will answer 90% of all questions you have as a newbie. If you want more content, Models by Mark Manson is your next stop. I also enjoyed 3% Man by Corey Wayne (although it's kinda gloaty) and Book of Pook (which is pretty abstract and a little outdated, but good when combined with other material).

Approaching

Daygame approaches have an inherently low success rate due to their unexpected nature. The best way to dispel the awkwardness of a daygame approach is to bring it up yourself (e.g. "Hey I know this is really random/forward but I thought you were cute and wanted to meet you"). The highest hit rate daygame approaches will be at events or locations where you're not there specifically to meet girls (e.g. museum, hike, bbq). At these places just open with something topical (e.g. "what do you think of this painting?)

Nightgame approaching is straightforward and simple: you see someone attractive, go up and introduce yourself, gauge their reaction to you (positive, negative, or neutral). If they're positive or neutral, stay in set; if they're negative, eject ASAP (gracefully).

For online openers, use their bio and think of something witty.

Getting the number

Getting a number is easy, just ask. Most girls will give it to you. Getting a number that doesn't flake is mostly about building comfort and uncovering attraction. I say uncovering because you can't build attraction: it's either there or it isn't. But you can show girls what you're about; if they like what they see attraction will follow. Building comfort is about showing them that you're not a creep, that if they do give you their number that you won't harass them. A light-hearted 5 minute conversation about nothing in particular is all it really takes. After they laugh a couple times, ask for the number and leave ("I have to get back to my friends, see you around").

Online, 3 messages max to establish that you're normal, then ask for the number.

Get the date

Text her sometime in the next day or two, recalling something about the previous encounter to jog her memory about who you are. Ask if she's free on whatever days you're free on ("Got plans for saturday?"). She'll reply with a yes, no, or a "no, but I am on this day". If she says no without offering another time she's free, on to the next one. Set up a date ("Lets get coffee/tea/whatever activity you want at this place this time"). The alternative way to do this is to skip the first step of asking if she's free and just suggesting the date without knowing her schedule, this works better the less time you've spent with them. The more rapport you have, the more you should ask them about their schedule so that you don't seem as pushy.

On the date

This one's pretty straightforward too, ask questions, listen, ask more. Google "conversation threading", that's basically it. Break the touch barrier early if you haven't with easy things like touching her elbow, or play punching. Move around a bit, 2 venues for 1 date is a good guideline. Kiss her at the end of the date at the latest. If she rejects your kiss, on to the next one. If there's previous rapport (e.g. classmates) then definitely kiss her before the end of the date and have logistics set up so that you can easily invite her to your place ("Hey wanna come check out my fishtank?"). She knows what that invitation entails. Escalate slowly but steadily and close.

Texting

Less is more, in general. The less you know them, the more you should use texting as a tool for setting up dates and nothing else. After you've gone on a couple of dates, you can text occasionally if you see something cool or want to share something interesting with them, but under no circumstances should you ever be their texting buddy. This kills attraction. It's needy and pointless. Don't ignore texts for the sake of seeming busy though. If you're interested, act interested. Reply to her texts, but don't get caught in the trap of trying to have a full blown conversation over text. It's a tough balance, so for newbies I recommend texting only for date logistics until you're exclusive.

Fin

These are what I would call the barebones basics. Hope it helps.