PUA success varies by region and local culture. In some urban areas, anecdotally, women have started judging men's PUA "game".

I think it pattern-matches on a "correct" behavior, but is self-defeating; it pattern-matches on the idea that women, like men, want to have casual sex. The "correct" behaviors, are indeed, being something of a jerk, but is self-defeating because it assumes rudeness is the desired quality, rather than a signal of a desired quality: Jerks aren't likely to pester you for follow-up dates, which is to say, they are actually interested in strictly casual sex.

It's self-defeating, because as soon as men who are interested in more meaningful relationships start utilizing the technique of being a jerk, being a jerk stops being a useful signal of -not- being interested in more meaningful relationships. (Being -very good- at being a jerk, on the other hand, probably -does- pattern-match pretty well with interest in strictly casual sex, hence the anecdotal accounts of women judging PUA "game".)

The whole thing gets messier on account of individual differences. Some women want to be hit on, some don't, some want one approach, some want another, some are receptive to the idea of longer-term relationships, some aren't - in short, women are people, too. No single "framework" is going to accommodate everybody's desires, and those who push a monoculture ideal are being narrow-minded. And dating signaling is, frankly, terrible, and often abused, intentionally or unintentionally. (Women signaling desire for casual sex to get free drinks, men signaling desire for long-term relationships to get casual sex, for two of the common complaints.)

Getting outside that, my personal practice is to strike up random conversations with strangers; small talk is the grease the gets conversation going. Treat small talk as a skill with a toolbox of techniques. Your toolbox should contain a list of standard questions for strangers; what do you do for a living, who are you rooting for in (current sports competition), where were you born, how did you end up in this hellhole, etc. The more you do it, the better you get, or at least the more comfortable. Small talk with other smokers while smoking helped my conversational abilities immensely, although for obvious reasons I wouldn't necessarily advocate that.