I wouldn't really call this advice, but I'm bored and figure I would offer some thoughts here.
Well, I would offer one bit of advice - people who offer you advice and say you have to do this, or give some other restrictive explanation of the situation, are usually giving you an incomplete explanation. Oftentimes there are exceptions or loopholes. Oftentimes it's more hopeful than many people will think or portray it as.
Anyway, on to my explanation/conclusion -
My comment is that a lot of this is a load of crap. Most people on the internet don't go around charming girls for the sake of charming girls. If they did, they wouldn't be on the internet (or they wouldn't be on this forum - there isn't a whole lot to interest the really social type.) So most people who talk are offering advice based on their experience, based on their tastes, and based on their situation/looks/personality. As a consequence you get a lot of wildly different opinions.
Also, the "sample size" and preconceptions has a lot to do with advice. If someone asks out 3-4 people a year they have less to go on than somebody who asks out 10-15 people a year. However that first person may simply be more observant and the latter person keeps asking out the same group/type of people. Etc etc.
So in general, unless you're really good with people, there is no "rule". If you're really good with people - say approaching car-salesman good with people - then you have a repertoire of things that you can use to influence a variety of personality types. EG you look at somebody and you know that this person is going to respect confidence; this person is going to be drawn in by charm; this person is going to look for someone shrewd, and you know how to act around them.
So when it comes down to asking girls out the biggest thing is to have fun. More than likely you're going to get turned down, and maybe not even because the girl has any particular opinion. It may be the way you asked or it may be the day or it may be because they're thinking about somebody else, but they're not quite sure, or because they're concerned of how it might look or because they have plans and they actually do want to go out with you, but you misunderstood what they said. Or maybe they say yes but they're just playing around with you, and then act as if they thought you were joking. Or maybe they say yes but change their mind later for any number of reasons.
Maybe they think you smell.
So rather than stress out over whether you're hot or not, you just come up with something to make it fun. You're going to feel humiliated, rejected, or (if you're lucky enough) nothing at all, so why not do something silly and take a chance? Of course, if you do something crazy, then people may get creeped out and run away - that's a little too extreme. But if you do something funky then maybe, maybe, it'll increase your chances a little. And if it doesn't, at least you have that fun thing to go back on.
The other thing I would say is that there is no such thing as a 'normal' relationship and somebody who claims to have The Answer is not telling the truth. I have heard of all kinds of relationships and it's very enjoyable to think that there's a considerable variety out there, even if most people don't ever get to see it firsthand...
The other thing I would add is that I'm always bugged by rules, eg this => confidence, you must do this, girl must do this, this on the nth date means this, etc etc. All it seems to do is limit people to a small group of people who understand the rules and cut them off from having some kind of unusual experience that they would learn a lot more from. Still, a lot of people buy into it, and it does work for finding someone you're compatible with, at least to some extent, because presumably you're operating on the same wavelength if you can get through the initial gauntlets.
However, I should bookend this by saying that I have yet to find a girl who actually has something resembling this opinion. A lot of girls will say that they are openminded or otherwise accepting of differences, but actually have some set of rules that they use that isn't immediately obvious or identical to the ones I mentioned earlier. They just don't admit to it (or may not even understand the pattern of their behavior). So it's not something I'd recommend to anyone looking for a guaranteed way to get laid. That's what bars & nightclubs are for.
