I joined a chess club years ago, but it made no sense to work that hard to get better. A strange thing was that those that knew how bad I was could beat me badly, but a few good players thought I was better (until they got to know me), and I looked better in those games.  I started with the Ruy Lopez opening but most avoided the power of it, so it didn't do much good for me, and I had to learn all the responses to it, which I never did. If one starts off without a solid offense and defense the game can be lost in the early stages. Years later in Ca I used to watch and talk to a master play about 6 games simultaneously on Venice Beach.  He said he made money from it by playing in tournaments.