Obviously there are exceptions to everything. But if Neil Strauss is to be believed, he and the other guys in his crew used those tricks to sleep with hundreds of women. I don't see any reason not to believe him. In his book, Strauss writes of instances where PUA tricks didn't work. Certain people aren't swayed by them. But others are.
I wish those tricks didn't work with anyone. This is one aspect about the world that I really despise, because it shows how grounded many humans still are in our evolutionary roots. I would like to see a world where men were not attracted to women on the basis of physical beauty, and women were not attracted to men on the basis of how well they project social dominance. Ideally, attraction, for both genders, would be based 100% on personality, mutual interests, life achievements, etc.
Note: I'm not saying that all human beings are shallow. I'm just saying that some of them are. Nor is this meant to be misogynistic. I have just as much disdain for a man who is swayed by a large pair of breasts as I do for a woman who is swayed by the shit-talking bad boy with the motorcycle. More so in fact, since at least the motorcycle proves that the guy is adventurous, which should be an objectively good quality.
With that said, I consider PUA tricks to be the male equivalent of a woman wearing a push-up bra. If there are people who are swayed by bullshit tricks, why not use them?