Hello! This is my first guide ever, and my spelling is not the best, but try to stick with me.
Most new players have trouble getting the hang of this game, and rage quit, calling this game impossible. In reality, is amazing fun, but quite hard. I saw that no one really made an in depth guide, so i decided to give it a shot.
After you get some money this game can be really fun. But starting in this game is extremly difficult, becuase people get monopolys kinda. so hopefully this should help. At least hear me out.

Everone starts with $2000. But we all know that this is not enough to keep us going forerever. you need money, at at the start more than ever. I consider there 4 ways to start off, but the first 2 are similar, so they will be 1a and 1b.

This is what most people do. They spend all there starting money on tools, and go out to rob someone. However, you have to get a substantial amount of money. And if people have a wife, you have to go for twice that. so lets do some math....
money you have to get to break even.... $2000
money you have to get to build a decent house.... $3500 - $4000
wife doubles this to.... $7000 - $8000
so you really have to rob someone with a ridiculus high amount of money to have a shot. and most of these people make there houses so that its impossible to rob with any combination of the starting tools. you see why this is difficult.
i personally NEVER do this, because other ways are more efficiant.

I call this method smart robbing. I feel that this would be what most players would us if they figured it out. How to smart rob: DONT BUY TOOLS! Robbing without tool? I know. But here me out.
you only need to aquire an additionaly $1500 - $2000 dollars to get to what i said eariler was enough to get you a decent starting house. focus on houses with low money that look like someone just threw something together. after many attemps you may get lucky and start building your own house.
Its much more viable in my opinon, and this is what I personally use.

Cheating... Kinda
Either go for afks through smart robbing(but make sure you kill the wife), or alt accouts, or hack
this is usally either slow or expensive, and desperate mesures
i NEVER do this, but i guess is viable so here goes

Use your starting money on a house
the starting $2000 is enough for something. build a flexible house. it will probably get destroyed the first time, but keep building the say house over and over. eventually, with luck, you may just be able to start something.

Now you have a house. keeping it is not as hard as staring out, but still difficult.

Heres the secret to this game: Dont Rob.
Unless your at the start of the game with nothing to lose, or have a house with no money or wife, dont rob.
Risk > Reward every single time.
There is a strategy were you us alot of money later on in the game to buy tools and rob someone very wealthy, but your starting 2000 wont cut it. This is very risky and should only be done by skilled players, but my advice is again, dont rob, dont throw away your nicec house at a small shot at fortune.
I feel that The Castle Doctrine may broken because Robbing is never a viable stratagy, but maby Jason wanted it that way.

Also make a long korridor of dogs proteting your wife. think of her as insurance. spend the money now, when you get robbed you be thankfull she saved youu half.
a house with no wife is doomed. PROTECT HER

mix it up. dont build a house full of only electric floors. i like to build many induvidual traps.

make sure someone cant use only starting tools to rob u blind

test out all your trapes. every time. no matter what, this will save you many a embarassing death

and most importantly:
use your head. im just a random guy. trust yourself. think of your own traps.

Thanks for reading. If this helps, tell me. if not tell me. just at least write something in the chat, letting me know you heard me. My biggest fear is that i go unnoticed in life, please help me.

i feel that 1b will help the most.

write if anything is unclear, i will edit.

Sinceraly,
Wölf