A lot of users are sort of interested in competitive play but haven't gotten into it because they don't have enough time or don't want to join a team. A lot of people just want to get a taste of the format before they dive in.

The solution? Play pick-up games, also known as “pugs” or “gathers.” Here are some reasons you should learn how to pug:

• Pick-up games are the perfect place to start and learn how to play the standard competitive format. Anyone can jump in and immediately start playing without having to join a team or start their own.
• If you want to join a team, pick-up games provide you with a place to show off your talent and get noticed by recruiters.
• If you're looking to start your own team, pick-up games are a good place to find people who are looking for a team.
• Pick-up games are a great way to practice playing competitive format Team Fortress 2 regardless of your skill level, because they're easy to join when you can't organize a scrim.

No matter who you are or how far you plan to get involved in competitive play, you're going to want to learn how to pug and get familiar with the process.

• Team Fortress 2
  
• A microphone
  
• An IRC client (mIRC is the most popular) Alternatively, you can use a web-based client like mibbit, or CommunityFortress's embedded java chat which is specific to #tf2.pug
  
• Mumble - Download
• Ventrilo - Download (only required in Europe)

Read A Beginner's Guide to Competitive TF2 by waar. It's a good way to get preliminary information on how the format works before you get started, and there's a lot in there that you'll probably be expected to know once you start playing.

You should also read the rules for the channel you will be using.
Rules for tf2.pug.na (North American channel)
Rules for mpuktf2.pickup (European channel)

Since you're going to be switching between IRC, Ventrilo/Mumble, and TF2 quite a bit, one thing you can do to make your life easier is to run TF2 in windowed mode, which enables you to alt-tab out of and into the game more easily. Find TF2 in your Steam games list, right click and select “properties.” From there, you should see a button that says “Set launch options…” click that. Then add the text ”-windowed -noborder” (quotation makes not included) and hit OK. This will allow you to run the game in Windowed mode (without the annoying border) which should make alt-tab switching out of the game easier. This way you can leave TF2 running in the background while you join games on IRC so that you will be able to join the server as soon as you get the info.

Your in-game name in TF2 should be similar enough to the name you use on your voice program and IRC so that people can recognize you. You can type “setinfo name 'yournamehere'” in the console or bind it to a key if necessary. Your in-game name will default to your Steam community profile name.

If you live in North America, connect to the GameSurge IRC network (/s irc.gamesurge.net) and join #tf2.pug (/join #tf2.pug). You may want to get authorized on GameSurge for identification purposes but this is not necessary.

If you live in Europe, connect to the Quakenet IRC network (/s irc.quakenet.org) and join #mpuktf2.pickup (/join #mpuktf2.pickup) Before you can use the channel, you need to Q-auth.

The first thing you'll want to do is get the Ventrilo/Mumble IP for the channel that you're using. You can usually get the information by typing !ip, !mumble or !vent in chat. If you're struggling, you can ask people on the channel for help. Before you join your first game, you should lurk the channel to learn how things work. If you choose to spectate a game instead of playing it, you won't have to worry about getting to the server late or being in the wrong voice channel. I'd recommend spectating at least one gather while idling in one team's voice channel before you start playing. Once you understand the process and have had all your questions answered, it's time to start playing.

If you want to join a game, type !add (and then your desired class, if in #tf2.pug.na) in the chat and wait until twelve people have added up. Once the game you signed up for has started, join the specified voice channel and TF2 server and wait for the game to start.

How fast games fill up depends on the time of day. For example, on weekday mornings, there usually aren't enough people to get a game started. Mid-afternoon and later, however, there's usually enough people to have at least one game going on at a given time.

• If you get stuck anywhere in the process, ask for help. Letting people know that you need help is preferable to stalling a game because you couldn't figure something out on your own.
  
• If you joined a game, show up for it and be prepared to play until the game has finished. If you need to leave in the middle of a game, ask for a sub. However, if possible try to stay in the game until the sub has joined and can replace you.
  
• Don't interfere with games that you didn't sign up for. If a game has started and you didn't sign up for it, you can still join the server and spectate, but don't join either of the teams. (If a sub is needed and an admin tells you it's okay to join, then feel free to do so.)
  
• You may not always get to play the class that you want to. If you join the server and there are already two soldiers on your team, don't expect to be able to play soldier. You can ask politely if one of them would like to switch classes, but do NOT be demanding or expect them to switch. If you're a first-timer, it might be wise to yield your class slot if you're doing poorly and someone else wants it. In regards to #tf2.pug.na, you are expected to play as the class that the team captain picked you for. If you aren't comfortable playing as a certain class, let the captain know during the picking process.
  
• Don't work against your team. If you're doing poorly as sniper and someone suggests that you switch classes, you should probably take their advice. If the medic that is healing you tells you that it's time to pull back and retreat, don't jump into the fray. It's okay to say that you might not be good at a certain job (for example, if you're not comfortable playing pocket), but if your team is telling you to do something, do it.
  
• A little courtesy can go a long way, and it will be a lot harder for people to dislike you if you're considerate.

• Some pickup channels have Steam groups that you can join for announcements when they are trying to get a game started. Announcements aren't made for each pug (as games can often fill up quickly), but they can be a good heads up if you aren't frequently checking your IRC window to see the status of the latest game. As an example, there is a Steam group for the North American pug channels, and there are sometimes announcements when they are having trouble filling a game in one of the channels, or testing out a new map.
• Both North America and Europe have two tiers of IRC pickup channels. You should start off with the beginner-level pickup channel for your region, with #tf2.pug being the open in North America and #mpuktf2.pickup being the open channel in Europe. The higher-level channels are more targeted at players who are experienced in playing in leagues. You should stay out of the higher-level channels until you're able to get better through league play.