I'm not a DayZ badass. The trick to survive is simple: Don't get seen by other players. Go up north, visit the North West Airfield, visit the military base at Novy Sobor, try not to go to Elektro / Cherno except in the very beginning when you have nothing to lose and after that hide in the forest. Don't walk on streets, don't follow power lines, before you visit any place, stalk it for at least 5 minutes to see if any player is around, etc. Go in crouch-mode all the time, except if you have to cross a big open field. In this case, you will run over it as fast as possible (players will spot you anyway, so the best is to get past it fast). If you are in cover again, change your walking direction for a while, so that a player who might have seen you can't follow you that easily.
If you go by these simple rules, you most likely won't die and you most likely will be bored of the game after a few weeks.