Many of us struggle with the idea of dating as a game, but, as I have pointed out in many of my previous articles, there are rules and some basic guidelines to dating. As we all know, every good game has rules. Despite what some may not want to admit, dating is in fact a game and we all play it, some of us better than others.

One of the infamous dating game guidelines is the "three-day rule," where a guy doesn't message a girl until three days after meeting her, so he doesn't appear desperate. Some girls follow rules such as "don't sleep with a guy until at least the third date," because you want him to see that you have more to offer than just sex. These are only a couple of examples of the ridiculous rules we seem to not only follow, but to justify. Unfortunately, like any good game, rules are often broken, resulting in penalties or red cards.

There are some people that take the dating game to a whole new level — think Tiger Woods' game (both on and off the course). These people are masters of the sport and ready to win. They don't just play the game to find someone they care about, they play the game because they just want to have fun and don't really care who gets hurt. They play to win. We refer to these people as players. Many people might assume that I am referring only to males, but females can play the game just as well as a male can — maybe even better.

There are two main qualities players posses. The first is that they make you feel like you matter and they are only interested in you. When you're with them, they focus on nothing else. They make you feel comfortable. The trick is, without labels associated with your relationship, anyone else is fair game. Don't ever assume that you are the only one they are seeing, because until there are labels attached to your relationship, they don't owe you anything. (Remember when Beyonce sang, "If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it"? Same rules apply here — no label, no guarantees.) Even though they make you feel like you're the only one, chances are the girl or guy they were with last night felt the same way too. And so did her/his friend the night before. You get the point.

The second comon quality of a player is their lack of emotions. The reason they are able to play multiple people at once is because they only see one person in this game and that's themselves. The rest of us are just pawns that get destroyed. That's why we always associate players with being jerks; if they cared about other people, they wouldn't hurt them. Spotting a player is tricky. On one hand, someone who is too nice may seem sketchy, but on the other hand, the ones who are emotionally unattached are also people to be wary of. Look at it this way: if dating is a game, consider the other person your opponent. If things work out and they have pure intentions, then these rules need not apply. But always remember, until you are sure what the other team has up their sleeve, play your best game possible.

Now that you know what a player is, you can try to avoid them and the possibility of getting hurt by them. Make sure to play a little defense. They say don't hate the player, hate the game, but I choose to just hate both. I may play the game just like everyone else, but that doesn't mean I enjoy being played.