Summary of rules, on which to base policy prescriptions, from the Ladder Theory:
Rule #1: Nice guys finish last. Or alone. Depends on how you look at it. If you attempt to be nice, you will be the "Nice friend guy" the girls complain to about their boyfriends. This is not a good thing.
Rule #2: The best way never to get a girl is to be direct and honest about wanting her. Playing mind games, being aloof, and generally seeming disinterested is a better policy. Having her unsure of whether you want her is best.
Rule #3: Girls say they care about: Sensitivity, Intelligence, Sense of humour, Creativity. They do not really care about these things. They care about attractiveness, and wealth.
Rule #4: Attractiveness is largely concerned with appearance, but also with enticement (refer to rule #2). Also, they appreciate the novel over the ordinary, even if it is worse than the ordinary for all practical purposes.
Rule #5: You become immediately more attractive if more girls are into you. Competition increases attraction significantly. This is something like a bank policy of only lending money to people who already have it.
Rule #6: Because of Rule #1, it is never desirable to become friends with a girl you find attractive. It's also completely impossible. The definition of "friend" does not include "person I'd like to bend over a table and wham".
Rule #7: Women can't be friends with anyone they're attracted to, either. You're either her friend, in which case you haven't got a chance of having sex with her, or you're a target. They're mutually exclusive.
Rule #8: There's often no way of knowing which situation you're in without going for broke. Obvious signs of interest from her can help, but are not always present. The worst case scenario is the kiss of death: "I like you, but I don't think of you that way." This is equivalent to applying for a job, and having the employer tell you "You're fully qualified, but we're not going to hire you. We're going to hire someone worse, and then call you from time to time to complain about the person we hired."
Rule #9: The only three cases in which a girl and guy can be friends are if one is gay, if one is not attracted to the other, or if one or both are in relationships already with people they'd rather be with. In the last case, the friendship ends when either relationship ends unless another of the two cases is satisfied.
Rule#10: Though there is a slight chance that you can move from the friend category to the "willing to bang" category, it is so rare and such an uphill battle in general that it's simply not worth it. If you find yourself in this position, it's usually better to just give up and start over with someone else, and avoid the friend category at all costs. Even coming straight out and saying "I cannot be friends with you, because I'm attracted to you, and no man can be friends with a girl he'd bang", at least saves you time and wasted effort.
