#1 rule ... I don't date people of the same genetic gender as myself. I don't care if they think they're female. They were born with the XY chromosome pair.
Rules? Hmm... That's weird. I don't really have rules. I'm a bit of a creepy stalker and I research the person heavily before I meet them. So far, I have not been murdered, so I call that a winning strategy. That's about it.
At my stage in life the only real "dates" are with my husband and we just have a good time, no rules. Oh I guess on - he is not allowed to think about or do business during. I do sometimes meet other men but they are not real dates and the only rule is we pay for the motel room beforehand.
Back in the day however when I was asked out I would mostly try to focus on him and just enjoying what there was to enjoy about him and if you look you can usually find something.