Whether you've been one or have been played by one: every player has their own unique game. However, there are traits that are consistent across the board for both male and female hustlers of the romantic world.

1. They Manipulate

A player can't be smooth without knowing their target inside and out. Once they do, though, the games over for the poor target. When the weaknesses are revealed and the walls have broken down, the player knows what strings to pull and words to use to keep someone around.

2. They Sweet Talk

The pet names, compliments, sassy and sly talk that gets you roped in and curious. It's the sprinkles on the icing of their game.

3. They're Sexual

Whether it's playing with your hair, a casual stroke on your arm, the right way to kiss you, how they look at you from across the room: a player knows the game. It's not about what goes down in the bedroom that gets someone hooked, but the subtle flirtations most people skip over.

4. They're Smart

They can keep their lies straight, know who can and can't be played, can tell when it's worth the chase and much more. They can read someone's personality type quickly in a conversation and act on it to become a person of interest. They know hoe to word things so it's never their fault and can get out of many sticky situations.

5. They're Organized

They can keep track of their stories, their "black book" names, their lies, and more. Some even have loyal friends that can back-up lies and be intertwined into stories to make them more believable.

Is being a player a horrible thing? No. It's certainly not a lifestyle choice one should make for the long run and you can definitely leave some damage in your wake. Recognizing the key behaviors of players, however, makes us all a little bit smarter in who we are and how we should be reading others.