"I Play By My Own Rules."

Tetherball is the in thing to do at recess. Kids gather and line up around the tetherball polls as they take turns competing against each other. It's all very serious. I like to watch every now and again. Every once in a while a kid will get hit with the ball or try some new weird stunt that will make me laugh. (Yes, I can see how you thought doing a cartwheel at that moment would help you win this game of tetherball. Good point.) While watching today I overheard the following conversation between two third graders...
"Hey, man. You can't grab it like that."
"What?"
"You can't grab the ball like that. Only hit it."
"Oh, I play by my own rules."
He said it so matter of factly as if it were perfectly acceptable to create your own rules that work towards your advantage and expect the competition to be okay with it. Did he expect the other kid to say, "Oh, sure. Do whatever you need to win. I'll just stand here and play by the real rules and let you cream me" or what? I waited for the response of the other kid, too. What would he say to that one?
"Okay... whatever..."
And they kept on playing their serious game of tetherball.
I thought to myself, "Well, that wasn't so bad." The other kid was obviously a bit annoyed but they kept playing and when the game was over the victory was as legit as if they had been both playing by the real rules. Nobody called foul play. Hmmm... can I apply this to adult life?
"Hey, you have to pay your bills."
"Oh, I play by my own rules."
"Okay... whatever..."