Rule #1, get a humidor. A humidor is specifically designed to store your stogies in an environment that mimics the tropical climate where they were made. Plus, they are relatively inexpensive and when it comes to your delicate smokes investing in a humidor will only enhance your smoking experience.
Rule #2, keep your humidor at 65-70% humidity and 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21.11 Celsius). Use distilled water in your humidity control devises and/or humidor packets to keep your cigars in this ideal environment. Tap water introduces additives that may destroy your delicate humidor and ruin the flavor of your precious stogies.
Rule #3, unwrap your cigars and let the cedar do its work. Humidors are lined with cedar because cedar wood adds flavor to your smokes, much like marinating a juicy piece of steak before you grill it. Remember to store your cigars by type; a Connecticut wrapper will absorb the flavor of a Maduro if they are stacked onto each other for some time. Therefore, you should also rotate your cigars (top to bottom, bottom to top), to evenly humidify your cigars. And don’t introduce anything foreign to your humidor. The humidor is for fine cigars not a junk box for your trinkets.
Rule #4, if rule 1-3 fails remember this; avoid extreme heat and extreme cold (no ice packs & no sun bathing), store in a place that is dark and temperature is unlikely to vary (a closet), and plastic containers and/or plastic zip-top bags are OK if they are sealed properly. Cigars are very resilient but still need lots of care.
If you don’t mind your cigars exploding, wrappers cracking, growing mold, and want cigar beetles living rent free in your humidor don’t follow any of these rules. If your mindset is quite the opposite these rules will maximize your smoking experience.