Tips for twisted fate

So I've been playing Twisted Fate in ranked solo, and I like him as a champion. I generally know what to rush against which type of damage my lane mate is, and I have had reasonable success. But two things I'm really struggling with are having the quick reaction time to lock in a card right away (so I don't have to go through another rotation of the cards), and when to gank other lanes. I might use his ultimate once or twice in the first 30 minutes, and then use it even less late game. Any tips?