Every blind date involves equal parts luck and skill. There's not much you can do about the former, but you can take some of the mystery out of a mystery date by learning a few key strategies:

1. Keep your expectations realistic. Sure, he or she could be your 'Mr. or Ms. Right', but if you walk in with a fantasy or projection of what you wish your date to be, you're bound to be disappointed.

2. Give your blind date a chance. Okay, so she's wearing a sequined tube top or he parts his hair down the middle. Find out what your date is really like. Worry about a lack of style later.

3. Don't spill all of your problems on a first date. Save that for therapy.

4. Remember that your date is just as scared of you as you are of him/her.

5. Be yourself. If he's a stockbroker or she's a tennis player, don't pretend to follow the market or be an Andre Agassi fan.

6. Always leave yourself an out. Tell your date at the beginning of the date that you have tentative plans with a friend later, just in case you need to use that excuse.