Here I am at the NBC Heads-Up Championship at Caesars Las Vegas.

The Pairing Party was last night and my ball was the only one left out of 64 lottery balls that were drawn. Does it mean anything? No, but it will be easy to find my name.

Chad has been a friend of mine for many years. One of the nicest guys in poker, Chad is always a gentleman. Our match should be intense but cordial. We won’t have any of the bombastic tirades the poker viewer seems to relish.

Now for business. How will I beat him? He will take a stand so I won’t be able to recklessly run him over. He will call raises with marginal hands so if I’m out of position I would want to minimize the number of flops. He will have a hand. In other words, I don’t have to worry too much about no pair, no draw calls. I do have a tight image with him so he will tend to be more conservative toward me. He’s not likely to go over the top of me without a strong hand. Now I just have to play poker and see what he will give me and what he won’t.