Imagine for a moment that you sit down at a televised no-limit hold 'em final table with a $120,000 winner-take-all prize. You look around and see Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, Scotty Nguyen, Jennifer Harman and Mike Matusow.

Now what? Do you panic? Do you look for an exit? Or do you implement a strategy designed to take you deep into the event against the best of the best?

We'll all find out what happens starting Monday on Poker After Dark's "Dream Match" featuring Rutgers University graduate student Ken Light, the first online amateur qualifier for a seat on the late-night NBC show launching its third season.

But wait, there's more!

Light has agreed to blog the episodes next week — practically in real time — exclusively at www.luckydogpoker.com! As each episode airs, he'll describe his thoughts during key hands, explain his betting decisions and reveal what was going on behind the scenes. The posts will go up as soon as possible each night.

Amateur players who dream of competing against top pros will be able to share the experience with "one of their own" as Light, normally a micro-limit online player, takes to the real felt on a grand stage. He won the seat in April against a field of 1,395 players on Full Tilt Poker's site.

"You can expect to see me make mistakes, completely blow bluffs, give away the strength of my hand, and occasionally make a good move," said Light, who hasn't seen the final-cut version of the six nightly episodes.

"I'm looking forward to seeing it," said the 28-year-old quantitative methods professor from Pennington, N.J., in a blog entry posted on the website during the taping in October in Las Vegas. "I'm not at all ashamed of my performance, which at times was better than others. The crew was impressed, as were most of the pros, I believe."

Being able to chat with the pros before the match "was a surreal experience on a couple of levels," Ken said.

"First, there's the fact that top players I've watched for years are standing in front of me in the flesh and actually talking to me. More importantly, I had to constantly try to fish out the small talk from the probing questions! Every time they asked me something, I was trying to figure out the question behind the question."

Those conversations, however, also provided Light with some insight into the pros' mindset.

"I always figured poker superstars have big egos to go with their big bankrolls. Apparently they do, on some level. But on another level, they're really insecure!" Light said.

"They all tried to get me to say why I chose them to be on the show for my 'dream table.' I told Jennifer Harman she was there because she was my girlfriend's favorite, and although I also think she's fantastic, I instantly felt bad about saying that because she seemed a bit slighted by my comment," Light said.

"Scotty Nguyen, the portrait of cool at the table and off, had a discussion with Poker After Dark producer Mori Eskandani about why he hadn't yet been invited on the show in the first two seasons," Light said. "Scotty Nguyen, baby! Amazing! It was incredible to see heroes so subtly vulnerable, and I mean that in the best possible way."

On the set, there were "hours of makeup and small talk and waiting around," Light said. By the time poker action started, Light said he was comfortable enough with his surroundings to go over to the bar on his own to speak with the show's new host, Marianela Pereyra, who replaces Shana Hiatt for season three.

"Imagine a more nervous, less attractive, stuttering Phil Laak running over like an overly excited little boy," said Light. "I hope some of that makes the cut to TV. She was friendly, joking around with everyone, and very, very supportive of me."

Heading back to his hotel room after the taping, a couple on the elevator noticed the Full Tilt patch still affixed to Light's shirt and asked if he was a professional poker player. "I replied, 'For a day, yeah,' which sums up the entire experience for me."

The show should be a blast to watch each night. The rare added dimension of getting Light's inside description of the action as it happens will enhance the experience for viewers. Don't miss it!

E-mail your poker questions and comments to [email protected] for use in future columns. To find out more about Russ Scott and read previous LuckyDog Poker columns, visit www.creators.com or www.luckydogpoker.com.