Dating risks you should take: sexy gambles boost your self-esteem and set you apart from other girls. Warning: You may wow his pants off.(Love And Lust)

When you go out with a new guy it's easy to slip into play-it-safe mode unconsciously. (For example, you turn down dudes who don't fit your exact specs or always choose the standard dinner-and-a-movie date for your first night out.) But making an effort to be a bit daring can reap rewards.

"Start taking small risks on dates and you'll project a new kind of confidence to guys and potentially make a more exciting, intimate connection," says psychotherapist Jonathan Robinson, author of Shortcuts to Bliss. Pins, you'll seem insanely intriguing.

THE RISK

Date Against Type

Maybe you date only bankers and shun creative types. Or you have a certain predilection for preppies, jocks, or guys who work with their hands. Well, break that pattern by going out with a different kind of dude ... even if he doesn't strike you as your type.

THE PAYOFF Simply put, you might meet someone great, as Lucy *, 27, realized. "I like big, athletic guys, but I said 'What the hell?' and accepted a date with Lewis--even though he wasn't the sporty type--because he was so funny. Once we started talking, I found myself totally attracted to him."

Think of it this way: It's hard to blow what you like and need in a man until you've sampled the full stud spectrum. And if you're busy dating duplicates of the same dude, you may be neglecting guys with the traits you need to make a relationship work, says Michelle Callahan, PhD, a New York City psychologist and life coach. "When you drop the fantasy you have about who the perfect man is and explore someone who has qualities you may like lint just aren't used to, he could end up being the one who makes you the happiest."