Need advice on wood finishing

Hi!

I'm making a cribbage board as a wedding present to my daughter. (No,
that's not my only present to her.) I want it to be perfect, and so far, so
good. It's 3.5 x 12 x 3/4" oak. The peg holes are drilled and a pocket for
peg storage is milled. Both of these operations went as planned (Thanks,
Vector!) Still to be done is the brass lid for the storage pocket, to be
engraved with her (new) last name and the date of her upcoming marriage.
These I can handle.

But I have no experience at all in wood finishing. The board is of oak, and
I plan to put a dark stain on it to contrast with the brass storage pocket
lid. And here (finally) are my questions:

1. What stain would you recommend?
2. What about sanding? Before or after staining, or both?
3. What about final finish? I was thinking of a clear poly-whatchmacallit
for a hard, glossy finish.
4. Anyone have a procedure for this? I haven't much time -- only to the
end of the month -- so I need to get it right the first time.

Would sure appreciate a response from someone knowledgeable with
woodworking. I'll be putting this message on a couple of other lists as
well.

Thanks,

Dave Goodfellow
Northridge, CA
"No problem too small to baffle this expert"