By
Dan |
Published
Aug 19 2009, 01:55 PM
NBC’s heads-up poker franchise “Face the Ace” will make its return on Saturday, September 12th at 2:00pm ET. Taking part in the upcoming installment of the show will be PocketFives.com member Nicolas drexxel7 Mamy, a French native who will square off against a member of Team Full Tilt Poker, which sponsors "Face the Ace." PocketFives.com has been following all of the action on “Face the Ace” and sat down with Mamy to discuss his experience in Las Vegas. This article does not contain spoilers, so read on with confidence.
To open the show, each contestant selects one of four doors. Behind each is an “ace,” whose poker credentials are spelled out by host Steve Schirripa of “Sopranos” fame. Past “aces” to hit the heads-up felts have included Gus Hansen, Gavin Smith, and Phil Ivey. On his plan heads-up against an unknown opponent, Mamy told PocketFives.com, “I didn’t make a plan or strategy going into the match. I just thought I would adapt depending on they would play.”
If a player defeats their first “ace,” they bank $40,000. Then, they can walk away with the money or play another “ace” for $200,000. If they win that match, contestants can elect to face a third and final “ace” for $1 million. Any time a contestant loses, they walk away with nothing. There are no lifelines and no safety nets on this unique game show.
During a trip to Las Vegas, Mamy bunked with
Ari Engel (pictured at left) and David
The Maven Chicotsky. He explained that he didn’t know about satellites for “Face the Ace” until Chicotsky suggested that he enter: “Maven actually told me about the satellite, so I registered and immediately saw that the field was very weak/passive. I opened up my game a lot. Once I had a big stack at the end, I just slowed down since I knew mathematically I would get the seat if I took it easy.” Qualifiers for “Face the Ace” run on Full Tilt Poker and award a trip for two to the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas and $500 in spending money.
Excited to face a decorated poker veteran on network television with $1 million on the line, Mamy made the trek to the Downtown Las Vegas casino. He told PocketFives.com about the scene at the
Golden Nugget, which has played host to shows like Seasons 1 and 5 of “High Stakes Poker” on GSN: “I saw the commercial for ‘Face the Ace’ a few days before I qualified, but didn’t know much about it. The set was absolutely awesome and I could not have imagined how many people were standing behind it to coordinate everything.” Mamy revealed that about 10 to 15 people make up the studio audience on-hand to cheer players and “aces” alike.
What was it like playing heads-up against top-tier pros like
Erick Lindgren (pictured at right) and
Howard Lederer (who went a combined 0-2 on the first episode of “Face the Ace”)? Mamy recalled, “Playing against the pros was awesome. They were all very nice and outgoing. I could not have expected more from this experience.” Schirripa has received a hefty amount of criticism as host, but Mamy defended, “He's a very nice guy. I think he's good and not the problem. I think the main thing they could work on is the general rhythm. When you watch the show on television, it's pretty slow. There is not a lot of action, so I think the way they edit it could be better.” “Face the Ace” has struggled in the ratings during its first two broadcasts, which aired in primetime on Saturday nights.
Mamy’s appearance was taped in mid-July and will air as part of the September 12th broadcast. Here are the remaining air dates for the NBC poker show:
September 12th, 2009 – 2:00pm ET
October 31st, 2009 – 5:00pm ET
November 14th, 2009 – 3:00pm ET
December 12th, 2009 – 3:00pm ET
January 2nd, 2010 – 2:30pm ET
Mamy brought his wife with him to the taping. He splits his time between California and France and told PocketFives.com that he wanted to battle mano-a-mano against Ivey, Hansen,
Patrik Antonius (pictured at right), or Mike Matusow. The latter two have not yet appeared on “Face the Ace.” On the virtual felts, Mamy took down the Nightly Hundred Grand on
PokerStars in April for $21,000. He finished as the runner-up in the $200,000 Double Deuce on Full Tilt Poker three days later for another $20,000.
Make sure to tune into “Face the Ace” on NBC starting September 12th and root Mamy on! Visit
Full Tilt Poker for more information.