We watched the premiere episode of "Face the Ace" on Saturday and were unimpressed (if you missed it, it's streaming at NBC.com).
A combination of game show and poker show, the basic premise is regular people play heads-up hold'em against up to three different pros.
The contestant chooses one of four doors, each with a poker pro standing behind. With the show sponsored by Full Tilt (whose logos are on the table and the pros' shirts), we suspect all the pros are from Full Tilt's roster of pros.
Knockout the first pro, get $40,000.
Knockout the second pro, get $200,000.
Knockout the third pro, get $1,000,000.
At any point you can choose to collect, but if you go on to the next level and lose, you receive nothing.
If the pro wins, they receive $10,000 to donate to the charity of their choice.
Host Steve Schirripa (Bobby Bacala from "The Sopranos") essentially plays his New Jersey mob-type character, being overly aggressive and manhandling the contestants. Fortunately, when it switches to the poker element, Ali Nejad does a good job as commentator. The best part of the show is Megan Abrigo, who opens doors to the poker pros and provides banter. Abrigo (pictured above) is better known as briefcase girl #6 on "Deal or No Deal."
Jonathan Nygaard from Jonestown, Penn. picked Phil Ivey and the first hand was his AA vs. Ivey's A8o.
The first hand being pocket Aces seems immediately suspicious, particularly since the deck wasn't visibly shuffled (later hands were hand-shuffled, just not the first hand).
It could, however, have been the editing that made it appear to be the first hand. Chip stacks were not shown.
Nygaard gave some trash talk to Ivey about not seeing his photo on the Binion's wall, asking when he was going to win one. Ivey looked uncomfortable and forced as he feigned friendliness.
On the third hand, both went all-in with Nygaard's QQ against Ivey's A4o, and Ivey was out.
The second contestant against Erick Lindgren fared better in the banter department (they both expressed liking the White Sox over the Cubs). Both also agreed to allow the other to see one card.
Contestants are chosen online from Full Tilt, with players winning freerolls and receiving four nights at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas, $500 in cash, and an audition on "Face the Ace."
"Face the Ace" doesn't look likely to last, as it was last in ratings, losing to FOX's "America's Most Wanted" and "Cops," as well as CBS's "Numb3rs" and an ABC movie -- all of which were reruns.
It also lost its audience in the second half. Never good for a first-run show.
With a network order of 7 shows, catch one of the next 6 before it's cancelled -- Aug. 8 at 9 p.m. ET, Sept. 12 at 2 p.m. ET, Oct. 31 at 5 p.m. ET, Nov. 14 at 3 p.m. ET, Dec. 12 at 3 p.m. ET, and Jan. 2, 2010 at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Or just watch "Cops."
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