A Revamped Face the Ace Returns to NBC

September 15 2009, Nicole Gordon

Let's look at Face the Ace in culinary terms. When it comes to the current crop of poker television shows, NBC's Face the Ace is like a fish fillet on a Vegas buffet. It might look appetizing from afar with those grill marks and the little chopped chives sprinkled on top, but once you dig in, it's cold, underseasoned, and in desperate need of some acid. The first two episodes of Face the Ace were universally reviled, and, thankfully, before the show returned in its regular Saturday afternoon time slot this past weekend, the producers engaged in a bit of retooling for the broadcast. The results? Far fewer cringe-worthy moments but we're still far from "Must-See TV." Let's call it a passable dish, but not one we're dying to try again.

One of the best decisions that was made behind the scenes of Face the Ace was to increase Ali Nejad's presence onscreen while scaling back some of Steve Schrippa's (painfully unfunny) banter with the contestants. More Ali Nejad is always a good thing when it comes to poker television -- he's smart, articulate, and with his other gig as the voice of Poker After Dark, he's becoming a familiar voice to fans when it comes to commentary.

This week's episode also had a far more outgoing, energetic contestant in Adam Erlich. Sharing the fact that he once tried out for The Apprentice was a good move but revealing that he'd read the book "How to be a TV Contestant" before appearing on the show didn't exactly endear him to the audience any further. Although his personality bordered on grating, and he tended to the overdramatic while tossing in those reraises, Erlich was head and shoulders above the previous contestants when it came to chatting up the pros and talking the audience through his thought process.

Chris Ferguson and Phil Gordon, the episode's two featured "Aces," were clearly comfortable in front of the camera and their banter with Erlich was smooth and friendly. This was a marked improvement from past episodes in which conversation was awkward at best. Remember when Phil Ivey attempted to chat up an utterly star-struck Jonathan Nygaard?

Production also scored points by throwing some interesting bread crumbs to inspire discussion between the pros and the contestants. We learned about Ferguson's history with early online poker, and Gordon's apparent new career as a llama farmer. He owns two, Dalai Llama and Barack Ollama.

The audience also appeared far more engaged this week, or at least more liquored up. Inviting the contestant's supporters to crowd around the table during all-in situations created more drama and tension while the crowd called for all-ins and booed when anyone folded. One rowdy spectator even shouted "Roshambo for 200!" at known rock-paper-scissors aficionado Phil Gordon.

Erlich was confident at the table and after getting his money in with the best hand and losing several times to Chris Ferguson, he was finally able to come out on top, picking up $40,000 for his win. After deciding to let it ride, he sat down against Phil Gordon in his $200,000 match. Gordon was surprisingly conflicted over his role as “dream killer.”

“It’s really tough to sit over here. I want you to win but I still have to play my best,” Gordon said.

Ultimately, Erlich got the rest of his chips in with against Gordon’s , but Gordon hit middle pair on the flop. Erlich couldn’t find an ace on the turn or the river, and his $40,000 went up in smoke leaving the amateur to exit the set empty-handed but graceful in defeat.

Despite some substantial improvements, when it comes down to it, the quality of Face the Ace truly hinges on the chemistry between the contestants and the pros they play. Unfortunately for viewers, that’s not a draw that is going to hit every time.

Face the Ace returns to NBC on October 31. Think you can take on the pros? Open an account on Full Tilt Poker and earn your spot on the show.

Comments

jdb74
09-15-2009 22:06

I haven't heard about the PokerStars show, but they have it much closer to right. Big pay day for the amateur if they can win... big donation to charity if the pro wins. For me, the pro in Face The Ace just doesn't have enough on the line other than pride... and they don't care enough about that to play their best against these amateurs unless they're going for the million.

Nothing new they did really worked for me. I don't care about the crowd around the table on the all in... it's horribly contrived. I guess they could have something if they make all the contestants as annoying as this one was. I was watching basically hoping he'd lose from the moment I saw him. I was shocked to see him get his money in as the favorite basically every time. Although, I can't agree more... more Ali Nejad and much less Steve Schirrpa.

They need to take a page out of the pro wrestling playbook and have Ali rush the set while the guy is picking an ace and tell him he gets to face him and then commentate the whole time he plays against the guy (or girl).

Also, pro wrestling has a great formula where you have matches with underdogs going up against champions and then matches against two performers who are popular for whatever reason. It gives them the chance to build a character for the audience while the marquee matchup gives the audience a reason to stick around to the end.

I would suggest the show change to letting two aces go up against each other if the amateur doesn't advance. That way we either get to see an amateur go for a big pay day... or get to see two established stars play heads up for some big charity money. If NBC thinks we get enough of that on PAD and NBC Heads up, they're way wrong!

FishingDonk
09-15-2009 20:46

There is no hope for this show, sad but true. It is a horrible format and they say they are trying to gear it towards non-poker players. I don't understand what they are trying to do but it is an epic fail. I am interested to see what happens with the one PokerStars is going to put on shortly. From what I gather it is to be a 6 person table with the top two getting 200,00 unless it is a pro then 50,000 get donated to a cahrity in their name. It already sounds better.It will pick up the converstaion and so much more. The only thing good about the heads up format is the payout structure which is crap anyway. i don't care to see this guy lose out at a million dollar chance, I want to be entertained. I am surprised they are even giving it another chance when Nemo is getting better ratings although Nemo is entertaining.

spcrdplyr
09-15-2009 19:41

Flintsword: Do you not know that Face the Ace is a Full Tilt show? Do you really expect them to use non-Full Tilt Pros? I totally agree that the show is still lacking. First couple of shows were, at best a "2" on a 1-10 scale. The revised version is MAYBE a "4". The whole premis of the show is to bring 'everyday joes' to FullTilt.net for a chance to get to play one of the Pros. I don't think it is gonna make it.