Ivey was ousted in the 'Face the Ace opener'
NBC’s new poker show ‘Face the Ace’ aired last night, and it was the contestants who triumphed over the Full Tilt posse.
The show, hosted by Steve Schirripa from the Sopranos, saw Jonathan Nygaard whack Phil Ivey in the first heads up encounter. Nygaard was hit harder by the deck than a Tony Soprano punch, picking up bullets in his first hand.
The deciding hand came when Nygaard’s QQ held up against Ivey’s A4. The November Nine finalist mused, ‘He played real aggressive. I didn’t think he had a hand, so I moved all-in and I was wrong’. Nygaard erred on the side of caution, and pocketed the $40,000.
Don Topel was the next to square up against a pro. Facing Canadian Erik Lindgren, who had an indifferent World Series, he called Lindgren’s all in with Jh 5h on a 9h 2h 2s board. The 4h on the turn gave Topel the nuts and ousted Erik’s 9d 7d.
Sensing blood, Topel went about toppling another shark, calling out Howard Lederer from behind the smoke screened glassed windows. With $200,000 on the line, Topel grinded Lederer down, and snap called the ‘Professor’s’ As Qs all in with Ks Kh. He held up, and will now risk leaving with nothing, as he agreed to play a third pro for $1 million in the next episode. If the pro is victorious, he is given $10,000 to donate to a charity of his choice.
For European viewers, the show is up on Pokertube. You can catch the action here.