Interview with Isabelle Mercier

Part I

By Justin West

It's 11 a.m. in Vegas and I'm snuggled comfortably beneath warm blankets, the drapes to my right blocking any and all sunlight. As far as I know, until I look at the clock through eyes I have to pry apart, it could be midnight.

Alas, it's not. It's 11 a.m. and I'm being awakened by someone with the audacity to actually call me this early. Obviously this person doesn't know me too well.

I roll over to the edge of the bed, paw aimlessly at the floor until I finally grasp the terrible noisemaker and silence its racket.

Looking at the screen, squinting without my glasses, I read the name: "Isabelle."

Isabelle? I don't know any Isabelle... Oh. Wait a second!

"Hello?!" I say, only now sitting upright and, quite frankly wide awake.

"Hallo, is this Justin?"

It is! Ladies and gentlemen, I'm proud to say that that day I received my wake up call from none other than Isabelle Mercier.

"Yes," I say. "This is Justin."

"Well, I was calling about the interview? I have some free time right now and we could do it now if you want."

I look down and realize that I'm still at the hotel, have yet to leave the bed, and am still in my boxers. Now, as much as I'd love to interview Isabelle under such circumstances, right now just doesn't seem like the right time.

"Actually," I say. "I'm still at the hotel. I haven't even left the room yet. Could we do it another time?"

Beat.

"Sure, that would be fine."

Weeks passed and I did not heard from her. I was prepared to give her a call but she sent me an e-mail just a few days before the main event started, and we scheduled that interview.

Just two days before the words "Shuffle Up and Deal" were shouted to a roomful of players in what proved to be the largest poker tournament in history, I sat in a room atop the Rio's tower of suites, poised gleefully across from Isabelle Mercier.

She was kind enough to give me half an hour from her assuredly busy schedule to discuss her career, The World Series of Poker, and the state of the poker union in general.

Yes, I was wearing pants.

The first thing I notice is the tremendous cup of coffee Isabelle carries with her into the room. A bit on the tired side, myself, it sounds like a good idea.

"So," I say as we take our positions on the couch opposite one another. "First things first - Seattles Best coffee, or Starbucks?"

She chuckles, says: "Starbucks."

"Why?"

"Because," Isabelle says. "I've never seen a Seattle's Best Coffee in my life."

Oh. Well, then. Okay, enough funny business, on to the interview:

JW: The main event is only days away and it's looking like we'll break the records yet again. With such a large pool of players, do you think skill has taken a back seat to luck?

IM: No, I think it's the opposite. There are so many players that you really need to be good, strong, powerful, feel good, never let go, never make one mistake, never be unlucky, all together. It's even harder. I don't think the person that's going to win will just be lucky for nine days. I don't believe that.

JW: Are you feeling confident heading into the big show?

IM: I feel really good. I feel awesome. I've never felt better in my entire life.

JW: Well, that's a good answer!

IM: (chuckling) It's a really good answer! It's a really good feeling, also. It's like last year. I remember perfectly, I sat down in the main event and I had no real expectation, like most of the people. There's 10,000 people, how can you expect to win this, right? So I just sat down, and I think 'I'm going to play my best, and whatever happens, happens.' And 'whatever happens' is I bust out.

But this year I don't feel like that. This year I feel really good. I know I'm going to do well, I know I'm going to go far, and I think I'm going to win it. I think I'm the only player that thinks they're going to win it.

JW: You think you're going to win it?

IM: I think I'm going to win it. Right? I know that's crazy.

JW: No, that's good! I mean, yes, it is crazy...

IM: But crazy is good! I think I'm going to win it.

JW: Every year, it seems, at least one player comes into the World Series of Poker and impresses everyone, really proves what they're made of. Who has impressed you this year?

IM: Phil Hellmuth. I mean, I'm sure he's impressed a lot of people for a long time, but surprisingly he's the only player I'd never played with in my entire life. I don't know why. I've played with everybody, but I'd never sat down with him. And since I realized that he's been in my face all the time. He's just a really good player.

Actually, I don't think I won one single pot off of him all month. He won his 10th bracelet, he made the final of the $5,000 with me, called my bluff with K high. He just proved himself as one of the best.

JW: Are there any players that intimidate you at the table?

IM: No, not really. In the past there were, but now I have more experience, I know what I'm doing. It's not like I'm going to make a clown of myself, and if I do, I just do. I don't care, I just live it. So, no, intimidation is no longer a part of my life in poker.

JW: Do you think you intimidate other players?

IM: I'm sure I do. But I don't intimidate Phil Hellmuth, I'm sure of that. But it's going to come. (smiling) I'm working on it.

JW: Do you tilt?

IM: Less and less since I do a lot of meditation and work on myself. But I used to. Problem in poker is once you have something that affects you, you've lost already. You really gotta stay zenned.

JW: You have any special things you do to remain focused at the table?

IM: Breathe. I breath a lot. If I'm tired or out of focus, I'll just breathe. I often remind myself I have to forget about everything that's not right here, right now, on the green felt. Everything else doesn't matter. I like to stay in the moment.

JW: So if you weren't playing poker professionally right now, what would you be doing?

IM: That's a tough question. I really don't know! I would have fun, probably, enjoy my life. Maybe I'd go to Hollywood and take acting classes, try and make it in the movie business.

JW: You have visions of becoming a movie star?

IM: No, I have visions of this boat I really want, and apparently it costs millions of dollars! I've discovered that even winning the main event may not be enough so I may have to go that way, anyway.

JW: Of all the places you've been, where is your favorite place to play poker?

IM: Of course, the Aviation Club. You know I used to work there, and it's still my favorite place to play. There is no air conditioning like in America. They have the doors open and you can breathe the air... the real air. And the food is amazing French food. It's really elegant. I really like it.

JW: I will digress for a moment, but I, myself, am very upset with the way with media was handled at the WSOP this year. As a player, what's your reaction and your feelings?

IM: I'm just as upset as you are, because I'm not on the Full Tilt team. I'm pretty sure that all the players that are not on Full Tilt are pretty pissed because we have absolutely no coverage. None. I mean, they just talk about Clonie Gowen, John Juanda, don't talk about the other players. It's really tough for my family and friends that want to follow me and see how I do. They find nothing on most of these sites.

JW: What else bothers you?

IM: Also, security. Security is a big issue. We're playing for millions of dollars every day, with the same chips every day? I'm hoping they've created an all new set of chips for the main event. Right? Has to be!

JW: I wouldn't hold your breath.

IM: So how many players do you think kept chips in these last six weeks and are gonna bring them back for the main event?

JW: You really think that happens?

IM: (chuckling) Hundreds of players are going to do that. Of course! We're playing for $100 Million - this is huge. We're playing to become world champion, this is the biggest prize pool in the history of the world, in all sports, and there's zero security. I'm not happy about that.

I'm not happy about the way they changed things, either. I don't know if you heard about it or not, but I came to play the shootout no-limit event... I'm a late person, I know that. I live with it. I know when I arrive an hour late I lost 200 in chips. So when I arrived an hour late, oh no, it was 600. They decided to change the tournament to six-handed without telling anybody! So when I arrived my table was three handed, I had no more chips. I was really mad.

Negreanu, when he arrived, he'd busted already. His table was finished when he arrived because it was six handed. This is the World Series of Poker! We're playing for bracelets. You can't change the tournament the day of the tournament!

Part I | Part II

More Interviews

Justin West is Assistant Editor and a lead author for PokerPages.com. Having played poker since the age of 17, Justin spent more than a year earning a living on the green felt; a modest living, to be sure, but a living nonetheless. His aim was at one point to win the WSOP main event, thus causing Hell to freeze over. However, given his penchant for sin and his extreme dislike of cold weather, Justin has put that dream to rest.