Isabelle Mercier

Isabelle Mercier Profile
	Nickname: No Mercy Pokerstars Username: Web: www.pokerstars.com Birthdate: August 5th 1975 Birthplace: Victoriaville, Quebec Residence: NFA Tournaments Won: 2 WSOP Bracelets: 0 Total Winnings: $687,889

In March 2005, Isabelle Mercier was in Monte Carlo playing in a Texas Hold’em event during the European Poker Tour’s first season. She was amongst the remaining thirty players and battling to stay in the tournament for the following day’ s finale. Mercier had pocket Q♥ Q♣ and had raised the betting by 15,000 chips. Next to play was Marcel Luske who had been talking to rest of the table during Mercier’s raise and looking at his cards announced ‘all in.’ A call wouldn’t have knocked Mercier out of the tournament but would have seriously dented her chip stack. But she decided it was well worth the gamble and smiling at Luske, pushed her chips into the pot. Luske turned over his cards, showing a A♥ Q♠ and both players watched the flop intently. 9♦ 8♠ 6♠ came out and Luske was in trouble until the A♠ appeared on the turn. Not only had he paired his aces but he was on a flush draw now as well. Mercier shook her head knowing that with Luske holding a queen, only one card in the deck could win her the pot now, the very same card that turned up on the river, the Q♦. Mercier gasped as Luske jumped to his feet and slapped the table. Mercier bit her lower lip knowing she had got lucky but then again she had still been 70% likely to win the hand pre-flop. The chips Mercier won helped her to a tenth place finish and a $31,811 payout.

Isabelle’s first experiences in a casino were at the Casino de Montreal where she worked as a blackjack dealer whilst studying law at the city’s University. After graduating, she worked for a year before deciding to cross the Atlantic. In Paris, she combined her studies with casino life again but this time she was studying for a master’s degree and dealing the cards for poker players. The casino in Paris where she worked was the renowned Aviation Club de France and after obtaining her Master’s degree in 1999, she went to work there full time. Her boss, French poker player Bruno Fitoussi promoted her to poker room manager and during this time, Mercier was nominated for ‘casino staff person of the year’ in the European Poker Awards. But after four years at the club, Isabelle was itching to be the one who had cards dealt to her rather than the other way around. However, it was a not time wasted as being a poker dealer had proved to be a great apprenticeship. With a second place tournament finish in 2002 already under her belt, she sold the majority of possessions, began to live out of a suitcase and hit the professional poker world in 2004.

Her first major success came in September 2004 when she won a televised World Poker Tour Invitational Ladies event and describing her aggressive playing style commentator Dave Sexton dubbed her ‘No Mercy’ Mercier. Over the next year, her tour of poker events brought her back to France via Holland and included many final table finishes in minor tournaments. Then two No Limit Hold’em Events in Monte Carlo helped further her reputation when she finished tenth in the EPT main event and then won a smaller buy-in event a few days later. Since then, she has achieved several more final table finishes and has finished in the money in WPT and EPT main events. Her highest cash finish so far was at the World Series of Poker in 2006 when she finished fifth in a $5,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event and took away $175,404.

Isabelle doesn’t have an apartment anywhere and enjoys the freedom of living without a mortgage and all the trappings that come with having a permanent base. Instead she stays in hotel rooms around the world and she has succeeded in being able to continue with this lifestyle despite starting out with a bankroll of only $10,000. She has paid for nomadic existence through her cash prizes in tournaments, preferring them to cash games, as the play is more aggressive and that tournaments have a beginning and an end. She prepares for on the morning of events with a relaxing candlelit bath before listening to loud music to get her adrenaline going.

Mercier believes she has a talent for reading players and that in general, women have a natural empathy which means they can ‘have a greater ability to see through’ their poker opponents. She has been known to stare intently at her opposition, mainly to aid her read but it can also have an intimidating side effect. Isabelle has been involved in some poker side projects as well, including commentating at the EPT, an instructional DVD and an autobiography called ‘Profession : bluffeuse.’ Since her 2004 WPT victory, she has been a professional member of Pokerstars.com where she plays under her nickname ‘No Mercy’ and it is possible to play her online without having to suffer the scrutiny of her piercing glare.  

You can play online poker with Isabelle Mercier at Pokerstars. Check out our Pokerstars Marketing Code for a sign-up bonus of $600 - or you can download Pokerstars here.

Isabelle Mercier Tournament Wins
	Event* Date Position Winnings Asian Pacific Poker Tour Sydney Ladies Event Dec 6th 2007 3rd $675 38th Annual WSOP Event 53 - WSOP Shootout - Limit Hold'em Jul 3rd 2007 24th $6,634 Bellagio Weekly Tournament Mar 10th 2007 3rd $36,375 Bellagio Cup II Tournament Jul 25th 2006 7th $4,900 37th Annual WSOP Event 9 Jul 4th 2006 5th $175,404 37th Annual WSOP Event 2 Jun 27th 2006 220th $2,274 The French Open EPT/Pokerstars Season 2 Feb 11th 2006 7th $79,686 36th Annual WSOP Event 33 Jul 1st 2005 95th $3,065 36th Annual WSOP Event 13 Jun 14th 2005 33rd $8,760 36th Annual WSOP Event 3 - WSOP Pot Limit Hold'em Jun 4th 2005 80th $2,215 Paris Open Of Poker May 9th 2005 2nd $3,991 Five-Star World Poker Classic WPT Championship Season 3 Apr 13th 2005 9th $11,700 Grand Final Event EPT/Pokerstars Season 1 Mar 19th 2005 1st $33,631 Grand Final Event EPT/Pokerstars Season 1 Mar 16th 2005 10th $31,324 The French Open EPT/Pokerstars Season 1 Feb 18th 2005 10th $2,949 Euro Finals Of Poker Feb 12th 2005 7th $11,206 Euro Finals Of Poker Limit Hold'em Feb 3rd 2005 2nd $1,383 Hold 'em Series Nov 20th 2004 7th $7,405 Hold 'em Series Pot Limit Hold'em Nov 17th 2004 6th $786 Hold 'em Series Pot Limit Hold'em Nov 16th 2004 6th $2,202 Master Classics of Poker & Lido International Nov 7th 2004 5th $20,708 Legends of Poker WPT Season 3 Event 34 Sep 3rd 2004 6th $1,145 Legends of Poker WPT Season 3 – Ladies Night Out – Invitational Sep 1st 2004 1st $25,000 Empire State Hold 'Em Championship Aug 15th 2004 4th $9,534 Master Classics of Poker Event 5 Nov 8th 2002 2nd $70,376

* All Events No Limit Hold'em except where stated.

You can play online poker with Isabelle Mercier at Pokerstars.

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