Poker After Dark and High Stakes Poker both showed that you could create a highly successful TV show out of watching famous poker players sitting around the felt. Since this time, numerous other poker shows have spawned in an effort to claim the same success that the two aforementioned shows have enjoyed. Unfortunately, most of these shows have only lasted a season or two showing that there is only so much of a market for poker shows right now.
Nevertheless, Face the Ace has arisen from the ashes of failed poker shows in an attempt to garner an audience large enough to justify its existence. Face the Ace differs itself from other shows in the fact that a contestant will pick from 4 doors to find out what poker pro they’ll play heads-up for cash. If the contestant wins the first round, they win $40k and can move to the second round or walk away with the money. Round 2 has the same format with $200k on the table instead, and round 3 has the ultimate prize in $1 million if the person wins.
Unfortunately, just being unique isn’t enough to justify having yet another poker show on the air, and this was proven by Face the Ace’s low 1.54 million viewer rating. And while some shows might rejoice at this rating, Face the Ace is in the 9 pm Saturday time slot on NBC which means it has a little loftier standards.
The debut of Face the Ace couldn’t even beat a rerun of the FBI-based show Numb3ers (currently in season 5) which goes to show that it will have an uphill climb if it is to remain on television. Unfortunately, this is one hill that I don’t think Face the Ace will be able to climb.