Professional Bluffer

@Isabelle Mercier was born in Victoriaville, Quebec, Canada. She studied law at the University of Montreal but ended up practicing for only 6 months; this being the minimum delay in order to obtain her license. Refusing to settle for a 9 to 5 job, she turned down a position with the “Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec” (Quebec Deposit and Investment Fund).

Instead, she sent her resume to more than hundred casinos worldwide. She envisionned that working in the gaming industry could help her fulfill her dream of becoming a globetrotter. Penniless, she flew to Paris trying to get a job at the Aviation Club de France (ACF), a renowned game club located on the Champs Élysées. Once hired and working the night shift, she also studied at the Sorbonne Univertisty in order to obtain her French working visa, while completing a master's degree in International Law. Determined, she quickly climbed her way up to a managerial position at the ACF's poker room.

Constantly in contact with the big names of poker, Isabelle saw that becoming a professional poker player could be a possible career path. After a few years, driven by desire and the constant need to push herself, she was unstoppable. She sold all her belongings in order to bankroll herself, growing into a full-fledged professional poker player. She started living in her suitcases and risk became an integral part of her life.

In 2004, she hit the jackpot by winning the World Poker Tour (WPT) Ladies Night Tournament. During that tournament, Isabelle was given the nickname “No Mercy” by the famous poker legend and commentator, Mike Sexton. This nickname is a reference to her aggressive and merciless game play.

World Poker Tour WPT Ladies Night II 2004 pt1 by wsop08

Following her remarkable success, Isabelle was noticed by a popular online poker site and was offered to be an international spokesperson for the company. Soon after, Isabelle was shot to stardom increasing her media coverage worldwide. In 2009, “No Mercy” gave back 260,000€ to the Darfur cause, the totality of her first place prize at the tournament “Ante Up for Africa”, and her winnings exceed one million dollars in tournament prizes.

Today, she is a renowned player and a major influence in the world of poker, thanks to her many projects, which highlight her creativity and flair for business. Her autobiography “Profession: Bluffer” came out in Canada on January 16th, 2008, in France on February 8th, 2008, and in Italy in December of that same year. Her DVD “Win at poker, by Isabelle Mercier”, distributed by Warner, was released on March 4th, 2008, in France.

In 2010, Isabelle was the commentator of the poker series “High Stakes Poker” Seasons 4 and 5, for Orange Sport channel in France, and she came back to the screen in 2011 as the commentator of the 30 episodes of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) of Las Vegas.

Isabelle lives in Monaco, and is the manager of her own company, “No Mercy Productions” based and created in the Principality of Monaco in October 2012.