When Isabelle Mercier quit her job as the poker boss of the Aviation Club de France in January 2004 to turn pro, most of the people she knew thought she was crazy. Although she had a few tournament results to her name, her carefree attitude to money meant that most of what she had won or earned had been spent on music and clothes, or given away to charities and friends in need. Which left her without the one thing all poker players need – a big bankroll.

‘I had an open-door weekend and sold all my possessions for ,000,’ she says.