French filmmaker Loic Xans, who was the brains behind poker documentaries Un Jour Viendra (A Day Will Come) and Après la Nuit (After the Night), has released his latest poker flick titled Pour La Gloire (For Glory).
The documentary, which premiered earlier this month, follows the ‘Team Nuts’R‘ poker stable across the 2021 and 2022 World Series of Poker. It’s a superb 60-minute program that lets you go backstage at the WSOP and accurately displays the reality of what poker players do in order to achieve greatness in the game.
From Cambodia to Sin City
Based in Cambodia, Nuts’R is the first-ever professional poker training center, which was founded by Romain Nussman and Alexandre Baport in 2019.
The hotel facility looks to curate the best poker players in the future and provides a wide array of both physical and mental coaching and training. Those who live at Nuts’R study and grind intensely to be selected for one of the five slots available on the team. Those chosen then get whisked off to Las Vegas with the aim to walk away with a coveted WSOP bracelet and the spoils that come with it.
Nussmann took one of the spaces on Team Live Pro and invited Léo “Olux” Soma, Jérémy “Kawashenko” Jehanne, Boris “Lebordelaii” Berthomet and Clément “Kortex” Van Driessche to join him in Sin City.
The story then begins to focus on the group’s aspirations of redemption, following self-admitted poor live year in 2021. The ups and downs of being in a poker team are then covered, with Soma’s bracelet win in Event #14: $1,500 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em being one of the many highlights.
Of course, there is plenty of action caught from the 2022 WSOP Main Event which was won by Espen Jorstad. If you’ve ever wondered what it’d be like to make the money in the Main Event, and how it would feel then be sure to give For Glory your attention.
The Collective Must Overcome
One of the most enjoyable aspects of the film is the comradery and togetherness Team Nuts’R shares. And that’s fully seen with the bracelet celebrations montage that followed. However, the atmosphere and kinship are something that is worked on. As mentioned, the team undergoes mental coaching where the idea of ‘the collective over the individual,’ is emphasized heavily.
It provided an interesting take on a game where primarily everyone is looking out for themselves and themselves alone when on the felt. And for Nuts’R to embody that spirit is admirable in their quest for poker glory.
Authentic Poker Viewing
So if you have an hour spare, then check out For Glory. It’s a different taste from several vlog style-poker documentaries due to the team-based nature.
Furthermore, if you’ve ever wanted to know what it’s like to be a poker pro at the WSOP, For Glory gives you that looking glass. While glitz and glamour exist plentiful in the poker world, often the grind to get there is not shown. Twelve-plus hour grinds are hard and take their toll and it’s nice to see that this isn’t shied away from.
This project shot at the very heart of the WSOP was on a whole different scale for Xans.
“The documentary on the Nuts’R team was a great adventure with a lot of new experiences for me. Having to shoot abroad, set up a talented film crew, and receive the rushes every day to check, analyze, redo or start over” Xans said.
“After the filming of the 2021 WSOP and the lack of success of the team, we were very hesitant to release the documentary or to push the filming to a second year at the WSOP. And thankfully, in the end, it was this last option that was chosen.”
Editor & Live Reporter
Calum has been a part of the PokerNews team since September 2021 after working in the UK energy sector. He played his first hand of poker in 2017 and immediately fell in love with the game. Calum’s proudest poker achievement is winning the only tournament he has ever played in Las Vegas, the prestigious $60 Flamingo evening event.