It takes a road map to traverse the tangled maze of deceit in the third season of NBC's summer reality series "For Love or Money." Once again, 16 beautiful women are competing for a choice between a cocky bachelor, Preston Mercer, and a large cash prize.

The first twist is that the ladies don't know how much they're playing for. Some are in it for a million dollars, but others are prostituting their affections for a buck. Complicating matters is the fact that before the end of the first episode, Mercer knows the values of all of their secret checks and he knows that the ladies don't know. He also knows that they don't know that he knows.

Throw in the usual assortment of out-of-left-field twists and viewers may be left scratching their heads over the wildly divergent motivations. Mercer, who faces these challenges at the ripe old age of 25, thinks that the duplicity is what sets "For Love or Money" apart from the sea of "Bachelor" clones.

"I don't think it's like some of the other reality dating shows where you know they're all about you," Mercer says. "The girl could be putting her best foot forward, but it might be for the completely wrong reasons. I think more skepticism comes into play."

Mercer was cast in "For Love of Money" after a friend and "Dog Eat Dog" veteran recommended him to the show's casting directors. The show's producers liked him, but weren't immediately comfortable with building their show around such a youthful bachelor.

"I work in a business environment dominated by people twice my age, I've traveled the world," Mercer argues. "I think I have a lot more substance to myself and life experiences than the average 25-year-old and maybe puts me at a different level than your typical person who's just three year out of college."

Raised in an affluent and conservative Boulder, Colorado family and already running his own real estate mortgage company, Mercer has always surrounded himself with a support system of friends and family. Instead, he found himself standing alone against an onslaught of feminine wiles, as more than a few of the women admit, within seconds, that money is more useful to them than love.

"The thing that I found most challenging is that a lot of times in my life, I rely on friends and family if I'm seeking advice in life or if I'm looking for business advice," he says. "In this case I had nobody, I just had to rely on myself."

Mercer admits that once he discovered how much the women were playing for, he began to look at them differently, weeding out the "high maintenance" options and trying to predict which ladies came from economic situations which would make them more likely to take the money over him.

"There'd be times where if I took two equal woman and one was a million and one was worth a dollar, you're naturally going to keep the girl around who's worth a million dollars," he says casually.

Ultimately, he was able to view the game as a really exclusive singles bar.

"I knew how hard it was for me to get on the show with background checks. I figured if it's this hard for me to get on it, it's gonna be equally hard for these women," he explains. "What an awesome opportunity to meet 16 handpicked women from across the US. For me, I think really, all in all, it's the ultimate way to meet somebody."

Echoing that universal mantra of the reality show contestant, Mercer can't say if he found romance or a large cash prize, but he has no regrets.

"I'm happy with my decisions and I'm happy with who I was and I feel like I stayed true to myself," he says.

"For Love or Money" has its two-hour premiere on NBC on Monday, June 7 at 9 p.m. ET.