Pamela Balzano Represents Argentinian Poker on Twitch, YouTube and Beyond
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There are plenty of poker journalists and live reporters out there that most enthusiasts of the card game barely know or, if at all, by their nicknames in the updates and news articles. Others have been working in the industry for many years and need no introduction.
And then there's the new faces that emerge and try something different to provide everything poker to a wider audience in an industry many feel is in need of fresh blood.
A few years ago, a young Argentinian with the nickname “Pamsi” emerged on the scene and quickly found her spot in the world of poker with the help of a very enthusiastic approach. She has since opted to use her real name, Pamela Balzano, and has become a fan favorite for all things poker in South America.
Finding the Game
The twenty-three-year old Balzano was introduced to the card game at a young age as her brother, seven years older, started playing online when he was 18 years old.
“He always talked to me about poker hands," Balzano said. "I didn't know how to play, just the rules because of him. That's how I knew about poker. I always liked photography and when I turned 15, my brother actually gave me a camera and I studied photography in high school. When I was 18 years old, I sent a CV letter to Codigo Poker to take poker pictures and they said yes.”
“When I started my channel it was just a game, I didn't know if people would like it."
It would be the start of her career in poker, but soon she would expand far beyond just taking photos of players. Two and a half years later, Balzano tinkered around and created a YouTube channel, posting edited video content.
“At the time it was 'Pamsi,' now it is more professional,” Balzano mentioned when talking about her social media exploits in the last five years. “When I started my channel it was just a game, I didn't know if people would like it. It was difficult to imagine the success. All my videos are funny, they also include tutorials and staff.”
It took a year and the help of her best friend to come up with a video series called “Draw My Life,” which includes hand-drawn story telling of such well-known poker players as Adrian Mateos, Fedor Holz, Stu Ungar and Doyle Brunson. Brunson's video alone has already gathered more than 109,000 views, and Balzano received feedback and praise by the poker legend himself via Twitter. You can watch the video yourself right here:
Out on a Limb
True to the motto 'If you don't ask, you'll never know,' Balzano directly reached out to well-known players via social media and inquired whether or not they'd be interested in answering a few questions about themselves.
“I always try to talk with the players and don't want to get the information on Google. With Doyle it was different. A person like Doyle might not answer a lot of questions. I read his book and at the beginning, he talks about his life and I studied it to make the video. When I posted it, of course I tagged him with other players and it was incredible that he retweeted and also said something like 'If I could give an Oscar to someone, I would give it to you.' I couldn't believe it.”
"[Doyle Brunson] said something like 'If I could give an Oscar to someone, I would give it to you.' I couldn't believe it.”
It was a great boost to her channel and confidence, as her portfolio continued to grow. At the beginning, most of the content was aimed at the booming South American market and she started to gain attention during the live events.
“People started asking for pictures with me, it was weird.”
In 2017, World Series of Poker sponsor 888poker reached out to Balzano and she headed to Las Vegas to be their Spanish-speaking host during the Main Event. In a happy coincidence, fellow countryman Damian Salas reached the final table and finished seventh out of a field of 7,221 entries for a payday of $1,425,000 while Richard Dubini ended up in 12th place for a career-best score of $535,000.
Fast forward two years to 2019 and Balzano was back in Sin City to cover the $10,000 Main Event for her social media channels and to create content for Enjoy Punta del Este. The Resort and Casino on the Atlantic Coast in the Southeast of Uruguay, the only Las Vegas-style casino in South America, has already hosted international poker tournaments for PokerStars and partypokerLIVE, as well as the WSOP Circuit.
Taking Her Seat at the Felt
While traveling in and outside of South America has been common for the Argentinian, she is currently also trying to add another chapter to her poker resume.
“I changed my main social media, I am not doing videos anymore like in the past. Now I am a host for Twitch with partypoker Latam and try to study more, turn into a poker player. I know it is a long way to go. I actually started my Twitch channel one year ago and started to stream; because of this, I really want to study and play more poker. The better social media network for that is Twitch and it has been successful with more than one million views in one year.”
"Now I am a host for Twitch with partypoker Latam and try to study more, turn into a poker player."
While her online exploits have already been crowned with some success, Balzano has also been joining the action at the live poker tables at Enjoy Punta del Este and has reached the final table of their regularly scheduled events, even winning one recently.
“I got so nervous, it is very stressful and really different than online. Now I am playing often and go to play the weekly tournaments at Punta del Este twice a week. It has already changed, two months ago I was freaking out and now I am more quiet and relaxed.”
In her five years on the poker circuit, Balzano has met a lot of South American and international poker players and she shared who she considers to be some of her favorite players, as difficult as it was to narrow it down.
"Two months ago I was freaking out [at the live tables] and now I am more quiet and relaxed.”
“Oh my god, let me see...For South America I am going to say 'Connie' [Maria Lampropulos] because of a lot of things. She is very very good at playing and she is also a very good person. This is an important thing. For international I would always say Fedor Holz, but there are a lot of good players, but that's my favorite. He is also very young and very good, that's a quality I like.”
Many young aspiring poker players have earned their merits on the virtual felt before successfully transitioning to live poker, and Balzano hopes to follow in those footsteps. Most importantly, Balzano has the creativity and drive to try out new things related to poker at a time when new ways to engage with players are welcomed by the poker community and fans of the game alike.
Whether her primary role will be behind or in front of the camera remains to be seen. Either way, Balzano is in a good environment to progress, with the South American market booming right now and countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay being famous for players full of passion for the game.
The live events are growing year-after-year and their success is not just limited to their home countries as evidenced by plenty of deep runs by players from these countries during the 2019 WSOP. As poker continues to grow in South America, you can bet that Pamela Balzano will be at the forefront as she has come to represent Argentinian poker on a number of platforms.
You can follow Balzano on Twitter @pamelabalzano, check out her YouTube channel and watch her stream poker at Twitch.tv/pamelabalzano.
Photos courtesy of Pamela Balzano.
