"I really like the direction partypoker is going" says Team Online's Jordan Drummond
In the latest in a series right here on PokerNews, we'll be profiling some of the poker world's most exciting streamers who showcase their play to the world on streaming sites such as Twitch.
Today it's the turn of Jordan Drummond, better known under the moniker BigBluffZInc online. The Canadian made a name for himself after running up a $10 bankroll back in 2009. The CEO, owner and head coach of BBZ staking, and new partypoker Team Online member has turned to stream and that turned out to be a bigger gamble than expected.
Drummond actually needed a pretty big push to mingle in the Twitch poker streets to begin with.
Play with Drummond on partypoker
"I didn't want to do it because I had the perspective that Twitch was very competitive, just like poker, and that if I wanted to be competitive that I would have to stream a lot. I just had a daughter, she is two and a half years old now. I didn't want to commit six days a week to grinding on Twitch.
"They ultimately convinced me to do it and told me it would be very positive for BBZ businesses. We're probably talking about over a year of them pushing me to stream."
The Canadian had built a big name for himself and his business before he dabbled in the entertainment part of poker.
"We tried multiple alternatives to Twitch but I didn't think they were at the level where I wanted them to be at so I said 'fine, we start streaming and see what happens'."
The streaming started pretty easy for Drummond, but the man known as The Undecided on partypoker started to feel the pressure when more people joined his streaming adventures on Twitch.
"The switch from just playing poker was easy. It got stressful when I had a thousand people tuning in. I was pretty nervous at one point that I even forgot to eat. Now that's all good and I really enjoy it. It's a lot of fun! Having the BBZ community made poker so much better for me and now I have an even bigger community through Twitch."
"It got stressful when I had a thousand people tuning in. I was pretty nervous at one point that I even forgot to eat.
What separates Drummond from the rest of the streamers is his high stakes history. The Canadian partypoker PRO plays with an average buy-in of $1,300 and joins the highest stakes available on the internet.
"If you're a reg and you like to be entertained, but also get a bit better and spend your time somewhat productive. Are you going to watch a stream where you're much better than the person who streams? There aren't many players that stream regularly where someone capable of winning at mid-stakes games in poker can tune in and get a lot of value out of it. I think my stream is unique in that position."
It turns out people do love to learn by watching high-quality streams as Drummond's channel grew to over 22,000 followers in about six months.
What started as a marketing move for BBZ Staking ended up being something Drummond really enjoyed doing. His channel grew big in a short time and he used the help of teammate Jaime Staples to help smoothen out the stream.
"Jaime Staples is the guy I interface with the most. The relationship is great. He is super helpful in regard to streaming tips and what I can do to change things up. He has a lot of great ideas. I've had a little bit of interaction with Jeff Gross (pictured). It's amazing when these guys raid my channel. My chat treats them as Twitch celebrities and it is awesome. I would like to spend more time with them but I haven't had the chance to yet."
Drummond had partypoker behind him as a sponsor and Drummond loves to be affiliated with them.
"It's so nice because I really like the direction partypoker is going to. Especially in the last 12 months. It's very poker player positive. They have the Diamond Elite promotion now and the Cash game Leaderboards. There is a lot of positive investment and specifically in the poker component of their business. It seems to contrast with some of the other businesses in poker. Being a part of them is easy.
"I really like the direction partypoker is going to. Especially in the last 12 months. It's very poker player positive."
"They're doing things that as a poker player that plays a lot is great. When my audience asks me it's easy to proudly wear the partypoker patch. It makes things fun."
Although he admits he's not aiming for leaderboards or specific VIP status, Drummond says his focus will always be winning in general and being able to compete at the highest stakes. He is driven to using his streaming to help his career in the broader sense.
"If I tried to stream and then failed to play the highest stakes and then lost all the time, all my businesses would have suffered. The players I stake would have lost faith in my ability to coach, the people that I cfp [coaching for profit] the same thing. The seminar attendance would have dropped. I would have lost a lot of capital. I could easily lose 800k to 1.2 million in a swing at the stakes I play.
"I'm doing everything I can to be as competitive as I am to avoid that from happening. It was a big bet for me. I'm driven to be competitive and as effective as possible"
