From what started as a natural curiosity about her husband's profession, has grown into something altogether more serious for Luiza Simão.

Poker was never on the 29-year-olds radar in her formative years. Instead, the Belo Horizonte native was busy enjoying the city's cosmopolitan charm - eating at nice restaurants, dancing to a samba beat or meeting up with friends whilst taking in the breath-taking mountain views.

Luiza swapped the sunshine of Brazil for the sunshine of Australia, where she worked and travelled for a year. She quickly picked up the language, encouraging her to return to Brazil to set up her own English School.

Luiza's other half, and partypoker ambassador Joao, is a Brazilian poker legend. Supporting her husband in his career peeked an interest in poker, an interest that lead to a fascination. Unsurprisingly, Luiza found that a man who has won over $1.7 million in live tournaments and over $6 million online, is a handy resource for those looking to improve their own game! Now it's Luiza herself who answers poker related questions of wives, mothers and girlfriends of Brazilian players who want to know more about poker!

Although Joao has proved a useful mentor for his wife, Luiza is an extremely skilled player in her own right. Her tournament highlights include a semi-final finish in an EPT Barcelona event, final tabling in the Brazilian Series of Poker, 6th place in a PCA Bahamas event and winning a $10k Vegas package last year. Luiza particularly enjoys Ladies events, and finishing 3rd in two separate Brazilian Series of Poker Ladies tournaments will have no doubt added to her enjoyment!

Luiza has truly been bitten by the poker bug, and has subsequently switched focus from her English school to a poker school. Alongside her husband and fellow Brazilian poker pros and online teammates, Renato Nomura and Lui Martins, Massari poker school provides resources and guidance for aspiring poker players.

With two kids to raise and a poker school to manage, Luiza's time on the felt may be a little more limited than most. However, this half of Brazil's premier poker couple is certainly a player to watch out for when she does!