A torque-balanced, gas-blocking wireline cable and a method of making the cable includes an electrically conductive cable core for transmitting electrical power and surrounding inner and outer layers of a plurality of armor wires. Gas blocking is achieved by placing a soft polymer layer over the core before the inner wires are cabled thereon. The inner wires imbed partially into the soft polymer layer such that no gaps are left between the inner wires and the core. A second soft polymer layer is optionally extruded over the inner wires before the outer wires are applied. The second soft polymer layer fills any spaces between the inner and outer wire layers and prevents pressurized gas from infiltrating between the wires. The inner wires have larger diameters than the outer wires such that the inner wires carry approximately 60% of the load and torque imbalance is prevented.