After more than a decade of grinding the World Series of Poker, Esther ‘Etay’ Taylor delivered a summer she — and anyone paying close attention — won’t soon forget.
The fan-favorite pro became only the second woman ever to reach the final table of the prestigious $50K Poker Players Championship, doing it with grace, poise, and her unmistakable ‘Etay’ style, ultimately finishing third for $595,136.
The summer love for Etay didn’t stop there.
Taylor finally went deep in the WSOP Main Event, finishing 152nd for $70,000, after ten years of coming up blank in what the ‘part-time pro’ considers the most iconic and best tournament in existence.
'Poker is so hard'
Like most seasoned poker pros, Taylor has weathered brutal variance and ridden the head-spinning highs of run-good, all while treating every session as a ‘nothing ventured, nothing gained’ lesson in the bank.
“In my opinion, what tests a true professional is how you deal and get through those times when things are going exceptionally well, and you feel like you’re the best player in the world. Then fast-forward two months, when I came off one of my biggest losing sessions in a cash game.
“So, how do I navigate such polarizing emotions and feelings and ups and downs in this industry? I'm being honest, poker is so hard.
“This past summer was obviously a very good summer for me. This may sound crazy, but it doesn't cross my mind that I've made it in poker and I'm at this top level where I can play or do anything.
“What crosses my mind is, ‘How can I not get third again? What can I do to move up or get second or first? That's the mentality that I have.
“I know I can navigate through these tournaments even though my style is kind of unconventional at times. I'm just in the streets of poker, is how I like to say it; it’s always a work in progress.”
Taylor is the latest big name to take the hot seat for an in-depth chat in our regular video/podcast series, The Interview.
In it, she shares how she quit her job at Wells Fargo to pursue a career in the game, developed her “Etay style” without ever once cracking a theory book, was overwhelmed by the love and support from fans and players this past summer, and what’s next for her on the poker horizon.
The full episode drops this weekend, but here’s a sneak peek.
Moneymaker who?
Several of Taylor’s friends introduced her to local low-limit cash games in 2005 while she was working at Wells Fargo Bank. It wasn’t long before her competitive nature kicked in, and she was instantly hooked.
“I was introduced to poker through some friends and was very interested right away,” says Taylor.” I was working at Wells Fargo Bank at the time and had a very good job.”
A year later, she was enamored enough with the game to tag along with friends to the World Series of Poker series that summer to see what the fuss was all about.
Taylor had not been part of the millions who had been inspired by Chris Moneymaker’s historic win, looping 24/7 on ESPN.
“I knew very little about the 'Moneymaker boom’ a few years prior. When I walked into that huge room at the Rio, I saw all these tables filled with women and different characters. I felt the buzz; it was pretty crazy.
“I played the ladies event that year and had no clue what I was doing. I'm competitive enough (even though this was probably dumb) that I'll just figure it out. I have enough confidence and trust in myself to dive in and compete. I'm not saying that's the right way to go about doing it, but that's just kind of how my style has always been.
“I remember my experience that first year at the WSOP being like nothing I've ever seen. Thinking back on it, it seemed so huge.
“Now I've gone to the World Series for 10 plus years. I'm more conditioned to it and know what to expect. But definitely as a newcomer, stepping into that competitive arena was pretty wild. You can't really prepare yourself for that experience if you haven't played a tournament there.”
That early WSOP experience gave Taylor a glimpse of what her future could look like, and it quickly became crystal clear that Wells Fargo wasn’t part of the picture.
“I eventually decided poker was the path I wanted to pursue. I quit my job at Wells Fargo—something I don't recommend to anyone now —that was 20 years ago. I just dove headfirst into poker, quite literally.”
Study Poker? No way.
These days, it’s hard to find a successful poker player who hasn’t buried themselves in solvers or strategy books; Taylor is the rare exception.
“I've actually never studied a single thing ever in my whole poker career. I've never once looked at a chart. I've seen them up on somebody's screen. I have a friend who wears a shirt with the chart on it, but I've never read a poker book. I've never studied. And that's just kind of how my playing style is.
“When I started playing poker, my friend and I were just kind of going around playing in my town in Oregon, playing $1/$2 no limit and limit hold 'em. I was learning the game that way: just jumping in and being immersed in it, even though I had no clue what was going on.
Along the way, Taylor found mixed games online and was intrigued by more than just the two-card games she had come across previously.
“Online poker was still available at the time. That was an easy route to get a ton of volume and hands in, even if you don't really understand what's going on. Playing online really accelerated the trial-and-error of playing hands.
“That's eventually how I got into mixed games, as you could learn at such an affordable rate back then. Now, it's pretty expensive. You have to kind of hop into a big cash game and whatnot. I would say that I got into poker at a pretty fortunate time.”
The full, exclusive episode of The Interview with Esther ‘Etay’ Taylor will be available this weekend at PokerOrg, on YouTube, and wherever you get your podcasts.
Check out previous episodes of The Interview through the links below.
