There are two types of Esther Taylor fans and admirers – new school and old school – and both appear equally excited to be on board. 

Newer people boarding the ETay train saw her have a tremendous poker summer, making history for women in poker and nearly winning the prestigious Poker Players Championship. 

Longtime fans have been on that train since her poker career began just a few years after Chris Moneymaker’s historic moment. Taylor had a big second-place finish in a Circuit Main Event in 2009, and she was a skilled mixed game player crisscrossing America before most players knew what games were even in a H.O.R.S.E. tournament.

Even more poker players and watchers began to pay attention to Taylor after she took a break to bring her daughter into the world. She returned in 2015 and got to work, almost immediately making the final table of the WPT Borgata Winter Open Main Event and finishing fifth. 

At the World Series of Poker, she finished fourth in the Stud-8 Championship in 2016, made four final tables there in 2017 (her best tournament year until 2025) in games like the Omaha/Hold’em mix and PLO High Roller. She won events around the United States in series like the WPT Championship and the SHRPO in Florida. She won a Circuit ring in PLO in 2023 and made the final table of the World Series H.O.R.S.E. Championship. 

But no matter when poker fans discovered Esther “ETay” Taylor, they all ended up at the same destination at the same time – watching her on the world poker stage in the summer of 2025 as she made her most famous mark on the game to date:

• 3rd place in $50,000 buy-in Poker Players Championship
• 18th place in $10,000 buy-in Stud-8 Championship
• 152nd place in $10,000 buy-in World Championship (of 9,735 players)
• Six (6) other World Series cashes

She then went to Florida for the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open and final tabled a PLO-8 tournament for good measure. 

At Taylor’s East Coast home casino, Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, she was focusing on bringing more players into the mixed game world. As a part of the upcoming Borgata Big Big Buy-In Event series, she’s hosting the aptly-named “E-Tay’s Big Big 9-Game Mix” on September 9-10  – Event 2 on the schedule – with a massive $250,000 guarantee. She also convinced the powers-that-be to add a $1,100 H.O.R.S.E. event on September 7, the day of the BetMGM Poker Tournament Room Grand Opening celebration at Borgata. Further, she is hosting VIP mixed game cash action at all stakes and with reduced rake September 9-11.

We chatted with ETay as she prepares for upcoming Borgata events.

BetMGM:  While some people know of your Las Vegas successes, your home base is on the East Coast. What role has Borgata played in your poker career?

ETay:  I moved to the East Coast a year after I started playing poker seriously, and when I got pregnant with my daughter. It was also the same year as Black Friday, so I didn’t really play any poker until my daughter was older, in about 2015. One of the first tournaments I played upon my return was WPT Borgata where I made the final table! That gave me a huge boost in my poker career. I feel like that’s when my career actually started.

BetMGM:  How did you come to partner with Borgata and BetMGM Poker for your own Big Big Buy-in event at the upcoming series?

ETay:  BetMGM had approached me going into the final table of the PPC this summer and wanted to know if I was interested in representing their brand, and it was an absolute no-brainer, as I feel like they are close to home to me and a brand that I highly respect and was honored to represent. That led to discussions about how we can make mix games a bigger presence on the East Coast, and a few weeks later we had the biggest 9-game mix tournament ever offered on the East Coast on the schedule!

BetMGM:  Inevitably, there are players thinking of expanding beyond Hold’em and possibly Omaha. Why should they pursue that jump into mixed poker games?

ETay: Mixed games are way more fun, you have more room for creativity, and it is not nearly as solved as NLH, and so if you can get versed in the games, your edge is much wider. It’s like any competitive career, if you want to be at the top, you have to learn every aspect of the craft. With poker, that includes mix games. 

BetMGM:  Of the games featured in your Big Big 9-Game Mix, which are the easiest to learn for newcomers who may only know Hold’em and Omaha?

ETay:  I honestly think it’s easiest to start with H.O.R.S.E in that order. You have to first learn the basic strategies of split games; I think that is where the biggest edge for elite players lies. It’s like anything, you need volume. Play as many hands as you can, in as many situations as possible, at the lowest variance, until you are comfortable to be put in any hand situation that arises and you can navigate to the best of your ability. 

BetMGM:  Will there be a satellite for the 9-Game Mix?

ETay:  Unfortunately we were not able to add a satellite, but Borgata and BetMGM worked hard to add an $1,100 HORSE to the Big Big schedule two days before the 9-Game. I basically consider that to be a satellite!

BetMGM:  How can a player get into your VIP mixed cash games September 9-11? Tell us a little about the buy-ins and game selection.

ETay:  We are hoping to have run three tables at low, medium, and high stakes. We will listen to player feedback and try to form games that most are happy with. If you would like to be on the list, please email me (etaypoker@gmail.com) or send a DM on Twitter/X or Instagram. Our VIP treatment will run from 6-8 p.m. with food and drinks, but the games can run as long as there is player interest.

BetMGM:  Considering all the poker variants in your repertoire, what is your favorite game and why?

ETay:  It has always been Stud Hi/Lo. It is the game I am most comfortable in. You can get really creative in the game, even though most people perceive it to be straightforward and boring; it’s absolutely the opposite. I am basically a fan of any hi/lo variant of poker!

Play Satellites and More Online at BetMGM Poker

Several of the events in Borgata’s Big Big Buy-In Event series are now running satellites on BetMGM Poker – which is convenient because this Borgata series is powered by BetMGM Poker. And players benefit the most, as they can start with just a few dollars and win their way to Big Big Buy-In live events, this time in Atlantic City. It’s simple to get started playing online at BetMGM, especially with a nice poker welcome bonus to pair with your first deposit. Good luck, and we hope to see you online and at Borgata!