Generation Next -- Taylor Paur

Taylor Paur Ventures
Outside the Box

Online tournament star Taylor Paur knows all too well the pitfalls of by-the-book poker. After a big bankroll downswing last spring, he went back to the drawing board, looking to re-evaluate his game and patch any costly leaks. The latest poker books and forum strategy posts had to be eschewed. By following the latest hot trends, his game had become stale and easy to adjust to and exploit. He knew that in order to be successful, he had to rekindle his imagination, and learn to deceive and confuse opponents into making fatal mistakes. So, he looked within for inspiration.

“I started to discover creative ways to play hands,” said Paur. “Why I will play a hand in a different manner is based on my perception of my opponent and his hand ranges, and what I think he will think of what I’m doing. I study away from the table to find nonstandard approaches to hands and implement them in my game. These creative plays enable me to accumulate chips over the long run.”

To say Paur’s forays outside the box were successful would be a quantum understatement. Since retooling his game, he’s plundered the online scene, racking up more than $1.3 million in total cashes. His biggest score came from a chop for $189,000 in a Full Tilt Online Poker Series six-max $300 rebuy event. Last September, he turned 21 and stepped into the live arena. At the recent WPT L.A. Poker Classic, he made the final table of the $1,000 no-limit hold’em rebuy event, and finished seventh, for $31,500. He then went on to capture 37th place in the $10,000 buy-in main event, for $33,614.

By trial and error, Paur has busted loose from the confines of the limited thinking of the herd mentality to grow his game exponentially. He’s made short work of his travels up the rankings to earn a spot as one of the top 10 online players in the world; next stop, a live championship title.

Craig Tapscott: What was one of the keys to fine-tuning your game as you moved up in stakes early on?

Taylor Paur: My initial success came when I became a stronger preflop player, learning how to three-bet and four-bet. I had to learn proper bet-sizing, and how to best use position to my advantage. After I got that down, I started to improve my post-flop game.

CT: What did you tweak there?

TP: Well, you can be more creative post-flop than you can preflop. You can put more pressure on people. You certainly can make someone fold post-flop much easier than you can preflop, especially in the games these days. So many players are so aggressive preflop that if you’re putting them to a decision, it’s going to be hard to make them fold.

CT: Last year, you made a backing deal with two great online players, “pokerjamers” and “dipthrong.” Can you share how that has helped your game?

TP: I went on a downswing after last year’s PokerStars Caribbean Adventure event. I was thinking about getting backed, so I contacted Jamie “pokerjamers” Armstrong to learn about his backing deal. It turns out that he and dipthrong had started backing players. I learned so much from watching both players. And having a group of good poker friends to talk hands with is the main thing I like about being backed. Their input really got me to think more “outside the box.” And once I looked at some of the ways they were suggesting that I play hands, it inspired me to look at even more creative ways to play.

CT: How do you combat getting three-bet repeatedly by aggressive opponents preflop?

TP: It changes with the flow of the game. If someone opens from the cutoff position and the button three-bets, I know that’s a pretty standard spot to three-bet someone. Perceptive players are going to play back at that move a lot, but there’s a lot of metagame involved with thinking players. It looks like a great spot to three-bet, so people will four-bet there.

CT: Can you take advantage of that situation by four-betting from the blinds?

TP: Yes. I started to do it more after watching a few players, especially “Moorman1.” He does it more than anyone. You can take advantage of weak ranges or light three-betting if you can be perceived as having fold equity. The original raiser has to have a strong hand, because the three-bettor could actually have something. It’s hard for the initial opener to have a hand that’s strong enough to continue, and if the three-bettor is not strong, you can accumulate a lot of chips that way.

CT: That’s a great weapon for our readers to have in their arsenals. Thanks for your time, Taylor.