Greg "FBT" Mueller is an intimidating player at the poker table. If his physical size and constant chatter don't make you question your hand then his reputation as a solid player might.
Mueller had a strong showing at the 2007 WSOP and nearly won his first bracelet in the first event. Since then the talkative Canadian has set about improving his body. The new, leaner FBT seems to have also improved his poker game in the process. He was one of the chip leaders at the end of Day 1a of the Aussie Millions and PokerListings.com talked to the well-known pro just after the day concluded.
So Greg, how did your day go?
It didn't start that well. I kinda took a beat in the first five minutes. This guy rivered a full house and didn't even realize it. He just slammed his cards on the table and was like, "Bah..." and I said, "Um - you've got a full house."
After that I took one more bad beat but then things went really well. I thought I played really solid and got some good reads. I slowly built my $20,000 into $108,000, which is what I ended the day with.
Did you have any big hands?
There was one. There was this guy at my table who was really aggressive and raised almost every hand where there were a few limpers. Then I was dealt K♣ J♣ and this guy was up to his usual antics and he raised big. I really thought he was trying to make a steal and I was getting a good price so I made the call. The flop came Q-J-8 and we both checked. A jack hit on the turn and I made trips so I checked and he bet and I called. The river was a king which gave me the full house so I checked again and he pushed all-in and I called.
He had 10-7 off-suit so my read on him was dead-on. He was making a stone move. That hand really gave me a lot of confidence but other than that I just chipped away.
How was your table?
My table was awesome. Everybody was friendly and everybody was nice. Most of the players were pretty passive and I was able to do what I wanted.
You had a good run at the 2007 WSOP, cashing numerous times. What have you been up to since then?
After the WSOP my goal was to stop touring until I lost 40 lbs. I hired a trainer and changed my diet and now I'm back. I played the Five Diamond in December.
How do you feel?
I feel a million times better.
What was the deciding factor in coming out to Australia for the Aussie Millions?
Well I'm a Full Tilt pro and they basically pay for expenses and everything and I also had a lot of fun last year. It's somewhere warm and I just thought, "Why not?"
What do you think of Australia?
I like Australia. I love the tennis. I'm a big sports fan so that's huge. I rallied with [former world No. 1 American tennis player] Jimmy Connors for 45 minutes yesterday so that was a ton of fun. I'm having a great time.
You have any strategy heading into Day 2?
Not really. It all depends on your table and your opponents and their chip stacks. Obviously if I've got Phil Ivey on my left with $1 million chips I'm going to play a little differently. We'll see what happens.
Thanks a lot Greg; good luck!
Already a dangerous player, Greg Mueller seems to be playing with even more fire in his game since taking a four-month hiatus from the game. The Canadian poker pro has amassed a burgeoning chip empire so his opponents better be on the lookout. FBT is on the aggressive.
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