Greg Mueller seeks first WSOP bracelet

Greg Mueller at the 2007 World Series of Poker Event 1 final table.

The first event of the 2007 World Series of Poker heads into its final table today with 10 hungry poker players looking for victory. Among them is a Canadian who's made the smooth transition from cash game specialist to tournament play.

He brings to the final table a fairly large chip stack, though not the lead, and the high spirits of just having seen his friend win a World Poker Tour championship the night before. He took time before bellying up to the felt to talk to PokerListings.com about the $5,000 Mixed Event and his game plan.

What kind of a strategy did you have that got you through the first two days of this event?

I think a lot of the people went crazy in the No-Limit, where I just sat back because the blinds were relatively small and no antes. So, I focused more on the Limit part and just watched the No-Limit unless I had a real good hand.

Is limit more of your specialty?

No, I wouldn't say that. It was my specialty so I know both games very well, but I just think that portion of the tournament plays bigger. In most No-Limit tournaments there's an ante, and because there wasn't one in this one, stealing blinds becomes very over-rated. And so I just sat back a lot during the No-Limit, unless I had real big hands and would re-raise people. Other than that I focused more on the Limit. I think the other people sat back during the Limit so then I was able to accumulate more chips.

Will you be changing your strategy for the final table today?

I don't think so. I mean, It's very situational, depending on how the other guys are playing. If they're playing very aggressive, I'll sit back. If they're playing passive, I'll try and change it up. I don't worry about the strategy for the table, I'm just going to go with the flow and see what everyone else is doing.

Are there any players in particular that you're worried about?

Unfortunately I think the three toughest players are sitting one, two and three to my left. Which kinda sucks to be honest, because they all have a chips, and I respect their games, so it does freeze me up a little. Where if they were on my right, if they folded I could come in risk free kinda instead of raising it up. It's a little bit frustrating, but in order to win, you have to beat them all.

How did you end up with the Full Blown Tilt (FBT) nickname, because you don't appear to actually have that problem at the poker table?

My buddy gave it to me a long time ago. It's more like a fun thing because I'm pretty hyper and high strung and if I'm waiting in line somewhere I'm complaining or if I'm at a traffic light. I'm always in a hurry, so we just kinda used it for poker and it's ironic because I don't tilt too often.

With your friend Shawn Buchanon playing at the final table of the World Poker Tour event yesterday, was it hard for you to concentrate on your own game?

The good thing was he was winning all the time, so I think it just gave me great spirits, and I was very distracted, I'm not going to lie. I was getting texts and texting all the time. I think if anything it just motivated me and kept me in great spirits. If he would have been knocked out first, who knows, maybe I'd be out now too.

Do you think his win kind of gives you a boost today too?

I'd like to think so. We're good friends, and we live together on the road, so it would be awesome for me to win this even and basically have back-to-back bracelets as roommates would be unreal. But, I mean, winning a bracelet is so special, so I mean, I'm really lucky to be here.

Do you look forward to the fame winning a bracelet could bring?

Not really, I don't think. I've established myself as one of the top players in cash games and even a little bit on the tournament circuit. Obviously it'll add some publicity, but it's more the recognition among your peers to win a bracelet, realizing how tough it is to do and how close you can get. To win one would be absolutely outstanding.

PokerListings.com wishes Greg Mueller the best of luck at today's final table. You can keep up with all the action and find out how he does in the Live Tournament Section.