The chants of “FBT!” echoed by means of the Horseshoe Casino as Greg Mueller battled it out on the ultimate desk of the World Series of Poker $10,000 most important occasion. FBT is an initialism for his ironic nickname, ‘Full-Blown Tilt.’ The 55-year-old had many years within the sport, together with successful three bracelets, however had by no means skilled something like what was happening round him.
The Vancouver native entered the ultimate desk fourth in chips, however confronted an uphill climb as Lucas Jumalon held such an enormous stack benefit over the opposite eight gamers on the desk. But that boisterous rail of supporters made the expertise a optimistic one and win or lose, Mueller was pleased to be making a dream come true.
Unlike different sports activities, poker isn’t usually considered a sport the place the stay crowd can impact the felt. But Mueller thrived on the cheers and high-fives because the motion progressed on the Paris on line casino.
“It was unreal, I’m still not even really over it,” he stated. “There were so many parts of it that were just amazing. My rail of support I would venture to say was the best, biggest, loudest rail in WSOP history. Being on center stage on ESPN and national television, and having an epic rail all wearing the same hat and the shirt with my picture on it… they were just pumping me up and brought me adrenaline.”
A Rail To Remember
More than 100 of Mueller’s supporters had been available – together with one portly fellow who took his shirt off as the ultimate desk performed out stay on ESPN. His crew additionally included members of the family, hockey buddies, fellow poker gamers, and different buddies who had been fast to hop on a airplane to Sin City.
“What I did was I got my host to get me a million rooms and pass it on to a buddy of mine. He took that off my plate as far as setting up hotel rooms for people,” he defined. “I didn’t really recruit anybody. It kind of caught some steam, and more and more people that knew more and more people. Next thing you know, there’s 100.”
Things didn’t work out for a fourth bracelet on the sport’s largest stage, however Mueller has no regrets. He finally completed third for $3.75 million – not a nasty day on the workplace for a participant who actually hasn’t been within the workplace that a lot over the previous couple of years.
The former skilled hockey participant considers the expertise the spotlight of his profession on the tables. It was an accomplishment he’ll always remember and the complete ultimate desk spectacle was a bucket record expertise that he is aware of most gamers won’t ever notice.
“I didn’t win,” he admitted. “But I still feel like the run dwarfed all my other poker accolades. Whether it’s Poker Night in America, Poker After Dark, bracelets, NBC Heads-Up Championships, anything that I’ve done. I’ve had lots of final tables, but this is the Mount Rushmore of all those things and stands alone on top.”
Hockey To Hold’em
The journey to the ultimate desk got here with some bumps and bruises alongside the best way, and began lengthy earlier than he plopped down $10,000 on the registration desk. Mueller performed skilled hockey in Germany and is accustomed to the ups and downs that include competitors at a excessive degree.
He discovered to play poker whereas touring between video games on the street. Those back-of-the-bus hockey video games sparked a lifelong curiosity in enjoying playing cards that finally grew to become a profitable profession.
“I always loved it,” he stated. “When I used to travel down to L.A. and Vegas, I’d drop my bags off in the room and couldn’t wait to sit at the table. Next thing you know, the trip was over and my bags were still unpacked.”
While poker would finally dominate a lot of his life, hockey took priority in his youthful years. The defenseman was by no means the most effective skater, however took benefit of his body to convey a bodily presence to the ice and verify offensive gamers off the puck. He additionally introduced a powerful hockey IQ.
“I played soccer, but I always found myself sitting at the rink watching my buddies play,” Mueller recalled. “It was obvious I wanted to play hockey. My parents didn’t know anything about the game, but they bought me the gear and picked hockey schools and helped me work on my game and get better. Hockey became my life.”
Turning Pro
By age 19, Mueller headed off to Germany, the place he performed eight years within the professional league. That included a spot within the Spengler Cup in 1992, the oldest invitational hockey membership event on the earth, held yearly in Davos, Switzerland. His time enjoying in Europe included one other main spotlight, successful a German championship. While salaries aren’t fairly the identical in Germany as within the NHL, Mueller nonetheless says the paychecks weren’t dangerous and got here with a automotive and an condominium.
“We would fill the barn wherever we played – whether it be 3,000 or 10,000. It was always sold out, and the fans were into it, singing nonstop. It’s quite the atmosphere. I had a great time, but I ended up retiring prematurely because my mom passed. I had lost the passion and desire for the game.”
Leaving pucks and sticks behind meant turning to competitors of a distinct kind. At the poker desk, Mueller now has $7.3 million in stay event winnings in a profession relationship again to 2003, together with 73 WSOP cashes. His first main rating got here in 2006, taking fourth within the WPT World Poker Challenge for $142,285. A yr later he grabbed a runner-up within the $5,000 blended maintain’em occasion on the WSOP for $328,554, adopted by one other second-place end in a $5,000 shootout occasion in 2008 for $298,638.
After a number of shut calls, a bracelet headed his manner in 2009 after successful the $10,000 restrict maintain’em occasion for $460,841. Every week later he took down the $1,500 restrict maintain’em shootout for one more $194,854. Mueller earned his third bracelet within the 2019 $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. together with $425,347.
Laddering Up For Millions
At the primary occasion ultimate desk, Mueller finally bowed out after making a hero name in opposition to Finland’s Lauri Saaskilahti. Mueller doesn’t remorse his choice and easily needs he’d had extra chips to work with later within the event. He’s normally a extra aggressive participant, however due to the scenario and a lot cash on the road, that didn’t actually come by means of to followers tuning in at house.
“Unfortunately, when you’re hovering between eight and 25 blinds, and there’s a lot of ICM [Independent Chip Model] pressure going on. You’re a middling stack, you can’t really do much,” he defined. “You have to be real selective, and as a result some people got the image that I was super tight. They are welcome to think that about my game.”
This yr’s most important occasion featured nearly a three-week delay till the ultimate desk resumed, paying homage to the previous ‘November Nine’ construction that delayed the ultimate desk for a number of months. Mueller used his day without work not just for examine, but in addition for staying in stable bodily form.
“The most important thing for me was to go in physically feeling well,” he stated. “My trainer moved in and trained me twice a day and cooked very healthy for me. The better I felt physically, I knew I would feel better mentally and be more prepared. I did a lot of sleep, a lot of training, and a lot of healthy eating. Then my buddy Bucky (WPT champ Shawn Buchanan) also moved in for a couple weeks, and we did a bit of studying, an hour or two every day, just going over some charts and some ICM, stacks, and positional stuff.”
Responding To The Pressure
Because of the sizable pay jumps and Jumalon’s mountain of chips, he didn’t have a lot room to maneuver. With seven gamers left on day 9, Mueller discovered himself final in chips, however he was in a position to transfer up 4 spots, pocketing an additional $2.25 million within the course of.
Potential sponsors bombarded him with alternatives in the course of the ultimate desk, however he says a collection rule stipulated that gamers will need to have a patch in place beforehand. Unfortunately, that meant turning down a number of six-figure affords.
“Everybody there could play,” he defined. “I put pressure on myself because I wanted to do well. There was also pressure that I didn’t want to let my rail down. I remember the first card I looked at on the very first hand was a jack, and I was hoping the second one would not be a jack because I just didn’t want to get into any precarious situation early on, and potentially bust in the first hand. My rail came all the way down. I wanted them to have a little bit of fun too.”
“There was also a lot of money at stake. Coming in ninth versus third was a massive financial difference. There were all sorts of things going on in my head. That, along with the pressure of being the most-established player at the final table, I wanted to have a good showing. I’m thrilled with how it went because I never really had chips and was able to crawl my way all the way up to third.”
Staying Semi-Retired
Despite the rating, Mueller isn’t clamoring to return to a packed poker schedule. He prefers selecting and selecting tournaments that curiosity him, and spending the remainder of his time enjoying golf, taking walks, coaching, or spending time with household and buddies.
Mueller can be again on the ice, enjoying two or 3 times per week. He was requested to be a part of the Canucks’ weekly alumni and charity video games, regardless that he by no means performed within the NHL. Organizers thought his poker background and his basic good nature would possibly add to the dynamics of the video games and convey in additional for the charity efforts.
“They always treated me like I was one of them,” Mueller stated of skating alongside Canucks who performed within the Stanley Cup in 1994.
Mueller says that he hasn’t thought of what to do with the cash but. He’s planning on taking issues slowly and relishing his most important occasion expertise.
“I’ve never been the guy that just because I have a little extra in my pocket needed to spend it,” he stated. “I’m sure when I see something, I will have no limitations purchasing it. But I’m definitely going to take my time and breathe a bit before I do anything.”
