TILT is a 4 letter word...............

My week started off with a nice dinner and some good poker play (a couple SNG wins in a row) in the middle of an ice storm and spiraled down into a personal TILT festivus.

The day after MLK day is our busiest day of the year for calls in our call center. Why they just dont give us the day as a floater and open up is beyond me. Who wants a day off in the middle of January? MLK may have had a dream, but my vision is one of soaking up sunshine on the beach in warm weather, watching my flowers grow and barbecuing up some Good Eats. We have no paid holidays until Memorial Day in May. My personal goal every year is to try to work the winter and spring straight thru without a day off so I can have a week or two for Vegas and then take every Friday off for the rest of the year or close.

So I head into work early on Tuesday or so I think. I stop to get gas at the gas station, mail a bill at the post office and as I pull out I notice my car is sluggish. In fact it is so sluggish it wont go over 40 miles per hour (V6 Hyundai Santa Fe). I realize this while driving southbound on the Northway (an oxymoron if there ever was one) in the middle of rush hour traffic. I pop on my hazards and am half in the right/slowpoke lane and half in the breakdown lane. Does that stop peeps from running up my ass. Nope... Hazards mean nothing to the short bus drivers of the Capital District. A trucker runs up my ass then pulls alongside and honks. I flip him the bird because its pretty damn clear I cant go any faster. Finally Im able to limp my car into the Mobil station at exit 6. Do you think the people who barely speak English can understand my request for a phone book? of course not.. I truck outside to the pay phone to call Triple A (remember I dont own a cellphone yet) , then work to say I'm gonna be late on the busiest day of the year and then the dealership to say.. "Hey, I'm on my way..... drop everything for me because you gotta fix my car..." Fortunately, as lame as the commericals for Fuccillo Automotive are they are able to accomodate Milady the Most Honourable Lori Ann the Implacable.

Did I mention that before all this with the car took place, my beloved feline Bailey who is the most curious cat in the world and who knows how to make mischief gets himself stuck in the handles of a plastic shopping bag? I find out when I get home that nite that I failed to pull the whole bag off him when he went tearing thru the condo on his third lap thru the house breaking one of his food bowls during the ensuing melee ( it shot right up into the air). Poor cat spent the whole day shaking under my bed. I freed him of the bag stuck around his leg when I got home.

So back to the SUV.. Its almost time to have the timing belt done and it does need a tuneup. I decide that while its in there, I should do that since I wont be driving much once I start working from home. Plus I tend to procrastinate (if its not broke dont fix it)... The service dudes are able to complete the spark plug change (which involves taking something off the engine cuz the damn things are encased) and the timing belt, but the car is still sluggish... DUH.... They are unable to pinpoint the exact nature of the problem and decide to keep it overnight. No biggie they come thru with a loaner... a nice new 2007 Santa Fe. I like it but it is really too big (I sit even higher in that then in my 2003). After careful consideration I ruled out trading in my 03 for a new model and you can bet after putting $900+ into the car I'm going to get my monies worth out of those repairs...

I had emailed Snake my tail of woe on the car and Baboo . About 8 or so the phone rings and its him pretending to be from the ASPCA, of course I start laughing hysterically because Im practically laying on the floor trying to coax Bailey out from under the bed. I figure Baboo will come out when he is hungry. Snake needs me to pinch hit for him in his Poker in the Dark satellite while he goes out to pick up his daughter. I manage to almost double his chips before I hand back off to him. We tag team our way to an 11th place finish (his prior best finish was 10th in these 360 person donkfests) , discussing how to play the hands he has and putting his opponents on hands. It is so much easier to do this from the position as railbird then when playing. And... for about the 4th time in a couple of weeks, its becoming clear to me that Snake is going to be in need of glasses very soon. When he asks why the pot just got shipped to one dude I state he had JJ (hole cards) on a board of 23T82.. jj22 beats Tens and eights (what the other dude was holding) He says.. No the guy had a set of tens.. I say "Sweetie, I hate to tell you this but are going to need reading glasses soon or its gonna be an an expensive mistake one of these days". I pass on the WWDN.. the cat issues and car issues make me not want to think much.

Wednesday I got the guys from Time Warner and Verizon coming to install the business lines. They have given me a pretty big window 8-5 Pm... Im hoping they come late so I dont have to go into work. Of course not.. Verizon is there first by 8:30 AM which is an hour before I start work at 9:30 AM.. Time Warner calls me about 1/2 hour later during Verizon dudes gig and is on his way. Fortunately they are not falling all over each other even though they are working in the same place. I was an easy install. TW dude says I could have gone to Queensbury first and done you on my way back when I tell him I now will have to go into work... Im into work by 11:45 AM. I leave 1/2 hour early to get the car. I dont think they ever figured out what was wrong with it. The transmission tested out fine. Im wondering if it was some bad gas that got put in the car coupled with a frozen line or something. Car malady of unknown origin.

I pass on the Mookie as Im pinch hitting again for Snake in one of the FTP guarantees. I didnt have much to work with and my cards were bad. We go out before the $$$ close but no C I G A R. His bro stops by to chat thinking its Snake. Im on the phone with Snake during all this and finally we tell SILO its me.

Thursday is a three Ipuprofen day... I register for the AcesCracked preseason opener on FTP.. Passing on the Poker Analysis Buyin league game. Pstars hasnt been showing me any love lately. In fact Im almost thinking of going on a sng minimarathon to either donk off or work up my remaining funds there (sitting at about $160)... Ive been having much more success on FTP with the tokens and SNGS (because that damn bonus finally expired). The blogger tourneys have largely moved over to FTP except Wil's WWDN. I also pull back my money parked in Neteller... As of today (1/20/07) the transaction I did on 1/17/07 is pending.

AcesCracked puts me and Snake mano a womano..... He flushes me with a baby flush down to 300 chips I rally back. He dings me again.. I rally again (Sham is on the rail having sat it out to play Poker Analysis on Pstars) Silo is also railing us..... Finally Im snakebitten..... the mortal blow... I raise him He reraises I call. I'm holding BIG SLICK .. Board hits a King. I fire He reraises me.. I type okay lets gamble ALL-IN.. I had him totally dominated.. He flushes me again... IG vs Snake online heads-up play now stands at 2-1. Ill get him next time.

Friday nite is APL final week 20. I have a 10 point lead on Silo/Rich.. Doug Karen and I are all 8-9-10 closely spaced... I have had a horrible 2nd half of the live league. I feel an impending sense of doom. Ive so much as said to Ray that I will not be in the top ten tourney where all the $$ is. Maybe its a self fullfilling prophesy but everything that can go wrong has. The big improvement Ive had online has not carried over to live play. Ive put my money in with the best hand and been outdrawn too many times to count it seems. Im cursed. Its as if the poker gods are saying to me... save your money IG, you are wasting time and money. Ever get the feeling your not meant to win the big one? Sometimes in moments of self doubt that is the message that comes thru to me.

Tonite is no different. I manage to have about 1500 more chips then Karen who Im ahead of. Doug has just lost half his stack. Ray is shorter then me as are a few others. Ray sitting across from me, manages to split on one or two orbits even gaining chips when he sees his BB multiway with no raises in front. Karen rivers a flush on her table to keep her alive and triple her up. Ray had gone over to watch the results of the hand and reported back. I just look at him and shake my head cuz I know when I need to catch a break its not going to come. I lay down AJd to league Leaders Steve-O's raise to $1200 which pot committed me preflop had I called. I decide to wait either thru the blinds or be first in. Finally i look down to A9h. Im EP and am first to move. Everyone lays down except Steve in the bb. I knew Ray in the SB would.. Him finishing another place higher insured his 2nd place finish in the league over Edawg. Steve calls with 36d as its only costing him a couple hundred more. He fully expected to double me up. But in his words.. Youre gonna either love me for doubling you or hate me. Of course he hits diamonds and out I go.. .

I leave the table to get my coat. I hand two more poker books to Ray who tries to get me to stay. I just looked at him and state the obvious. I just have to get away from this place and state if i dont finish in the top ten I might not even play the donk fest of the bottom feeders tourney. After I get home and feed Bailey (free of the bag and his bad day) I play a sng on Full Tilt after I cool off a bit. bad move. I dont do horrendously bad but Im too frazzled to play my A game or aggressively. The wind is out of my sails.

The phone rings about 45 minutes after I get home. "You made it barely".. Ray says. There is no sigh of relief on my end of the phone. His brother had not.. He's playing Omaha hi in a cash game, which is not a game he plays really at all. He asks me for a few quick tips. Which I rattle off (although omaha 8 is my better game of the two Omahas)... He had a nice little session from what he told me today...

Top ten tourney next week. My place is insured. Me, Ray, Lex, (all who have played AcesCracked) Eric and Steve (best buddies), Tracy (Edwags gal), Karen and Doug Al and Zoe.. I was once as high as 3rd in the standings. I finished tenth.. Next week is a new battle and I can play small ball against the weak/tight players. Take position away from the LAGS by moving in from time to time ala Kill Phil style. And match wits with Lex and Ray the two most gifted when it comes to reading the board and calculating pot odds. I respect them all and fear no one. Well just have to see if I can hold myself up to the bar i have set.