Casino Tournament

Last night was my night to take the 8 people that have won my Sunday bar tournament to Grand Casino Milcas and buy them into thier monday night $60 tournament. I show up to buy them in and find out that another bar from the twin cities is going to be there tonight with 36 players so the tournament neded up having 96 players. It is good and bad at the same time. With 44 bar players there it played almost like a bar poker tournament. At least that is something that I can deal with. You start out with only 3000 in chips and blinds go up every 15 minutes, so it is very important that you get a good start. I ended up on a table with 5 players from other bar game, but table turns out to be very tight and I am able to take down some small pots early. I am now the button and look down to see 9-3 of spades. It is limped around to me with blinds at 50-100. I decide to limp in and try and make a play after the flop or fold. Small and big blind call. Flop comes 3-3-K rainbow. Jackpot! I have position and what I am sure is the best hand. Someone that I have played with before bets out 300. I call and everone else folds. Turn brings a 5 and gives me a flush draw and a the trips. After the flop better puts in 500 and I reraise him to 1000. He thinks awhile and calls. Now I know he doesn't have a 3 because of how long it takes him to call. River is a nothing card. He pushes all in and I insta-call. He has K-Q. I turn over my 9-3 and double up. He has 100 in chips left and leaves the table on tilt. He comes back after sitting out a hand and says I knew I should have raised that hand pre-flop. I would have folded to any raise pre-flop. I make it to first break with my chips at a little over 6000, so I have reached my first goal. Double up by break. After the break iwas card cead for quite a while. We lost a few players and a player moved with a big stack and immeadately started raising every pot. He was playing big stack poker very well dominating the table. I look down and have Ace-King offsuit. A small stack of about 1/3 of my stack goes all in under the gun. Big stack flods so I move all-in to get it heads up. He turns over 7-8 suited. Flop comes J-3-5. Turn a 6. River a 4 giving him a runner-runner straight. Ouch, that one hurt, but I am still not out just shorter stacked. I am still somewhat card dead and the blinds are getting up there. We are know down to three tables and about to go to 2. 10 players are making the money. They announce that we are breaking our table after the next hand. I have A-J suited and move all-in. Most players are folding until it gets to the other side and someone pushes all-in over thr top of me. Damn, I must be behind. Then the BB also calls. Anyway I flop the nut straight and don't you know another player has A-J also and I split the pot but still win a few chips. I move to the new table. We are down to 20 players and players are dropping fast. I don't have enough chips to flod to the money so I still ahve to wait for a hand. I get A-J offsuit and push all-in and get called for less by pocket 7's. Flop is A-5-3. Great Flop! Turn is a 7. River a 7 giving him quads and crippling me. I know have 4 hands to go all-in before my big blind. I push a couple hands later with Q-J and get called by pocket sixes who turns a set and knocks me out in 15th place. It was a nice run and as usual I was the last man standing from all that I brought and bought in. I think I need to start having a last man standing side pot with them! Another chapter later this week.