Live Casino Time Again!

Another deep run in the local casino last night, and this time I've worked out why.  Half the players consider A9 a great hand to call an allin shove...

The first two levels, the only chance to play real poker was a bit grim, being card dead for most of it.  I mean.. really card dead, every king I looked at, had a 4 to go with it, every ace, had a 5 or 7 to go with it. 
Pocket pairs? oh yes, one pair of ducks (22), which hit the muck after an early raise at the speed of light.

Interesting hand with pocket 3's, I limp in from the CO, hoping to set mine (get in cheap, hope to hit a set... profit).  Flop comes down 7 8 J, scary for 3's, but it checks around, K on the turn, checked around, I now suspect 3's are the best hand.  But in case of slow play I check,  8 on the turn pairing the board, checks around to the UTG+3 who leads out a cheap 175 bet, I more or less insta call with two 3's, and he tells me straight!, I table my cards (face down), and he shows 9 5.... not a straight.... dealer flips mine over and I take the pot.  So confused.

Luckily I had position on a weak tight player, so when it folded around to the small blind who limped (50/100 blinds), I didn't even look at my cards properly and raised another 200.  He called and the flop comes down K Q K, he checks, and I decide to check behind him, 8 on the turn, check from the SB, raised 300, and the small blind goes away.
Checked my big blind shortly after with 95o, flop comes 2 5 7, checked around 4 players, 9 on the turn, so I lead out 300, everybody folds

I pick up a real hand in AQo, and raise it up (I'm please to say I rarely limped... didn't make me popular with this limp happy table).  Everyone folds.. I can live with that, AQo is not my favourite hand post flop unless it hits

Break comes and goes, and I have average chips, which I'm happy with, you don't win the tournament in the first two levels, but now the levels are 20 minutes each, and the blinds are now 100/200 with a stack of 5300.  My M is 17-18, medium stack, enough to play a little, but I can't afford to lose a serious pot.

I work my way up to 6300, then lose it trying to steal the blinds with A6o when the BB with 8k goes all in.. down to 4300 chips, and blinds are 200/400 now... I'm in trouble!
I'm all in with KJ a while later and get called by the BB with AQo... goddammit.  Board is blank but a K on the river.. whooppeeeeeeee I'm back in action.. ish.

As I'm up to just under 10k, I have a loose aggressive player to my left, which is really stifling my action, and once again he opens for 1600, I've limped with K9s 4x the BB and all the limpers fold, and I suddenly decide... this dude was in the button, big raise... he is either on a steal, as he has been, or he has a hand.. and I could well have live cards.  I put him to the test and go all-in.  He has 10 10, BUGGER!!
I river a K again... which is harsh, but hey, who cares, I still like my play as it represented half of his stack, and he quite likely would have folded A rag under J.

I'm up to 20k, and .. well, I'll be honest, I tried to bully the table... its unbullyable.. (is that a word), I raise for 1600 with A 10o.  Now this is 9 handed, so A 10 is rarely "da nuts", but its folded around so I go for the steal.  BB goes all in for 12k.  I fold, and when asked I do tell them I had A10o, and the table is in shock I would fold.  But hey, after getting up to a very healthy stack, why join the short stacks again for a coinflip?
That raise could be a lot of things, mostly middle pairs I suspect, but I can't see it being anything I dominate with A 10, A9?? against a raise from someone who has been pretty tight and has you covered? I doubt it, thats suicidal.
I see no reason to gamble, so I fold.  He shows 88, which is fine, I'm not ready to gamble when I don't need to.
The table finally breaks up and I hit a new table with a dodgy stack of 14 with 500/1000 blinds.  I lose a couple of pots and I'm down to 7800, which is disaster zone and I finally wake up with AA!
I have to chip up now, so I raise to 4000, and the table laughs at me,
"He only raised 4k? How much has he got left? 3000 or so? omgz lolz!" etc
My best poker face is on... I now know I have played this PERFECTLY.  I get 1 caller and a shove for 10k from the short stack.. bit more than I wanted, but hey, I need a big score.  I reluctantly drop my last 3800k in, and somehow the other player finds a fold.
I disagree with this, and not just because I have AA, he has invested 4k into the pot, and my 3800 makes the pot around 22k, so he is calling 6k to win 22k, so he needs at least 27% or so to win to be in the pot.  My guess is that he had 66 or 77, and realise he was up against at least one over pair, which makes it a good laydown, but I believe he's getting the right price, even with KJ, KQ, A10 and lower (of course he's not since I have AA).  My opponent has AQ and the flop doesn't help him (queen on the river).
It was nice to see the table reverse gear and bang the table to indicate a nice hand, I think most of them realise what I did, and they fell for it like suckers.
Hard to play AA wrong, and I think AQ was insta-calling a shove anyway, cold deck for him, but the middle pair(perhaps) dude probably wouldn't have called  a shove.

Two orbits later, and I stare down at KK again in early position, I raise to 4k, and the AQ guy calls with his last 2300 chips (fair enough).. but everyone else folds.  He tables A9o... and hits the A on the flop.  Annoying, but if he had more chips, it would  have been more painful.
The break comes and I'm UTG+1 a few orbits later with Q4o.  Everyone is already shuffling to run off for cigarettes and toilet.. so I feel this is a great opportunity to steal the considerable blinds of 2100, so I raise 4000, and goddammit, the guy whose AQ I bashed goes all in for 6600(he managed to steal some blinds too!).  Pot odds demand my call, 2600 to win 10600, I actually have to call if I knew he had 44, he doesn't, he has 55, and they hold up, and I'm down to 14k again.. GOD DAMMIT!! Was it a stupid move? yes... kinda.. but I like the imagination to try and take the pot when everyone is ready to leave for the break, and most of the time I'm going to have at least 36%.  As it happens my raise and the shove moves someone off A6o who says he was going to call... whatever dude.. thats just dumb to call a raise with a raggy crappy ace against an early position raise who has just folded all and only shown AA and KK!! Idiotic comes to mind.

I'm down to 14k after the break and the blinds are now 1k/2k, and when my BB comes around I have AJo, as it folds around to the button, who makes it 5k to go... the big stack in the SB calls, and my chips go in, hoping to squeeze play the two out, but I'd take a call as I probably have the best hand,  the button folds, the SB decides he's priced in with 67s.  I kinda get it, he has 60k chips and its 9k more to win 24k with two probably live cards.  I would like to think I can make this call too.
Flop comes 6 5 7 and I'm drawing next to dead, 4 on the turn with outs to a split pot, but my A on the river is all she wrote against the two pair.
I went out with the superior hand, and I did the right thing, my exit is graceful... but its hard not to mourn the fact I'd have been on 33k after that hand and the opportunity to make a big run in the tournament.

A few beers, an episode of lost, and I go home happy.