Luck and stupidity

Mirage Tourney, 18 players

This tourney was a story of lucky breaks (and some unlucky ones) and stupid moves for me.

Luck: On the second hand of the tournament I flopped an Ace-high straight with my Q-10. After a min raise on my part, another guy re-raises to 2000 (with blinds at 25-50 and starting stack at 6000). I push all in and he calls and turns over the same hand, Q-10. Expecting to chop, we watch as the board turns over four clubs, and i have the queen of clubs so I double up with a flush!

Stupidity: On the very next hand, the guy to my right raises pre-flop to 250, and I intend to call with my K-9 of diamonds. But oops! I throw in purple (500) chips instead of 25's, and the dealer calls out "raise to 1200". Doh! The guy that raised before me was being nice and tries to help me argue that it was not my intention. But since I didn't say "call", the dealer has to consider it a raise. At this point my opponent knows I'm weak since I was bummed by my accidental raise, so he pushes all in knowing full well I will fold, which I do. He shows me his pocket 10's. I ordered a cup of coffee!

Luck: A little later I get pocket aces and limp in. The flop comes two more aces, and I have Quad aces! I checked it to the river hoping for a bettor, but nobody does and all I ended up winning was 2BB.

Bad luck: The guy who I busted in the beginning was back after buying back in, and we went heads up again with my pocket 8's against his pocket Queens. He was all in and won it, getting most of his chips back that he gave me earlier.

Stupidity: Later on we're at the final table and I push all in with A-K after the guy at the other end of the table raised ahead of me. While we're waiting for him to call, he yells out "what's going on down there?" and I flash my A-K in his face. He hadn't called yet! I gave my hand away! Second bozo move of the tournament! The dealer tells me that's not allowed because it can be considered collusion, and gives me a warning. The opponent also happens to be holding A-K so he calls and we chop the pot.

Luck: As the final table gradually thins out, I wait patiently for my good hands and gradually build up from almost busted to an above average stack, and things are looking good.

Stupidity: With only four players left and cash prizes for the top three, I go all-in on the button with K-8 off suit. I should know better than to take risks on the bubble! I'm called by a K-Q suited in the small blind who makes a flush, and my tournament is over with no prize.

By the way, the guy from the beginning who re-entered after I doubled up against him went on to take second place!