My Party 30 + 3 adventure. Comments welcome + my best bluff ever

[People_Mover]

After coming home and losing an all in at the NL25 JJ vs. 77 when the Villian turns another 7, I convinced myself to sign up for the 30 + 3 with 3 minutes left before the tourney started.

The 1st hour was pretty ugly. I overplayed pkt 10 10 and was quickly down to 600 before I knew it. I hung around and stole some blinds and took down some small pots here and there ending around 1400 after the first hour.

When the blinds got up to 25/50, I found AA in the BB. MP2, min raised to 100, so I popped it to 300 and he smooth called. On a flop of K 6 6, I pushed all in to take it down and he called with pkt 88 and I doubled and was up to 3600.

A few hands later I found KhQh in MP3. I call a min raise to 200. After a flop of J Q 8, the BB bet 800 into a 800 pot and I pushed all in. I was heartbroken when he showed AQ. I turn brought an A and I was down to my last card after he made 2 pair on the turn. I was drawing to 4 cards in the deck and when the river brought one of the 4 10s in the deck, I made a runner runner straight and jumped for joy as he berated me for pushing all in calling me a POS, etc... I laughed it off and my chips were now at 5600 with an average stack of a mere 4K or so. I was in great shape. The 2nd hour was now complete with 150 of the 540 entrants remaining.

With blinds at 200/400 I found J/10 suited in the BB. MP3 popped it to 1000 and after thinking for a while, I called the extra 600 hoping to flop a monster. Maybe this was a mistake? On an all rag flop, I checked and he pushed all in and I folded bringing my stack down to 4600. After a few blind posts and a few steals, my stack was around 5K, right about the average. I didn't see anything until 300/600 blinds.

With 86 people remaining (pays top 60) I found pkt 44 on the button. There was a min raise from MP1 to 1200, which was called by 2 others and I completed in the BB getting 8:1 on hoping to flop a set. I posted my 1200 which left me with 4000 behind. When the flop came As Ks 8s, it checked around to me and for fear of a big A or a slow played flush, I checked as well. The turn brought a 9h. Amazingly, it checked around again. The river was a 2d. The original raiser once again checked, MP2 checked, MP3 bet 600 into a 5100 pot. With 4K left, I look a chance and popped it to 1800. I figured this would leave me with 2200 and if I got called, I would happily give away the pot and if reraised, I could fold and still have some chips to spare. After MP1 folded and MP2 folded, MP3 sat there, hit his time bank as I'm saying, "please fold, please fold" He's types in the box QQ and folds. I show my 44 and MP1 says he folded AJ and what a move that was. My stack was now at 9100 and I was in great shape. Play slowed as the bubble approached and I folded a lot of blinds as I was getting complete junk.

The bubble finally burst and I was in the money. Blinds were now 400/800 and I found AA again UTG and pushed my whole stack in. The 2 chip leaders where now at the table both with more than 25K. I got no callers and took the blinds. Thinking back I should have just raised maybe 3x and hoped for a caller, but I'd rather win a small pot then lose a big one. Is this the correct thinking? Unfortunately I got complete junk for the next few revolutions and the blinds just ate me up. I folded A/10 after a min raise by the chip leader and as the flop came down 10 10 2 I kicked myself for doing so. The chip leader showed AK vs. 88 pushes after the flop and the 88 held. This would have brought me to 25K chips, but instead my 8K dwindled away slowly. I pushed A/9 on the button and got no callers and my stack peeked at 12K. With blinds at 1K/2K and the average chip stack at 20K, I pushed my remaining with 9K w/ K/J suited UTG and lost a race against 77 finishing 23rd of 540. Maybe I shouldn't have pushed there? In two hands I had to post 2K. Comments on that are welcome and appreciated.