No Limit in Vegas

Some difficult hands over the weekend:
QQ in Planet Hollywood tournament. The blinds were 100/200. I had around 4500 in chips. I raised to 600 and a tight player who hadn’t played a hand re-raised to 1200. Another guy called his 1200 and the action went back to me. I just knew the one guy had AA. But the other guy, I felt, had a hand I could beat. I gambled that the other guy would call the two all-ins. If I lost to the AA and beat the other guy, I would have 2500 chips left. But if I won both all-ins, I would have 12,200 chips and be in excellent shape. There was also a very slim possibility that they both had AK, though it was really doubtful. Anyway, I went all in rather than just calling 600. I was out of position and wouldn’t know how to play after the flop anyway. I’m not sure it was the right play, but it was certainly the most gutsy play. Anyway, AA called, AK folded, and I was down to 1200 chips. I pushed with 66 and lost to AA again, and that was that.
The second Planet Hollywood tournament I was involved in lasted an hour as well. I had A3s on the button in a limped pot with 100/200 blinds when the flop came AQ3 rainbow. Everyone checked and I bet 700. One guy called. The turn was an 8. Bet bet 500 and I raised to 1600. He called. The river was a Q. He went all in. I had 1200 left. I didn’t know what I could beat. I was essentially playing the board. The only thing I could beat was a bluff. KK seemed unlikely and no other hand fit what he had. I suspected 88. Or AK, AJ, or AT. I folded. He later told me he had KK, but I find it hard to believe. I wonder if he had KQ. I lost to an all-in a few hands later.
I am just not very lucky in tournaments.
How to behave when I have a good hand. Most of the time I was out of position (it seemed) when I had a good hand. I tend to go all in on the river when I have the nuts. 50% of the time, people call. I should make a smaller value bet sometimes to induce folks to call.
Ceaser’s was tough. I had no hand, only bought in for $100, and played very tight. I lost two hands on the river that I ended up paying off. It was my worst session of the weekend.
I notice the players just do not know who to value their hands. They think they’re strong when their hand is actually totally worthless. One of the worst played I’ve ever seen occurred last night at Bally’s. This one guy who had shown only the nuts in previous hands, went all in for around $600 or so into a $140 pot on a AJT rainbow flop. Another guy who had around $500 in chips went into the tank. I figured he had a set. I might have been best to fold there. There just wasn’t enough money in the pot to warrant a call. Anyway, he called with AKs. It was such a bad call. The AK lost, and the KQ ended up with 1200 chips. It was a horrendous call.
I won $240 playing cash games and lost $120 playing tournaments. Not bad considering my inexperience in playing live. There are a lot of regular poker players now. Some of them are not that great. I have a ways to go, but I’m on the right path. I’m a very tight player and try to pay attention to the game and what’s going on. I do need to improve this though. With more experience and knowledge I should continue to do well at this game. I really need to make going to the Casino San Pablo a regular part of my routine. That’s where I can learn a lot about the game. That’s where I’ll cut my no limit teeth.