Eleventh of Thirty

Small turn out for the local clubs last tournament of the year. Did see a few people that I have not seen in while though. Fun getting caught up on their families, while flipping through free poker magazines. One player came up and said, too late to learn anything from there, we are about to start. Not getting his joke, I told him that it was entertainment value only, then finally got it and laughed. Some nights I am too serious and too slow. An hour in I see Ace Queen while sitting under-the-gun, and raise three times the big blind. The button pops and says, oh my, the tightest person at the table just raised from early position. Then he asked if anyone else heard the creak the 'rock' made. The woman on my left [who plays like a pro, but won't admit to it] just nodded, and they both smiled when I said yeah, I think a pebble just fell off when I moved my arm. Some time during the second hour we shrunk down to two tables, and I got moved to the first table. First hand I re-raise after the flop a guy on my right that I've knocked out of tournaments before. He is a little wary, and finally folds. I tell him good lay down, and he mutters something about me making two pair on the flop. I respond, 'yep, cause no one raised my big blind pre-flop and so I just lucked into that hand'. Not going to tell him that I only had top pair of jacks. Poor guy started playing so loose he was knocked out a few minutes later. It got down to six at each table, with such a small turnout, the prize pool was smaller and only the top four places were set to be paid. This could be negotiated by the final ten players at their discretion. I didn't make it that far. A guy goes all in for three hundred when the blinds are four and eight hundred. I re-raise with Ace-King for three thousand and the kid on the button re-raises all in for twenty thousand. He has me covered. I'm pretty sure I have the kid beat, but not sure about the little all in on my right. If I call I may loose the main pot, but win a bigger side pot, or could just fold and lose my three thousand. I called with what I thought was the best hand and was right. The little all-in had queen-jack, the re-raising kid had ace-nine. Flop comes ace-ace-10. I'm in the lead until a nine hits on the turn. Kid has aces full of nines, l-a-i has an open ended straight draw. I am not happy and turn away as a nine hits on the river. Now I also have aces full of nines and chop the whole pot with kid raiser. A few hands later I'm in the small blind for six hundred, we've all ante'd two hundred and the big blind to my left is in for twelve hundred. He gets some kind of glint in his eye, and the whole table folds around to me. I call the big blind. He raises enough to put me and my ace-seven all-in. After pondering for half a minute, I call with all and show my ace-seven diamonds. He shows two red fives and it's off to the races we go. No aces or sevens appear on the flop, turn, nor river and I'm out in eleventh place. I don't know if the ten negotiated to pay ten places or not, I do know that I was not one of them, this time.