Ace on the River

   I played in three sitngos a couple of nights ago. It was originally supposed to be just two games but I got knocked out of the first one early. Really early. In the first hand. Not in MY first hand but in THE first hand of the game.
   I limped in with 4 5 on the dealer button. The flop was A 2 3, giving me the absolute stone-cold nuts. Player X put in a decent sized bet, everyone else folded and I called. I figure maybe he has an Ace.  The turn is a nothing card, he bets about half the pot and I call. Then an Ace hits the river. Now a full house is possible (or even quads) so I no longer have the nuts. He puts in a big bet. Maybe he's just rivered trip Aces, which is very good for me, or maybe he just hit a full house, which is very bad for me. In the end I get greedy and go all-in, he calls and shows A 2 for full on Aces. Bye bye.
   This is one of those situations where raising is a bad idea. Most of the time you're only going to get called by a better hand. I should have just called. Hopefully, I'll remember this next time.
   The second game I played I couldn't hit any decent cards and/or decent boards and got knocked out 6/9. The third game was a real roller coaster. I started out well and was the big stack for a while, then I took a couple of big hits. Eventually, I ended up with just one big blind left. Somehow I was able to claw my way back into the running and eventually took out first place. So in the end I came out slightly ahead. Not only that, but I've set a new personal record for elimination from a tournament. An interesting evening.