WSOP 2006 - Day 3 - Tuesday 18th July - Hero to Zero

Game 1
Played in my first WSOP event - Event 27 $1,500 buy-in.
We started off with only 1,500 chips - blinds 25/25. This low number of chips is my excuse since after about 30 minutes I play my worst hand in Vegas.
I have about 1,400 chips when I get dealt A9 spades in the cut-off seat. I raise a call from mid position making it 100 to go. He calls.
Flop is 985 rainbow. He checks, I bet 250. He calls. Turn is 3c, putting 2 clubs on board. He checks. This is where I blunder. There is 750 in the pot - I have around 1,000 left. Why did I not check here? Oh no, I decide he is weak so I go all-in. Of course he calls and shows 88 for a set. River does not help so I am down to 75 chips. Could I have avoided losing here? Only folding before the flop would have done it.
Go all-in a couple of hands later with Q5 vs K9 so I am out.

Game 2
$175 WSOP Sit and Go satellite. A fun game with lots of crazy play. Ends up with 3 of us roughly even in chips. Turns out the other players are an aussie and a froggy - we bulldozed those timid sceptics. We split the $500 chips 3 ways and played for the extra $100. The crowd loved it 'cos the Frenchman kept asking them to advise him what to do when he was going all-in.

Game 3
$125 (no rebuy) tournament at the MGM.
Make a good read in early stages. We start with 1,500 and blinds are 25/50 when I get Q2 in BB. 2 callers so when flop comes Q96 with 2 spades I bet 150. One caller. Turn is 7s. I bet 300 - he goes all-in. I think for some time. He seemed like a good player, so I don't think he played the flush draw so I call. He has KT no spades and does not hit on the river. Later I flop a flush to the king and get action from flush to the 10 so have 7,000 chips at the first break.
However luck deserts me. Raise with AJ before the flop from the button. BB calls. Flop comes 358. He goes all-in. I call because he is an aggressive local who always bets big. He has an 8. That loses me 2000.
Next hand raise with KQ from cut off. Mid position limper goes all-in for 1000 more. I call. He has 44. That takes off another 1500.
I round later on the button I raise 2 limpers all-in with 99 for my last 2000 chips. 1 caller has AQ and catches a Q to knock me out.

Game 4
Go back to the Venetian. This time there are only 49 runners so only 5 get paid. Manage to make it to the final table again without much incident mainly on the back of a big pot KK vs QQ. Run into a couple of foes from the night before and knock out the Greek guy again. He was still bitter from before, but said I did him a favour because he went off to the Rio and won big there.
Make a mistake when I call unraised pot from SB with Q3 and flop comes QJ5. I check waiting for a steal from the button. When he bets the pot I go all-in over the top. Unfortunately he calls with Q9. This cripples me and I am out in 8th place a few hands later for no payout.