Lost a tournament in two hands

I played in a mid-sized poker tournament Saturday afternoon and lost all my chips in two hands. Both cases were bad luck, and frankly, I wouldn't have done things differently but that doesn't ease the pain.

Hand #1 I have more than doubled my initial chip stack and am comfortable at the table with a a nice lead at my table. There are four other tables at this point. I am the big blind (600 chips) with pocket deuces -- not a strong hand but fortunately no one raised pre flop and there were two other callers plus the small blind who called. So four players in all.

The flop comes Q - 5 - 2. Wonderful. I flop a set.
The small blind checks, and I check hoping someone will bet so that I can come over them. Sure enough the next player bets 3,500 which is a bit more than the pot which includes antes of 50 per player. Player 4 (the button) folds, the small blind folds and I re-raise going all-in. The raiser thinks for a moment then calls with all her chips (that player has fewer chips than I do).

The action: I show my set, the other player shows QJ. I am way ahead. But disaster is coming. The turn is a Jack giving the other player two pair, and the river is a queen giving the other player a bigger full house than mine, and I am left with about 1800 chips.

Hand #2 The very next hand. I have Ace-King in the small blind which is 300 chips plus the 50 ante and three other players call the big blind. This is a perfect opportunity for me to quadruple up if my AK win. I am all in and I get two callers.
The river gives me the ace-high flush, but I lose to a straight flush.

These things will happen, but not back to back like this. It made me so sick I was saying to myself I'll never play poker again.

The more players the less likely you will win. The exact same cards give you a lower chance of winning if more players are involved. This is essentially an increase in variance. You will win more money but you will win less often. I suspect you already know this but given that you had a lead in this tournament one could argue that going for the big wins wasn't worth the cost.

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Originally Posted by arcimede$

The more players the less likely you will win. The exact same cards give you a lower chance of winning if more players are involved. This is essentially an increase in variance. You will win more money but you will win less often. I suspect you already know this but given that you had a lead in this tournament one could argue that going for the big wins wasn't worth the cost.

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I don't understand the point you are trying to make? You win tournaments by knocking out other players. You have to go for the big wins.

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Originally Posted by Alan Mendelson

I don't understand the point you are trying to make? You win tournaments by knocking out other players. You have to go for the big wins.

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Not if the risk is too high. You did say you were in a good position, right? If you were in a poor position then it makes sense, otherwise it depends on several factors. One of them is the variance of the situation. Obviously, that is above your pay level. One of those things that separates the better players from the herd.

Arc, I flopped a set, and it cost me nothing to see the flop -- I was already the big blind. Did you expect me not to bet it? Do you realize how rare it is to flop a set? And more importantly a set that no one would expect?

Risk? My risk was low with a set.

Most players who "push" (go all in) are pushing with one pair with an ace kicker, or push with two pair to try to block a flush or straight draw. Having a set gives you a huge advantage. I didn't tip my hand, I allowed another player with a single pair to make a nice-sized bet, and then I came over the top. Actually I am surprised she even called putting her tournament life at risk with only one pair. She should have said to herself -- "two pair beat me, a pair of kings or aces beat me, even a queen with a king or ace kicker beats me," but instead she called the all-in. Listen, it comes down to this: "donks can get lucky."