we all played it bad

In a $20+2 SNG, I was dealt AJo in early position.
I had about 1,000 chips; the blinds were 50/100, and there were 7 players (including me) remaining.
I hadn't played a hand in more than two laps, and the three maniacs who had started at our table had busted out. I was in about 3rd chip position, and the chip leader -- with about 1600 -- was in the small blind.
I open-raised all-in, figuring to take down the blinds. Given my position, chip stack, and that I hadn't played a hand in a while, I figured I would win the blinds uncontested.
Bad figuring.
A short stack called all-in with just under 600 chips, and the small blind went all-in.
The big blind folded, and the hands were turned up.
JJ for the small blind, ATo for the short stack. I was in trouble needing one of the two remaining aces to win.
As it turned out, an ace hit the flop and I took down the pot, knocking out the short stack, crippling the chip leader and becoming the chip leader in the process. I went on to take first in the tourny.
But, in thinking about this hand, I don't like any of it.
First, open-raising all-in with AJo is a bad play. Given my position, it was likely AQ, AK or a pocket pair could have been left to act, putting me in a bad spot. I could have limped, then folded if there was a big raise, or open-raised a smaller amount. Also, given the blinds and my stack, I could have simply folded the hand. AJo is tempting to play, and it will win its share of pots, but it's no powerhouse, esp out of position. I overplayed it and got very lucky.
The short stack calling all-in with ATo was a horrible play. He still had a couple of hands before he would be the big blind, and given that I hadn't played a hand in a while, it was too likely that my hand dominated his (which it did).
Also, he wasn't the smallest stack at the table, and had plenty of chips to cover his big and small blinds when it was his turn, and still have chips left over with which to pick his spots.
Calling all-in with ATo against an early position raiser in a game that is not shorthanded is just bad poker.
I also don't like the small blind getting involved here with JJ. While JJ can be powerful in shorthanded play or with position, this was a questionable spot. By folding, he loses his small blind, and lets two smaller stacks tangle. At the end of the hand, either one player is eliminated, or a stack that can hurt him has been diminished. He called against one of the few stacks that could hurt him, and after another player had already called.
You could argue that given the pre-flop raise and call, it was more likely that the Jacks were facing two players holding aces, making the jacks more of a favorite, but it could have been as likely that the Jacks were facing AQ in one spot and KK in another (or some other lethal combination).
Regardless, while Jacks are a strong hand, the chip leader didn't need to get involved, esp since there were still 7 players in the tournament.
Note that there is a huge difference in betting all-in with JJ and calling two players who are already all-in with JJ.
I think few players would fold JJ in this spot, hoping to take down a big pot, knock out two players and be in a strong position to win the tournament. And, the jacks were the favorite hand to win this pot, though pushing small edges isn't the best way to get into the money. Given that even if he lost, he would still have about 600 chips, he might have decided to gamble. But, in order to take first place in a tournament, you don't need to knock out every player, just the last one. Folding here allows two smaller stacks to tangle, possibly eliminating one, and putting you one step closer to the money. And that's a strong play.

riding out the bad streaks

I went to Foxwoods to play in the morning tournament.
I was going to kill time playing in the 10/20 game, but there were none going, so I decided to sit 4/8 while I waited for the tournament to start.
Bad streaks happen, and one happened to me.
I sat down at 7 AM.
When they called for the tournament start, I was stuck $100 and hadn't won a pot. Since I wasn't feeling that the cards were running for me yet, I stayed put.
An hour later, they called the 10/20, and I was stuck 200, and still hadn't dragged a pot.
I was getting nothing playable, and the one time I had hit a hand (a flopped straight from the big blind holding 7,3o, I had been outdrawn on the river).
I decided to stay put, and make sure I was in the right frame of mind before moving up to 10/20. Roy West wrote, Play happy or don't play. And, while I wasn't unhappy, I wasn't jumping up and down feeling good.
And hour later, I finally dragged a pot. An hour after that, the cards had turned a bit for me, and I cashed out of the 4/8 game, stuck a little, but feeling confident about my play.
Then I went to the 10/20, and cleaned up. I was in the right frame of mind to play winning poker, and booked a few hundred dollar win.
When the cards aren't running, don't force it. Take a break, or play down a limit and figure out if it's just a streak of dead cards, a leak in your game, or what. But don't get bouncing your head off the wall when you're running bad, and don't move up to the bigger game, thinking it will be easier to beat for some reason. Your bankroll will thank you for it.

pocket 4s in the blind

in a $10 buy-in tournament on Party (1st: $1400), I had 44 in the BB. No one raised, and 5 of us saw the flop of A, 9, 4, with two hearts.
On a rainbow board, I'd be inclined to check, looking to check-raise an ace, but with the two hearts, I didn't want to risk a free card, so I bet the pot.
One player called.
The turn was the duece of hearts.
I bet the same amount I had bet on the flop; he flat-called again.
The river was an ace; I bet 80% of the pot.
He thought for a long while; I figured he had an ace, and that he was very worried about the flush.
He called, and fours full were good.

I made a small bet on the turn for information. If raised, I would have had a tough decision, depending on the size of the raise. I felt that a check would have put larceny in his heart, giving him a chance to bet me out of the pot. A small bet, I hoped, would either just be called or he'd fold, fearing flush. If he had a flush, he might just call, figuring I would fire again on the river and he could raise me there.

He didn't show his cards, so I can only guess at his hand. I figure he held an ace, and hit the one card that would compel him to pay me off in case I was bluffing without the flush; little did he know I was full.

risking your tournament on a draw

It happens a lot, especially in a Sit-N-Go.
A player flops four cards to a flush or an open-ended straight, and decides to call all-in, risking his tournament.
Note that this is different from betting all-in, especially if the bet is substantial enough to cause others to fold, thereby creating two ways to win (everyone folds to your bet or they call and you hit your draw).

Everyone folded to the button who raised to 180 (three times the BB); the small blind mucked, and the BB called.
The flop came K, Q, 7. BB checked, pre-flop raiser bet 250 at the 390 pot. The BB called.
The turn was J, and the BB bet all-in his last 340 chips.

Button called, showed AK (top pair, top kicker, and a draw for Broadway if a ten hit). BB turned over TT for an open-ended straight draw.

While I like this all-in bet better than an all-in call, there's no chance that the pre-flop raiser is going to lay down his hand, which means that the bettor has 8 outs or his tournament is over (in this case, the two remaining tens in the deck make the pre-flop raiser a straight).

I hate the flop call; pocket tens are clearly in trouble, even if the pre-flop raiser was on a steal, since both a King and a Queen hit the board. While the Jack does give the BB an open straight draw, it also is another over-card on the board (if the pre-flop raiser had AJ...), meaning he has to make the straight to win (given the board, one would have to assume that either pocket tens were beat or that the pre-flop raiser had an ace, reducing the chances that a ten will win the pot).

Given the player's short stack, and his clear desire to gamble, re-raising pre-flop is not a bad play.

End result -- a 9 hit the river, giving the BB the pot. But, in tournament play, the goal is to win. You can't win if you get busted out. Risking your tournament on draws is a great way to make sure you don't make the money. Obviously, there are times when you have to play your draws strongly, but if you can avoid getting your money in the pot with drawing hands -- especially with one-way draws [if you have both a straight and a flush draw, you have a lot more outs], you'll make more final tables.