Full Tilt $4,000 Guarantee-PLO

I have been playing this tournament a bit more recently. It is a $26 buy-in and typically attracts 230+ players. 27 players typically cash. Played it 2x last week and 2x this week. Last Thursday and last night (also Thursday) I min cashed by just sneaking into the money.

Actually last night I was 13th with 27 left when my bust-out hand came up. An player raised to 5500 from SB (blinds were 500/1000 and there had been 2 limpers including me on the button). I was going to fold my 5699 but the c/o called and I had to call 4500 into a pot of 12,500. Stacks were approx.-raiser 32k, c/o 40k and me 30k. Flop comes A97 with 2 clubs. Now what are the hands that an active player would be raising with out of the SB:

1) AAxx is the most obvious. If so I am crushed here, though I do have 4 likely outs (3 non-club 8s and the case 9) although only the case 9 is clean.
2) 4 broadways probably suited. If this is the case he may have a fl draw or a gutterball to a bigger str8 (i.e. JTQK with two clubs). Now I am ahead and just need to avoid a club, an 8 and/or runner runner str8 cards.
3) A smaller rundown hand like 789T or a one gap hand like 78TJ. This player seemed capable of making a raise with that hand. If this is the case he has a huge wrap and I need to fade a lot of outs.

So back to the action and he leads for 12k into the pot of 17k. What do I do? I have 2 options: ship and pray or fold and wait for a better spot. Well it was late and I opted for the push and pray method. He calls and flips AAxx and I lose. Think that was a fold after he leads at the pot. He isn't putting that much into the pot post flop with much that I can beat. Best I can hope for is scenario 2.

I did finish 3rd in this same tournament last Sunday night. Was fun to make a final table again and I really think I played very well. I was all the way down to 1250 in chips at one point (start with 3k) and fought my way back. Chipped up from 16k to 60k without much difficulty during the play down from the money bubble to the final table. The final hand was a doozy:

So I am in BB. Villian in SB. He has been playing rather poorly and taking HUGE gambles and winning those. I have 130k in chips, he has 200k and third guy has remaining chips (like 350k). Big stack folds. Blinds 4,000-8,000. Villian min-raises to 16k. I call with 9956 (same holding as last night). Flop comes 358. He donk bets half the pot (16k again). All I have is an overpair and a double belly buster str8 draw. But I read through this donk and am pretty sure this guy is weak. So I ship it to 80k, effectively putting me all in (have less than 25k behind), so I am not folding obv. Donktard instantly ships and I call. He flips 47QT (WOW do people play bad). He is now dead to 3 6s. He plays for 4 ½ hours and stacks off to 3 outs (although the Q and T were outs he couldn’t have believed they were). Turn is a 6 and I miss my river 7. Out in 3^rd for $800. First paid like $1,700. Sick shit. I make a sick read and shove and the cards reward the donktard.

So now I have final tabled this tournament 8 or ten times with 4 runner ups and 3 thirds. Can’t take it down. Soon hopefully I can change this.