Trying something a little different here - so bear with me. I will be presenting all of the hands from the first two hours in a very brief format - highlighting those that seem important.

After the first two hours, I will get a little more intensive with my review and see what I can pick up on. Although I may not have the entire report up - feel free to post if you want me to go further in any particular hand or if you want to offer up advice or if you want to ask a question. Tournament reports are as much a review of my play as a tool to generate discussion.

This was a $10+1 NL HE tournament on Pokerstars with a $55k guarantee. There were 1337 players total and after the rebuys and addons, the prize pool was in excess of $58k - which is a little lower than normal (I usually see it around $63-65k. First place was $13k and it paid out to 135 places.

With that - here comes the first hour.

[EDIT: I've posted the first two hours. I'll be back to post each level from here on out later tonight. Please feel free to post in the mean time]

The first hour: In general, I just hope for some decent cards to play in the first hour. I don't tend to take crazy chances and I still try to play somewhat sane. Amazingly enough, my table was pretty reserved - so the few hands I did play didn't net me much.

I made one horrible play in level 3 - when my flopped two pair got all in on the turn AFTER the flush had hit and I was up against the flush. I did make it up soon after when I got all-in on a flush draw with 2 other opponents and hit.

I finished the hour at 4200 after doing 1 rebuy. With the addon - that puts me up to 6200 with a total of $31 invested.

Out of the 54 hands played, I only got one pocket pair (sevens in level 4) and one AKo (in level 2). In other words - I was hoping for much more in the 2nd hour.

Level 1 (10/20, no ante) 13 hands

A9o in MP - 2 limpers - I fold
35o in MP - UTG limps - I fold
25o in MP - UTG limps - I fold
Q7s in UTG+1 - UTG folds - I fold
63s in UTG - I fold
96s in the BB - 4 limpers plus the SB, I check. Flop is T47 with one of my suit. SB bets 40, I call - everyone but the button calls. Turn is a deuce. SB bets 120 - I fold.
98o in the SB - UTG+1 raises to 200 (10xBB), 1 caller - I fold.
76o on the button - UTG+1 raises all-in to 2640. I fold.
K8o on the cutoff - MP raises all-in to 1450. I fold
K5o in MP - UTG+1 limps, MP min-raises to 40. I fold.
Q9o in MP - Folds to me - I fold
76o in MP - UTG limps - I fold
K4s in UTG+1 - UTG folds - I fold.

Level 2 (15/30, no ante, 1430 to start) 12 hands

73o UTG - I fold
T3o in the BB - 3 limpers plus the SB. Flop is K84 with 2 clubs. SB and I check, UTG bets 330 (pot was 150) - folds around - I fold.
T2o in the SB - folds to me - I fold
K9s on the button - UTG limps, MP raises to 120 (4xBB), I fold.
J9o on the cutoff - UTG raises to 270 (9xBB), MP raises all-in to 3075, I fold.
K9o in MP - MP min raises to 60 - I fold.
AKo in MP - UTG raises to 90 (3xBB), MP calls. I raise to 300, folds to MP who calls. Flop is 55J. MP checks, I push all-in with 1085 - he folds.
-- My opponent in this hand has proven to be a real moron - so I wasn't concerned if he did call - but I didn't want him to call along with some piece of crap and hit. He would definitely call here with a lot worse hands than mine - but didn't this time...
A8o in MP - UTG+1 limps - I fold
94s in UTG+1 - UTG folds - I fold
AJo in UTG - I raise to 120 (4xBB), UTG+1, MP, button and both blinds call. Flop is 2QK rainbow. Checks to me, I check, MP bets 90 (pot was 600...), I caller back to me, I call. Turn is a 4. I check, MP bets 120 (pot was 870), caller and I both call. River is another queen and we all check. I take down the pot. MP had A9o and the caller had J9o. (Up to 2840)
75o in the BB - UTG raises to 390 (13xBB), 3 callers. I fold.
63s in the SB - UTG+1 limps, button limps. I complete, BB checks. Flop is QJ7 with 2 spades (not my suit) - I check. UTG+1 bets 90 - I fold.

Level 3 (25/50, no ante, 2780 to start) 13 hands

95o on the button - MP raises to 250 (5xBB), folds to me - I fold.
J8s on the cutoff - folds to me. I raise to 150 (3xBB) - button and BB call. Flop is J89 with 2 hearts. BB checks, I bet 200 - button folds, BB calls. Turn is the Kh, BB checks, I bet 1000, he raises all-in to 2960 (has me covered). I call my last 1430. River is the Ts. He did have the flush and took the pot.
-- Horrible play on my part - getting involved like I did after the flush hit and underbetting the flop. But hey - the first hour of a rebuy allows you to make mistakes and still get back into it. I rebought once - so I'm back to 1500.
J5o in MP - UTG and MP limp. I fold.
J6o in MP - folds to me - I fold.
A9o in MP - folds to me - I fold.
KTo in UTG+1 - UTG folds - I fold.
KQs in UTG - I raise to 200 (4xBB) and get 5 callers (one of which is the BB). Flop is J74 with 2 hearts (my suit). BB checks, I bet 450. 1st limper raises to 1950, next limper pushes all-in to 5850. Folds to me, I call - 1st limper calls. Turn is an offsuit 9, river is the 6h - I take down the pot with my flush. 1st limper had J9s (not hearts) and 2nd limper had AJo. (I'm up to 5125 now).
-- Well a blocking bet turns into an easy call - looking at tripling up on a flush board with overcards. During the rebuy hour, this is such an easy call to make.
94o in the BB - UTG limps, MP raises to 250, folds to me - I fold.
Q7o in the SB - UTG raises all-in to 1330. UTG+1 calls - folds to me - I fold.
QJo on the button - MP and cutoff limp, I limp, SB completes and BB checks. Flop is KT5 with 2 clubs. Blinds check, MP bets 200, I call, BB calls. Turn is an offsuit deuce. MP bets 1000 - I fold.
J9o on the cutoff - folds to me - I fold.
A7o in MP - UTG and MP limp. I fold.
A7o in MP - folds to me - I fold.

Level 4 (50/100, no ante, 4800 to start - 1 rebuy) 16 hands

Q3o in MP - UTG+1 limps, I fold.
75o in UTG+1 - UTG folds - I fold.
62s in UTG - I fold.
86s in the BB. Four limpers plus the SB, I check. Flop is A2K with 2 hearts (not my suit). I check - MP bets 600 - I fold.
96o in the SB - UTG limps, MP raises to 300 - I fold.
77 on the button. MP limps, cutoff raises to 300, I call, SB calls, BB folds, MP calls. Flop is Q43 with 2 spades, PFR bets 500 - I fold.
42o on the cutoff. UTG+1 raises to 300, MP raises all-in to 500 - I fold.
43s in MP. UTG limps - folds to me - I fold.
82o in MP. Folds to me - I fold.
K6o in MP. UTG+1 raises to 300 - I fold.
K9o in UTG. I fold.
J7o in UTG. I fold.
32o in the BB. UTG and MP limp, I check. Flop is 27Q rainbow. I check. UTG bets 500, MP calls - I fold.
T6o in the SB. UTG+1 limps, MP raises all-in to 5190 - I fold.
J7o on the button. UTG limps, UTG+1 raises all-in to 3690 - I fold.
A8o on the cutoff. UTG+1 limps, I fold.

In the second hour, I tend to pick my spots carefully. I'm still playing a fairly tight game and only attempt a steal when a situation seems golden for it. If I am not moved from table to table - I do tend to make a lot of notes about the players at this point - because a lot of their play has become apparent during the first two hours.

Late in the 2nd hour, I was able to triple up essentially with yet another AK all-in preflop. While I was behind on the hand - I managed to river the straight to pull it out and let me continue on my journey. By the end of the 2nd hour, things are getting a little hectic and while I am feeling better about the size of my stack, the pressure from both sides of me with big stacks is certainly present. I lucked out to already have a fair number of notes against the player on my left and in the 3rd hour I come back to punish him - though not as well as I would've hoped.

Also - looking over the standings at the end of the hour, I found that one of the players who had knocked me out a few nights ago was in the top 20 chip stacks. As the tournament continued, I watched him - because I knew he was a good player from the previous tournament.

My hands did start to warm up here - giving me 3 AKo and an AQo, as well as pocket nines twice and pocket fives. Still no big pairs, but I'm certainly getting enough to keep my in the tournament with selective and careful play.
2nd Hour - here's my table at the start of the 2nd hour:

Seat 1: Big Al 903 (7650 in chips)
Seat 2: hogan88 (4375 in chips)
Seat 3: Wild-PKR (11080 in chips)
Seat 4: cgsmithx (5940 in chips)
Seat 5: Moe Rawn (10625 in chips)
Seat 6: pintoracer98 (1075 in chips)
Seat 7: shayson (7280 in chips)
Seat 8: okynot (2715 in chips)
Seat 9: Starstealer (6200 in chips)

Level 5 (75/150, no ante, 6200 to start) 17 hands

42s in MP. UTG+1 raises all-in to 1075 - I fold.
95o in MP. UTG raises to 450 - I fold.
94o in MP. Folds to me - I fold.
82o in UTG+1. UTG folds - I fold.
62o in UTG. I fold.
AKo in the BB. UTG limps, MP raises all-in to 3315. Folds to me. I reraise all-in to 6200 - UTG folds. Opponent has KJo. Final board is J83Q3 - I lose. I'm down to 2885.
-- Some people like getting all-in with AK, some don't. I'm one who doesn't - and it seems like every time I do - it ends up biting me. At least I was ahead preflop... Oh well - at least I still had something to play with, even if it was less than 10xBB.
96s in the SB. UTG+1 limps, MP raises to 600. I fold.
T6o on the button. MP raises all-in to 2900 - I fold.
-- Just for the record - this is the same player who raised in the 1st two hands of the hour...
AKo on the cutoff. Folds to me, I raise to 600 (4xBB), button folds, SB raises to 2400, BB folds. I reraise my last 410, he calls. He has pocket sixes. Final board is JJQTT - giving me a straight. I'm back up to 5770
-- Not a tough call with my relatively short stack - but again, I'm not too fond of AK all-in preflop.
J3o in MP. Folds to me - I fold.
99 in MP. UTG, UTG+1, MP all limp. I raise to 750 (5xBB). Only the 3 limpers call. Flop is A26. UTG bets all-in for 2375. MP calls 1140 all-in. I fold.
-- And here's that same player raising again. He ended up showing 45s and his caller had pocket sixes (for the flopped set).
54o in MP. UTG raises to 450, I fold.
T8o in UTG+1. UTG folds. I fold.
AQo in UTG. I raise to 600. MP calls. Flop is 277. I check - he checks. Turn is a 3. I bet 750 - he calls. River is an ace. I check, he bets 1050, I raise all-in for another 2670. He folds.
-- I had been watching this player all night - and I had seen him make bluffs on "scare" cards before if his opponents check to him. That he had accumulated 10k in chips was primarily through lucky hits made me feel confident I was best here. If he had had a seven - there's no way he would have just called the turn.
J2o in the BB. UTG limp, cutoff min-raises to 300 - I fold.
A4o in the SB. UTG+1 limps - folds to me - I complete. BB min-raises to 300, UTG+1 raises all-in to 7795... I fold.
-- Wow - what a limp reraise. Good thing he trapped us for a total of 225 extra...
86s on the button. MP raises to 450. I fold.

Level 6 (100/200, no ante, 7345 to start) 20 hands

74o on the cutoff. UTG+1 raises to 1000. I fold.
63o in MP. UTG+1 limps. I fold.
J3o in MP. Folds to me - I fold.
62o in MP. Folds to me - I fold.
96o in UTG+1. UTG folds - I fold.
88 in UTG. I raise to 800. MP calls. Flop is A4J. I bet 800 - he raises all-in to 6045. I fold.
-- I contemplated not continuing on the flop and apparently I shouldn't have. Oh well - at least I folded...
54o in the BB. MP raises all-in to 3320. I fold.
92o in the SB. UTG+1, MP limp. Button raises to 1000. I fold.
43o on the button. UTG, MP, MP2 limp. I fold.
T3o on the cutoff. Folds to me, I fold.
94o in MP. UTG+1 raises to 1000. MP calls (250 - allin). I fold.
96s in MP. UTG limps, MP raises all-in to 800. I fold.
52s in UTG+1. UTG folds. I fold.
93s in UTG+1. UTG folds. I fold.
JTo in UTG. I fold.
84o in the BB. UTG raises to 800. Folds to me - I fold.
J4o in the SB. UTG+1 limps. Folds to me - I fold.
J8o on the button. UTG+1 raises all-in to 4020. MP calls. I fold.
Q8o on the cutoff. MP raises to 600, I fold.
ATs in MP. UTG limps, I raise to 800. BB and UTG call. Flop is A34 - they check to me. I bet 4345 all-in, BB flat calls. He shows 45o (???). I take the pot.
-- This guy called real quickly, so when he turned over middle pair with an inside straight draw - I was dumbfounded... He started the hand with 7870 - so he had me covered by less than 3k. I thanked him very much for his chips.

Level 7 (100/200, 25 ante, 11190 to start) 18 hands

Here's the current situation at my table:
Seat 1: Big Al 903 (5840 in chips)
Seat 2: JCBakula (5120 in chips)
Seat 3: Wild-PKR (8845 in chips)
Seat 4: crg1 (2725 in chips)
Seat 5: Moe Rawn (16700 in chips)
Seat 6: pintoracer98 (11610 in chips)
Seat 7: shayson (4680 in chips)
Seat 8: TIASMIG (25493 in chips)
Seat 9: Starstealer (11190 in chips)

J3s in MP. UTG limps, MP limps. I fold.
93o in MP. UTG limps. I fold.
T5s in UTG+1. UTG raises to 800. I fold.
K3o in UTG. I fold.
62o in the BB. Cutoff open-limps, SB raises to 800. I fold.
K8o in the SB. MP raises all-in to 2375. I fold.
-- This is the same guy that called my all-in raise with 45o... man I wish I had a hand to play here...
K3o on the button. Folds to me. I fold.
-- Does anyone try a steal here? SB had 5490 and BB had 4970 - so they were short - but not in any threat... Just curious.
A3o on the cutoff. I open raise to 600. Button and BB call. Flop is 25J rainbow. BB leads for 400. I call. Button raises to 3200. BB folds. I fold.
-- I don't know why I called the mini-bet on the flop. I really am not fond of it at all. When the button comes over the top I have no choice but to fold.
T8s in MP. Folds to me - I fold.
43s in MP. UTG+1 limps. I fold.
54o in UTG+1. UTG folds - I fold.
(Had to step away - I miss three hands - 99 in UTG, 55 in the BB and T3o in the SB. I would have raised with the nines - and then been reraised - so I'd have folded preflop.
With the fives, I would've called a raise to 600 and then folded to a bet that came on the turn when I didn't hit my set. By sitting out those two hands - I probably "saved" myself about 1000 in chips.
42s on the button. UTG raises all-in to 5965. I fold.
53o on the cutoff. MP and MP2 limp. I fold.
J2o in MP. Folds to me - I fold.
K8o in MP. Folds to me - I fold.

Level 8 (200/400, 25 ante, 9140 to start) 22 hands

Here's the current situation at my table:
Seat 1: Big Al 903 (13815 in chips)
Seat 2: JCBakula (4820 in chips)
Seat 3: Wild-PKR (6015 in chips)
Seat 4: deputyjunior (5440 in chips)
Seat 5: Moe Rawn (12550 in chips)
Seat 6: pintoracer98 (13435 in chips)
Seat 7: shayson (7435 in chips)
Seat 8: TIASMIG (25493 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 9: Starstealer (9140 in chips)

Q5o in MP. Folds to me - I fold.
J3o in UTG+1. UTG folds. I fold.
42o in UTG. I fold.
Q9o in the BB. MP raises all-in to 5515, SB calls. I fold.
72o in the SB. Folds to me - I fold.
AJo on the button. MP raises to 6000 (all-in would've been 6510...). I fold.
-- I contemplated calling here - but figured I was in a race or worse - so why risk it?
J8o on the cutoff. MP (big stack) raises to 1200. I fold.
K8o in MP. UTG and MP limp. I fold.
86o in MP. MP limps (big stack). I fold.
A9s in MP. Folds to me. I fold.
-- I again contemplated raising here but just didn't "feel" it. Given the play after me, I likely would've been reraised and then I'm playing it out of position... another situation I'm not fond of.
32s in UTG+1. UTG folds - I fold.
K4s in UTG. I fold.
K3o in the BB. MP and cutoff limp. I check. Flop is 679 rainbow. I check, cutoff bets 2000. I fold.
A2s in the SB. MP limps, button (big stack) raises to 1600. I fold.
A9o on the button. MP raises all-in to 11485. I fold.
KTo on the cutoff. Folds to me. I fold.
-- At this point, the player on my left is added - and I love this guy as he is so predictable. I've played a few tournaments with him and have fairly extensive notes on how to manipulate him. This will come to bear later on. When he joins the table he is the big stack with 36k. The "big stack" I keep mentioning is at 33k and is on my other side. I'm feeling a little claustrophobic...
AKo in MP. UTG+1 raises all-in to 6010. I reraise all-in to 7515. Player on my left - flat calls. He has pocket eights, the first all-in player has AJo. I river a straight to take the hand - now I'm feeling healthy with 21k.
K5o in UTG+1. UTG folds. I fold.
T7o in UTG. I fold.
Q2s in the BB. UTG raises to 1200. Folds to me - I fold.
K5o in the SB. Folds to me - I fold.
-- If the player in the BB didn't defend his blinds so vigorously - I might have tried to steal this one. Since I knew how he'd react to a raise from me (responding with an all-in most likely), I didn't want to waste the chips.
J8o on the button. MP raises all-in to 7945. I fold.

Level 9 (300/600, 50 ante, 21140 in stack) 19 hands

Seat 1: SKOAL (23536 in chips)
Seat 2: JCBakula (3070 in chips)
Seat 3: ttriley (26468 in chips)
Seat 4: deputyjunior (8455 in chips)
Seat 5: Moe Rawn (25275 in chips)
Seat 6: pintoracer98 (16515 in chips)
Seat 7: ohmaha (12470 in chips)
Seat 8: TIASMIG (32673 in chips)
Seat 9: Starstealer (21140 in chips)

75o on the cutoff. 2 MP limpers. I fold.
KJo in MP. UTG raises to 2400, MP reraises to 10.8k. I fold.
64s in MP. Folds to me. I fold.
Q6o in UTG+1. UTG folds. I fold.
43o in UTG. I fold.
95o in the BB. Folds to the Button, who calls. SB completes, I check. SB checks, I check, button bets 1200. I fold.
A7o in the SB. MP raises all-in to 7205. I fold.
T2o on the button. Cutoff open raises to 1800. I fold.
J7s on the cutoff. UTG+1 raises to 2400. I fold.
Q2s in MP. Folds to me, I fold.
44 in MP. Folds to me, I limp in. Player to me left raises to 1800. Folds back to me, I call. Flop is AKJ. I check and fold to his 1800 bet.
J5s in MP. Folds to me. I fold.
J8s in UTG+1. UTG folds. I fold.
QJo in UTG. I fold.
A5o in the BB. MP raises to 1800. Folds to me - I fold.
98o in the SB. MP raises to 10200. I fold.
A7o on the button. Folds to me, I raise to 1800. SB calls. Flop is 26Q with 2 diamonds. He checks, I bet 2400, he calls. Turn is an ace. He checks and I push my last 12.5k in. He folds.
AJo on the cutoff. 2 MP limpers to me. I raise to 2400. Button calls - 1st limper folds, 2nd one calls. Flop is QJ5 - all diamonds. Limper checks, I bet 2400. Button calls, limper folds. Turn is an offsuit deuce - I push in my last 17k. He calls. River is an ace. He has 56s (not diamonds).
-- I posted this hand in the other thread with more in depth description. I've come to accept the fact that I don't like my play here - but I am happy that my opponent was enough of a moron to call...
96o in MP. UTG+1 min-raises to 1200. I fold.

Level 9 is a defining level in my opinion. In order to get to it - you have to have played a few hands. Also, the blinds and antes are starting to become a major influencial force. During this period, I pretty much treaded water until the big hand just before the next level.

I finished the level with 48080 - so I more than doubled my stack. During this time, I got a good feel for the player on my left, who has proven to want to get his money in if it is checked more than once to him.

Level 10 (400/800, 50 ante, 48080 in chips) 22 hands

Seat 1: SKOAL (46291 in chips)
Seat 2: All_Most_In (40966 in chips)
Seat 3: ttriley (27018 in chips)
Seat 4: deputyjunior (7805 in chips)
Seat 5: rynomaster (28980 in chips)
Seat 6: pintoracer98 (18415 in chips)
Seat 7: ohmaha (7570 in chips)
Seat 8: TIASMIG (19123 in chips)
Seat 9: Starstealer (48080 in chips)

Q6s in MP. UTG+1 raises all-in to 7520. I fold.
J9s in UTG+1. UTG limps. I fold.
A8o in UTG. I fold.
Q2s in the BB. Everyone folds to me.
QJo in the SB. MP raises to 2400. I fold.
83o on the button. MP limps. I fold.
Q6o on the cutoff. Folds to me - I fold.
93o in MP. Folds to me - I fold.
K9o in MP. Folds to me - I fold.
AKo in MP. Folds to me, I raise to 3200. MP calls. Flop is 4JK with 2 clubs. I bet 3200, opponent raises to 8000, I push all in my last 36k. He folds.
-- After the hand, he says he has KQ. I find it funny that he's able to fold top pair, bad kicker, but is willing to go all the way with bottom pair and inside straight draw... Regardless, I think I should have just done another reraise here - to tempt him to push, but I may have gotten all that I can get - not sure.
AQo in UTG+1. UTG folds, I raise to 3200. Everyone folds.
75o in UTG. I fold.
T8o in the BB. UTG min-raises to 1600. SB calls, I fold.
98o in the SB. UTG min-raises to 1600. Cutoff calls. I fold.
K8o on the button. Folds to me, I fold.
J6s on the cutoff. UTG+1 raises all-in to 15215. I fold.
A5o in MP. MP limps. I fold.
A2s in MP. Folds to me, I fold.
A6o in UTG+1. UTG folds. I fold.
33 in UTG. I limp. MP raises to 3200, SB calls. I call. Flop is 27T rainbow. I check, MP bets 5600. I fold.
72o in the BB. UTG raises to 2400. SB reraises all-in to 13323 - I fold.
A2o in the SB. MP limps, I complete. BB checks. Flops is 46T with 2 diamonds (I do have the ace of diamonds). I check, MP bets 3200. I fold.

Only had the back-to-back AK-AQ hands in this level to keep me floating. It was enough however, since I finished the level with more than I started. I didn't gain any ground in chip position on the table really, and definitely not with respect to the rest of the field - but I was at least treading water.

The jump in blinds between level 10 and 11 is pretty big. First of all - 55880 is just shy of 60BB at 400/800, but at 600/1200 it is around 45 or so. Add to that the bigger antes and you've got a stack that dwindles quickly if you don't pick up some chips.

There's also a couple of points at this level where, on retrospect I felt I probably should've put in a steal. This is a part of the problem I have with getting into the money and then getting deeper - I tend not to do enough steals. It is definitely something I'm working on - but it has seen mixed results.