Main Event Day 2B

So I had a strange day 2. I showed up and say Thom Wetherman, a great guy and one time bracelet winner (Pot Limit Hold'em), and also the 5th place finisher on the final table I made last year. So I know Thom and his game pretty well. Also, beside me was Sean Buchannan, 'Buck21/Buck99' from online and a good friend of the Vancouver guys we've befriended since being here. So two guys who I feel play really well. I think to start the day I was the chip leader of the table with $120k and I ended the day second in chips for that table with $225k (Thom ended with 241k). The only three left from the start of the day on that table were Sean, Thom and I.
I played pretty standard. ABC123, jackson 5 for the 8 hours. I tried to play a wide range when it was folded to me but I really knitted it up if the pot was opened ahead of me. Applied the cash game move of 3betting the total nuts and absolute air, 57,25,K4. I had no big hands but KK and it was folded around. Three big hands won my chips for the entire day.
Hand 1: Buck21 opens utg+2, I flat 88 next to act, the BB defends. Flop is AQ2, checked around. Turn 8. BB leads, sean folds, I call. River Q, BB bets, I shove, he calls with 222QQ. I turned a higher set and coolered him off (I'm up to 155k).
Hand 2: I open JTo in the cutoff. Tight new old guy calls in small blind, BB calls (young asian pokerstars kid). Flop is J89. SB leads for 3k into 5k, BB calls, I make it 12k (mistake by me). SB calls, BB calls (read: woops). Pot is now somehow 40k. Turn is a J. They check to me. Now, i think the SB hand is a bigger J alot of the time, maybe he has 9T,8T,JT or a full house now but I think he shovels his stack in on the flop. The BB definitely has a draw still. Now, I can check the turn because really, the only bad card for me is a chop if I'm still ahead with three jacks. I'm never drawing dead but I can't foresee me getting called by worse. Either way we now have a 40k pot which is huge for this time of the day and it's checked to me. I decide I'm ahead enough given the turn action, I bet 20k, the small blind thinks for a while and shoves, the BB folds. I don't like it and feel like I have the worst hand but call the extra 15k and he says, 'Do you have a Jack?'. I laughed and said oh, why yes, he shows me AA !!!!!. Wowzers. I win, up to 200k or so.
Hand 3: Tightish old guy with wife on rail right behind him, opens in early to mid position. I call with AJof spades in the small blind. Flop is AT5 rainbow with one spade. I check/call his 1/2 pot bet, not knowing if I'm ahead or behind. Turn is a 9spades. I check and he bets 7500 into 12k. I know think that I'm behind here a lot but he's got 40k or so behind and if I can get 20k or so on the river if I hit a J or a spade I don't mind it. I'm ahead a non-zero % of the time, with 12 wins (28% to win) vs. AK or AT than it's not horrible. If he has a set he's paying a river spade for sure. So I call. Pot is 27k. Bink on the end, 2s. I bet 20k, he calls. Wierd thing is he rapped the table when I flopped my Ace so I dunno, I might have been good, I don't know how good/bad he plays, he was a bit unpredictable with values the whole day. Running great obviously, getting paid for sure. So those 3 big hands I end the day well above the 80k or so average with 225k.

There were only a few spots I got active with air. 3-4 3bets with nothing. I 3bet buck and got shoved on, had to fold QQ because we're so deep. I lost chips on two weird hands on day 2. Here they are.

Hand 1: I open 56hh in early position and the small blind calls. Flop is 5d 7s 8s. He checks and I check. Turn is a 9s and he bets 4400 into 4000. I call with my straight. River is an Ah. He now bets 19k into 13k. I think for a few minutes and fold. I don't know if I folded the winner but I feel like I may have given his actions the rest of the day. I do have the worst straight and no flush but this overbet is strange by a seemingly weak player... he might be on level one thinking, he raised, checked the flop, flop is low, he has missed, I bet bet and win. I don't know.

Hand 2: 4 way pot, I call in BB with QTdd. Flop is J96, flop gets checked. Turn is a 7, I lead, Thom calls, everyone folds. River is a 7, I bet 9400 into 14000, he calls with 8T for a turned straight. He played the hand great by flatting the turn and allowing me to bluff the river. Great play vs. me. I lose 15k on that hand.

All in all, so much more to go. I think there's a little under 2000 remaining from 6500 or so. Money starts at 680 but we're not here for a min-cash. I'm planning on playing solid, I think that it takes very specific situations where cash-game aggression is optimal vs. weaker players and so far I see so many value mistakes that opening light and keeping pots small has worked very well. We'll see though, ready to change it all up if need be. My table tomorrow is not good. Three guys with over 800k in tournament winnings including Alexander Kostritsyn who I played the plo with and have become fast acquaintances with. He's on my right though thankfully. He plays fast and we have both over 200k. Hopefully Day 3 goes smooth like 1+2.