Crazy poker game

I just played a game of No Limit Texas Hold Em.
The buy in was $1 +$0.25, so it wasn’t high stakes. There were 18 players.

As per normal, I started folding hands early. I do that for two reasons, firstly to dodge the crazy hands people usually play early on, but also to present a tight table image to those who take notice.

But I won a couple hands early, I think my first raise with AQ stole the blinds, my next winning hand I won by betting on the flop.

I quickly found myself in 3rd place of 15, and was content to sit and fold my way to final table. But I kept getting hands.
Not monster hands, like AA through TT or AK suited or anything, but things like… Ks5s on the Big blind, and hitting the nut flush draw on the flop, and the flush on the turn.

Also, once we were getting low handed, I noticed that the player on my left was sitting out, so I capitalised on that. Instead of 6 handed, we were 5 handed, and I adjusted accordingly, raising with hands like A8o second to act, or limping on the button with 75, etc to go heads up with big blind.

But I kept hitting straights and such, and I knocked a few people out.
Then I stole some pots, and then I hit a few more hands, and so on.
Next thing I knew I had about 9000 in chips, we were playing “five” handed (four handed and my player to the left sitting out) so I was playing and raising and winning almost every hand.

Then when I knocked out two more players, we were put into the final table, I had about 12000 in chips.
Nobody else had more than 2000.
And I folded quite a few hands, but I will wager nobody noticed any of those, because my raises pre flop were always pot sized, and I could do it with any two cards – and often did so.
KJo was an easy raise, and I could bet into aces on the board.
Even when I was paying people, I didn’t notice a dent. But when I won, I cleaned up.

And I was winning a lot.
The final heads up I had nearly 23000, and the next guy had just over 4000.

And then, even though we muscled for several hands, he kept drawing out on me.
Soon he had 7000, and 9000, and then we were nearly even – about 15 to 11.

I kept setting up plays, which he would fall for, and then win by luck.
On one hand, he outplayed me, for me to double him up, leaving me with 7.5K
I hit two pair on the flop, and he hit a four outer on the river to knock me out.

So even though I was a monster stack the entire game, I still managed to come in at second place.
Poker can be a weird game.