Still doing good in live games, but I hate 2nd place

I had another live game last night, with 8 players, a $5 buy-in and prizes as followed $20, $15, $5 for the first 3.
I am somewhat happy and disappointed because I finished 2nd in both games we played, but I also know I could/should/would have finished first if I played better and avoided bad beats here and there.
But I still came out the winner, as I was the only person to cash in both games and got the most profit, with a net +$20 in winnings (which also makes the two winners the only other players in the black).
Don't remember much of the action to be honest with you but I am just going to give you a bunch of hands.

FIRST GAME

- Two-handed flop of TTT and one player shoves his short stack and gets called. He showed 99 but caller had a crushing KT, good game.

- Heads-up he has a 2-1 lead on me and I push with (huge blinds) AJ and to my surprise he snaps with 89 and pairs on the flop to bust me.

SECOND GAME

- QJ and three of us see a flop of KJx and it's all checked. The turn is a rag and the short stack shoves and the other folds. I put him on a Jack as well and think for about 1 min. since it was about half my stack (trying to surive at this point). I call and he showed J4, with the river missing him.

- KK in the SB with 4 limpers, I raise 5xBB and they all fold.

- On the bubble I raise A9o UTG and the SB shoves. Now since I know him, he could have anything from A5 to AA in that spot. I call for half my stack and he shows AK, ichk! I double him up and I am short stacked.

- KK again and I shove my minuscule stack and get 2 callers. They checked all the way down to the river which is another K. I triple up with the nuts.

- Not long after I get KK again in the SB and it's folded to me. I decide to trap and simply call, hoping for a raise in position. To my surprise he checks.
Flop is KQT and I check, he bets, I call trying to represent a draw. Turn is the case King and I have a nuclear hold on the hand and check...since I represented a draw, the King would not have helped me.
Of course he bets and I shove for very little more. He agonizes because he now knows I do have something and calls anyway because he could afford it and was committed. I show quads and he had A5.

- Heads-up I doubled him up when I had AJ vs KQ and he paired on the flop.

- After a few more hands I tried to steal with K3 by shoving and he snaps with A3 and I miss.

Well there it is. Like I said, a few bad beats killed me but what can you do. I really need to work on my heads-up game right now and try to avoid spots where I gamble too much.

Meh, still a good night overall. Even though the structure was very very fast, it was more of a push/fold contest, but it's a skill that will come in handy from time to time.

ronee