Pocket Aces X Four

I played in a "step" tournament today and actually got pocket aces four times. Here is the unbelievable part....they all held up on 4 all-ins and I didn't get "in the money" in the tournament! How is this possible you ask? Good question. The 2nd hand of the tournament I got in a raising war with the button when I defended my big blind. I often like to do this early if for no other reason than I want to send a message to him, "don't go raising my big blind light". He actually had only A7 suited. The flop came with an ace but with two queens. I check raised him, then continued to bet all the way, eventually going all-in. Like a true donkey he called all the way, despite me having him covered (by about $50 since I wasn't involved in the first hand played). His hand held up, he insulted me by calling me "stooge". I got pocket aces the very next hand and won that, but was only up to $150 or so. My second double up with aces came soon after but still only up to around 500 or so. I think the take-away from this is that you don't need aces to win (though it often helps). Also, be careful early when the blinds are tiny. Play for small pots if you don't have a huge hand. Had I just surrendered my blind gracefully I would have been the early chip leader and crushed the table. As it was, my early mistake haunted me the rest of the game and I was forced to play "catch up football" from then on.