DarKCroNo,
If your potentiometer releases magic smoke only in certain positions, you most definitely wired it the wrong way. When you move the wiper to the "bad" position, you are shorting the RC +5V and GND pins, forcing a huge current into the potentiometer (large enough that it burns).
To wire it correctly, grab a multimeter and dial in so you are measuring resistance in the 20kohm range (it varies by model, just make sure it's larger than 10kohm). Position the potentiometer slider about halfway through and place the probes on any two of the three pins (and by your description, it probably
isn't the outer pins). If the slider is in the middle and you manage to measure 10kohms (you said that's the nominal resistance of your pot) in any two pins, that's where you're supposed to solder the red and black wires. The white wire is soldered on the remaining pin, the wiper. If you notice that the count goes up when you wanted it to go down (ie, sliding the other way) then you need to swap the red and black wires from what you had previously soldered. The white wire remains the same, of course.
If you need further help, or if my advice didn't work, please ask again!
