I have one rule when it comes to playing tournaments online. Well, truth be told I have many rules, but this is by far the single most important:

Don't risk your tournament life on a hand you aren't sure about.

I joined the $4k guaranteed, 6-player per table, deep stack Pot Limit Hold'em game on Full Tilt this afternoon. 252 players were registered, top 30 places paid. I generally stick to NL when I play Hold'em, but thought this would be a good change of pace. That, and there weren't any other tournaments running that interested me. With 3000 starting chips on tables of 6, there was a lot of room to play. I was able to loosen up my regular style a bit, and actually have some fun with my hands.

I stayed pretty even in the top 30 percent of the field until we got down to about 100 players, then I went card dead. Fortunately the blinds were still low enough that I was able to sit back and wait for some hands. I eventually found back-to-back hands of AK, and the tournament chip leader was kind enough to pay me off on both hands to the tune of approximately T10,000. I was back in the game, and my stack was about even with the average when I got moved to a different table.

I watched a few rounds go by until I found A8c in the big blind. I limped in and the flop was T62, double-suited in clubs. I tossed out a 3x bet and was raised by the table chip leader. For some reason I just didn't think he had anything (also apparently forgetting that I had nothing but a draw and a single overcard) so I raised all-in, making it easy for him to scoop my entire stack with his flopped set of 2's. I went out in 54th place, no better off than had I been first out. I was in a position to not only make the money, but score a decent cash out of it yet I threw it all away on a draw after he had represented strength.

Am I on tilt? No. He had me beat fair and square - I can't criticize him or blame anyone but myself. I am disappointed with my decision-making, and when it comes to poker I think that is a far worse feeling to have.