First NL tourney ever - bad decision here?

[el_grande]

I just played in my first NL tourney last night. UB $5 buyin with unlimited rebuys for the first hour. Start w/1000 chips. Over 200 players in. I did quite well, making it up to 4th place at one point. 2hrs in I was in 17th (first 30 places pay) and there are 60 players left. I've got 15500 in chips. I was one of the few players who never rebought, so I'm feeling good about my holdem skill.

The hand that crippled me I'm pretty sure was a bad call. The blinds were up to 1000-2000 so if I just sat there playing real tight I'd slowly slip down the rankings. The leaders are up at 25K-30K. I was going for a big win to get me in the top 10 and then I would have started coasting. Anyway, this is what happened:

I've got AT in MP2. MP1 minimum raises pre-flop and I call.

Flop: 3 8 10 rainbow

MP1 checks, I bet 4,000.
MP1 calls.
Turn: K
MP1 checks, I check.
River: rag
MP1 bets 8,000 and I call.

MP1 turns over AA.

That crippled me. A few hands later with 3000 chips I go all in with AK on the button and lose to QQ in the small blind. Ugh.

Overall, I'm happy though.

Should I have not called and let myself drop down in the rankings, waiting for a monster?

[Acesover8s]

Don't call raises with AT. If you must play it, reraise against a stealer or someone who is capable of laying down AT themselves.

[Zag]

I'm with AA88, don't call a raise with AT, unless you think the raiser is stealing, in which case you should be reraising. From early middle position, he is probably not on a steal.

But congrats for getting into the money on your first tournament. This is an accomplishment to be proud of.