Playing a draw late in a tournament?

Hi pokergods, and wannabes...

I played a 5+1 limit hold'em tournament at Party and had to say my goodbyes as nr 22 of 910 entrants. And the reason I got busted was due to 3 almost identical hands (don't I ever learn?) within a short period of time. Since I lost them I now know I shouldn't have played them at these specific ocassions... But I can't really decide if they should normally be a fold?

The hands where ATs, A9s and A8s from late position.
On all three hands I flopped TPTK + 4 to a flush, and from the action on the flop I get a strong feeling that my top pair wasn't good. But I had pot odds to call down and hope to catch a flush. None of the boards had any pair on them.. so a flush would be the nutz..

So my question is.. is it the right thing to do to chase a flush draw this late in a tournament if u have pot odds for it?

Ohh some more info...
This all happended around level 1000/2000 (BB=1000) and 1500/3000 with an average stack of about 30k and the first time I had about 45k...

The payout structure is also of some importance (to me anyway). 100 places get paid but you only REALLY get paid if u end up top 4.. 4th= 300$ 1st=1200$, but an 10th place would be something like 45-50$. For my 22nd place I got about 35$... So slowplaying to move up a few places doesn't really pay off.

Sorry for the long post, but I would really like some constructive comments.. Do you guys play strong draw hands late in a limit tournament? When you are about 80-90% sure that the hand u have now is beat?

Yes,you have to play to win! in these 3 examples you have the nut flush draw. and in limit your opponents can't control pot odds. so you don't have to worry about being put all-in on the turn for example.plus the top 3-4 only make good money here. so like in all tourneys you have to play to make it to the final table. im sure this survey will agree. cheers [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[Bigdaddydvo]

With Top pair + Nut Flush draw, I try to get all of my chips into the pot almost every time. The only hand that really has you in trouble is a set, and even then you're only a 2:1 underdog.

Even w/middle pair + your nut flush draw, you have around 50% equity in the pot. These are the hands I love to go to war with on the flop (either a big lead or a big CR), and if you lost for playing them aggressively, don't feel bad.