pocket 10s on the button - Live Tourney- opinions please

[RHCNNN]

Okay, I was playing a $30 freezeout at Casino Morong othe other day. And to about an hour into the tournament I was average stacked, being somewhat card dead, and then some old guy gets moved to my table. The first hand he sees me play when he sits down is a pretty huge pot, culminating in me calling someone elses all in on the river. I had AQ suited and after raising preflop and the flop with one caller I check the turn, and he goes all in for much less than the pot. I don't remember the cards on the board exactly, but I do know I had 2 overcards, a straight draw, and a flush draw so I called with my 18 outs and huge pot odds and hit one of them on the river. The old guy shakes his head in disgust and says "pffft, at least we know he he plays now." -talking about my "horrible" play.
The hand I am questioning is the very next one involving me and this old guy. I have about 7500 in chips and he has about 4500. Blinds are 200-400.
I'm on the button and get dealt 10-10. the old guy is UTG+1 and calls the big blind. There are is one other caller, making the pot 1400, and it gets around to me. I raise 3000 chips. and the SB & BB fold, then the old guy goes all in for 1500 more. The other person folds. I call and he flips up AQ. He hits a Q on the turn and cripples my stack.

I raised the 10s so much because the pot was already 1400 chips comared to the average stack of about 3000-4000. I wanted to take it down right there so i bet that much thinking the limpers weren't strong enough to call a raise for that much of their stacks, and I didn't want to have to deal with any over-cards on the flop. How is my thinking in this situation? Should I have raised less? Not at all (no set no bet)?
How would you have played this?

[DoGGz]

You have him beat here. You made the correct play, don't second guess yourself.

[RHCNNN]

I know I had the better hand, but my question about my play is more along the lines of was I correct in putting myself in a position where I put so much of my stack at risk... was the situation favorable for me to get involved with half of my stack? Not so much should I have thought my hand was good, but my "chip management" so to speak.

[dalecooper]

I don't mind your play at all. Your other options:

- don't raise at all (not a fan of this one, which puts you in a probable no set, no bet situation post-flop)

- raise less (maybe to 1600, which would be 3xBB raise). The outcome is probably the same; if the average stack is 4000 or so, few players would just call a raise that large. Most of them would fold or push. For that reason I favor your larger raise, which puts them to a decision.

- push all in yourself. Personally I think the large raise is almost as good, since you raised enough to cripple or consume the average stack. He had enough to re-raise you somewhat, but basically your raise was going to kill his stack anyway if he just called.

[drmcboy]

I'm OK with the play as long as you were thinking:

1) These guys smell weak, I've got a good chance to take down the pot here.

2) if not, I'll be pot commited if either one comes over the top, and I think they both have overs. I'm OK with a coinflip right now.

If you can't find a raise amount that doesn't commit you and you don't want to commit, limp or fold.