The Reveal - & then the supplementary........
I think everyone who Posted on the Thread should read their replies again, to see how near the mark you were.
The advice was terrific - to, & for, me - thank you - but most of you misread the situation, exactly as I did.
Marcus, who led out on the flop, after I checked, was holding the absolute cocoanuts -

I re-raised him now, (probably mangling the amount, but the message was "I'm not Passing OK?), so Marcus went into the tank, gave it considerable dwellage, & an Oscar-winning performance, before shoving all-in. I had pre-determined I would Call if he did, & I did, leaving myself down to 1,200 or so if I lost. At 50-100, that's a mountain of chips.
I take on board the good advice that as I
thought my hand was the nuts, I should have led out on the Flop. Which was exactly what Marcus did, totally wrong-footing me in the process. (And most of you, judging by the replies). In fact, it played the same either way.
1) I thought Marcus deserved credit for playing the hand well.
2) I met Greekstein just before the Tourney, & he told me how much the PHA had helped his game, & this seemed a good hand to provoke some debate, & it certainly gave me a few good tips. The replies suggested Marcus would have wrong-footed most of you, too. So can we do better? Can we find a Pass?
3) Most of you, in my spot, stack off here. (Judging by the replies).
But........
We don't HAVE to stack-off here - we don't. In fact, if Marcus had me covered, (he did not) I woulda played this hand totally differently. I would have let go quite early. Marcus knows I'm a nit, & when he re-raised me, I shoulda realised the score, knew he knew, so to speak. It was a bad play by me.
I know almost all of you will say/.have said, "no, we have to do our chips here" - but we don't.
Several said "it's a cooler" I disagree. We can win, or cash in, Tourneys, by Passing, just as well as by getting all gung-ho every time there is a confrontation. There are much, much, softer situations available later. Ego is a big -ev factor. "I'm Billy Big Dick, I'm not Passing" costs so many people their Tourney lives. We give up too way too easily, omo.
Online, when we are 8 tabling 2 buck MTT's, no, a clear "it is what it is, bugger it, I'm all-in". In a one-shot, 184 runner, Live Tourney, with £10k to the winner, a good player - I can think of several - can get off this. And THAT would be a super Pass.
Late on, with, say, 8 to 15 x BB, yes, we are dead, we commit totally. Early doors, with 50 x BB, & a soft field, we can find a better spot.
I'm off out, before the deluge of mirth begins.
Given al the circumstances - espcially Marcus knowing my early-stage image, I pass this, & don't do more than about 1,500 - my Re-Raise to his Flop bet. If he persists, I go away.
PS - Down to 1,200, I gathered myself, (I really enjoy more than anything else an uphill battle, against the odds), stuck in, & was above average within 5 Levels, eventually losing a flip with 30 odd left. Extremely enjoyable, & satisfying.