Playing AK in a tournament

In a tournament this is the hand that knocks me out the most.  If I'm getting shortstacked I'm willing to move all-in with, but if I'm in a coin flip with a smaller pocket pair I hardly ever win.

If I have the chips I'll raise with it and if I miss the flop I'll lead out with a bet hoping my opponet missed too and get him to fold.  If my opponet calls I'll just let the hand go and try to keep my losses at a minimum at that point.

I was just wondering how you guys play AK in a tournament?

Well if you are short stacked it is obvious what you need to do. No question about it, go all'in.

But it all depends on the actions of your opponents and what position you are in apart from that. I will never raise all-in. First I will re--raise any bets made to make it seems as if I got AA, KK, QQ and to test what my opponents have and then most of the time when I see the flop even if I haven't hit I will put in a big bet

If I'm short, I'm most likely putting all my chips in no matter what the other players do. When it comes down to it, you wont have many more hands until the blinds eat you away..and the odds of catching AA KK or QQ are slim.

Remember that against any pocket pair, AK is an underdog, so early in a tournament, this is a hand that you want to raise with, but not get all in with. Then, if you get a caller, you can see what the flop looks like to decide if a bet is worth it. For example, if you have AK and you raise preflop and get 1 caller, then the flop comes Q106, I would probably make a bet at this flop but fold if it was raised at me. If the flop comes all low cards, your opponent is much less likely to have been helped, since you assume they have decent cards to call your raise with. It really all depends on the table and your opponents, but just remember that you still need to improve to win with AK usually.

I will raise AK the same as I raise AA-QQ pre-flop.  Like Sisko said, rarely will AK win on it's own and needs help.  If I am bet into and miss the flop I will fold most everytime depending on my read of the opponent doing the betting and my table image.

If it is folded to me I will bet as if I hit the flop big. If I am check/raised..I lay it down.

I beleive this is the MOST OVERPLAYED hand in poker.  I have seen people lose big in limit and go broke in NL  bluffing this hand.  Thats why I walk a very tight line with it.