Back in the Black...

So after a not-so-good trip to KC earlier this week (got stuck one buy-in, some of the worst cold-decking I've ever encountered), I made my return to my local cardroom. Tonight's session was very good, both in terms of profits made, but also in terms of how I played. I picked my spots, used some selective aggression, and remained very patient through some very long stretches of dead cards. One of the biggest things I've been concentrating on since I moved up to the 2/5 level is plugging some of the pre-flop leaks in my game. It's easy to get into the habit of limping with "pet hands" (suited connectors, suited A-X, J-10, etc.), and it's great when the pot goes unraised. But when the cut-off or button raises to $25 and you get priced in by four other callers, miss the flop, and have to fold, it starts to get really expensive. So I've been really trying to tighten this up and concentrate on not-limping, and I feel I did an excellent job with this tonight. Didn't make any real monster hands, but consistently took down the pots that I raised, didn't pay off too many hands, and did make a pretty sick call on a big river bet. I also did a solid job of getting up when I got too tired to play my A-game. When the clock hit 4, I noticed I was thinking more of protecting my profits than making the right decisions, so I decided to leave. I'll be getting back after it tomorrow, hopefully with the same focus and similar results.