My best play last night

Played $10/20 hold 'em with a 1/2 kill last night.

If you've never played with a kill or a 1/2 kill, here's what happens: if the pot reaches $150 or more, the next hand is played $15/30, and the winner puts in a non-optional third blind in the amount of $15, so there is a small blind (5), a big blind (10) and the kill (15).
Because of the extra blind money, and the fact that the game turns to 15/30, the action can be really, really good.
If it was a "full kill" then the next hand would be $20/40.

Every time the pot reaches $150 or more, the next hand is a 'kill' pot.

I played for about 5 hours and booked a pretty great win ($900!). But my best play wasn't how I played aces or trapping someone.

In a kill hand, I was under-the-gun with A,To (ace, ten offsuit). I limped, the 'kill blind' checked, and it was raised and then re-raised. When the action got back to me, I pitched my hand in the muck.

I rarely will fold pre-flop if I have willingly committed chips to the pot. But, based on my knowledge of the aggressors, I was convinced I was beat.

As the hand played out, I was thrilled that I saved the $30. One of the raisers had a pocket pair, the other had an ace with a better kicker than mine. I would have been drawing very thin to win.

If only one player had raised, I would have called the $15, but calling 2 bets pre-flop with A,To is a losing play. Getting away from that hand was the best move I made all night.

In ZEN AND THE ART OF POKER, Larry Phillips calls folding the most powerful play you can make, and the more poker I play, the more I agree. I don't play 'super-tight' and when I am in a hand, I am very aggressive, but the old saws are very true:
1) the first mistake is the most costly
2) bets saved are worth as much as bets earned

I used to see these cliches and just gloss over them, but as I was racking up my chips last night, i really came home. I wasn't "hit with the deck" and I never went "on a rush." I just played solid, aggressive poker, was selective with my starting hands, and took down the money.