playing tight on $1/2 5 seat max...

[MisterKing]

While I like some of the advice in this thread, I feel like something is missing. Yes, quality starters matter, but they're not everything. Targeted aggression gets the money in 5-max, in my experience. Pure and simple.

Calling pre-flop from anywhere but the blinds is a bad habit, and I rarely ever do this. I'd still like to get the fold/raise thing figured out for 33/44/55/66/JTo/QTo when I'm not first in. Concepts from Sklansky's heads-up section in HPFAP definitely apply, esp. in terms of defending the blinds.

Tons and tons of money can be won by stealing. And I don't just mean pre-flop. Flop-stealing, or on the turn when scare cards hit, are two very profitable plays. More often than not, people will telegraph what they have postflop, and its your obligation to make them pay for it. A hand that is worth a call is almost always worth a bet -- something that just seems easier to see in action shorthanded than in full ring.

Second pair can be a winner provided you watch out for straight and flush draws, paired boards, etc. Knowing when to push this hand in 5-max is probably a big difference between winning and losing players.