When to ditch a certain game format and focus on other formats?

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quick

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Over past 1.5 years I've become more serious about poker and even more so in past 6 or 7 months I started tracking my individual sessions. I wasn't completely surprised to find that playing 6 max Zone poker (similar to Zoom poker) is an overall loss for me (particularly $25NL Zone and up) while switching back to FR online and starting to play live more has been a lot better and even profitable.

Obviously part of the issue is clearly that I can't beat certain stakes so do best to drop down and stick to the highest stake I can do best at; Ive put this into action and have seen improvements.

But I enjoy Zone and think it has potential, yet am contemplating giving that format up basically and focusing on FR but am torn on this decision. A friend who also plays feels that online in general is a waste of time at worst and at best we should only stick to specific game formats we know we can beat. Their view is I've wasted a lot of my other game format profit on a game mode that isn't winning poker. I also play MTTs and am ok losing bunches of those in a row and cashing in some , but looking at my records, Zone is costing me a lot of profits from other formats I'm better at.

All this said when do you throw in the towel on a certain game mode (in my case Zone) and stick to what you seem to be improving on rather than losing on? Basically how many BIs down are you where you start considering that particular format isn't for you?
 
Beanfacekilla

Beanfacekilla

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Over past 1.5 years I've become more serious about poker and even more so in past 6 or 7 months I started tracking my individual sessions. I wasn't completely surprised to find that playing 6 max Zone poker (similar to Zoom poker) is an overall loss for me (particularly $25NL Zone and up) while switching back to FR online and starting to play live more has been a lot better and even profitable.

Obviously part of the issue is clearly that I can't beat certain stakes so do best to drop down and stick to the highest stake I can do best at; Ive put this into action and have seen improvements.

But I enjoy Zone and think it has potential, yet am contemplating giving that format up basically and focusing on FR but am torn on this decision. A friend who also plays feels that online in general is a waste of time at worst and at best we should only stick to specific game formats we know we can beat. Their view is I've wasted a lot of my other game format profit on a game mode that isn't winning poker. I also play MTTs and am ok losing bunches of those in a row and cashing in some , but looking at my records, Zone is costing me a lot of profits from other formats I'm better at.

All this said when do you throw in the towel on a certain game mode (in my case Zone) and stick to what you seem to be improving on rather than losing on? Basically how many BIs down are you where you start considering that particular format isn't for you?


I think you are asking the wrong questions.


What you should consider is why can't you beat zone...

What are the leaks you have? What can you do to improve your game? In general, zone can be beat, with simple ABC straightforward poker. Firing multiple barrels on bluffs can destroy your BR at zone (take it from me).


However, there is nothing wrong with switching to a different format, if you feel more comfortable there. FR plays differently. We have the luxury of playing nittier, and more conservatively (6-max requires playing more hands IMHO).

Zone is just so fast, it's pretty easy to put in huge volume. It's a good game, and Bovada is extremely soft in general.


If you're just hemorrhaging money, then it's time to stop playing, and work on your game. Although, we should always work on our game anyway.
 
quick

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I think you are asking the wrong questions.


What you should consider is why can't you beat zone...

What are the leaks you have? What can you do to improve your game? In general, zone can be beat, with simple ABC straightforward poker. Firing multiple barrels on bluffs can destroy your BR at zone (take it from me).


However, there is nothing wrong with switching to a different format, if you feel more comfortable there. FR plays differently. We have the luxury of playing nittier, and more conservatively (6-max requires playing more hands IMHO).

Zone is just so fast, it's pretty easy to put in huge volume. It's a good game, and Bovada is extremely soft in general.


If you're just hemorrhaging money, then it's time to stop playing, and work on your game. Although, we should always work on our game anyway.


All good points. I actually gave it a week or so and came back to give it another go. I found I did a bit better when I focused more on decent holdings in position in Zone and was able to pick up more pots. Actually my issue seemed to be I wasn't c-bet bluffing enough in Zone and checking, getting a piece of the board on the turn but unfortunately letting villain catch up. I'm not a very aggressive player so I've found better success in general in FR formats overall.

But as you say we should always work on our game so I want to keep working on Zone 6-max strategy but also want to spend time on the formats like FR that I tend to already do decent enough at and take those to the next level of skill.
 
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Broon1234

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Great advice already. Also consider what your goals are for playing poker. Are you playing to have fun and relax? To show profit? To challenge your brain and improve your skills? Answering those questions might help guide you.
 
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shopwert

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You don't say how much you're losing playing zone poker. If it's a small amount that you are willing to pay to entertain the Action Junkie side of you, play and have fun. (we all have a little Action Junkie in us)

The higher you go in any format, the more competent players you will have. It's hard to beat the rake against competent players. In other formats, your edge is being able to identify the less skilled players and take advantage of their weaknesses. In zone the only identifying factor I've found is stack size and that changes so quickly that even a good read isn't useful.

Zone is just like a FR game in that players come and go at predictable times. You want to play during peak hours when they have the most players and the ratio of fish to competent players is the best. When the BI is $25 & up you have to leave the tables when the player pool shrinks. Drop down in levels during off peak hours. Go find the easy money.

Picture a table where everyone is at the same skill level. Wins and losses are determined by luck. It's no longer a game of skill. You lost your edge. Walk away.
 
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coachlary69

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I compare playing Zone to roulette or to trying to make it as a microstakes professional poker player. The odds are so far against you in general that you seldom if ever hear of a winning player at those levels. I can only think of one winning player at the Microstakes off hand and he lives in Thailand. The point is, if you're playing a game where it's hard to beat and or the rake alone makes it difficult to make a profit, then just sit back and enjoy the experience. Like I said, playing Zone to me is like playing Roulette. Sometimes you're going to win, but in the long term, only the house wins.
 
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MinhANguyen

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Pretty big assumption to make there. There are a good amount of Zoom/Zone winners. I built my roll all the way to 100NL playing Zone. Zone is harder; that's why you see less winning players there.
 
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