Any advice for playing Zone Poker on Bovada?

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Foxhound3857

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I've been looking for an alternative to Rush Poker and Zoom Poker from PStars and FTP (neither of which are available to me), and finally found it in Zoom Poker at Bovada. But I'm inexperienced at this format of poker (I'm good with micro SnG's, but not cash games), and I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice for this. Should I approach it differently than playing SnG's? Should I be playing extremely tight or loose, etc.

I'm planning on trying to build a bankroll on $20 at the .05/.10 tables (the lowest denomination they have for Zone Poker).
 
newbie in training

newbie in training

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Actually they have .02/.05 tables and I think generally really tight is going to be right esoecially with a little roll

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Karozi615

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I literally play bovada zone poker 24/7. You know that guy who always seems to have like 12+ buy ins? That's me during a typical day long session. I will admit however, I bust a lot as well. The strategy I have developed (which IS a winning strategy) is to familiarize yourself with the fold button. I'm talking SUPER nit. Like, If you get 26 off in the BB just snap fold it, don't even bother waiting to see the action beforehand. K9 suited on the button? snap fold. See a TON of hands and just capitalize on your monsters. I do this and habitually run a 25$ stack up 5-10 buy ins. Don't even bother playing hands like 78 suited unless your on the button, it is just 8 high.
a few technical things:
every single time you are in button or cutoff and you see somebody min raise to .50 UTG or UTG +1 raise to 1.85-2.20. They will fold and if they don't just c-bet and they will fold flop. it always works, but people still do this. (usually they have small pocket pairs)
2. Every single stupid zone player thinks that if its folded to them on the button they have to raise. Conventionally this makes sense, but actually in zone it is really really really dumb. When you see people do this in the BB, literally just 3bet HEAVY every single time and they will almost always fold.
3. also, i'm going to give you one of my pro extraction tips that works wonders for me. When you are strong on the button, raise to .75 obviously to make it look like a steal. On every proceeding street snap bet (like insta bet when the next card hits by using your keyboard) and then on the river pot it (for about 7$). For some reason when you bet quickly your opponent doesn't think rationally and calls you down with 2nd pair because you were trying to buy the pot. basically what i'm saying is take 1 second to bet on every street, when your opponent snaps you off on the flop the fish is on the line.
 
Karozi615

Karozi615

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Also on a side not a lot of people don't think zone poker qualifies as actual poker and they make some valid points- but it is awesome for the action junkies. Let me tell you, going on a heater in 50nl zone is fun because it happens so fast. I myself am a big zone fan.
 
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Tiltt2424

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I would suggest playing the .02/.05 tables with your BR but zone is a lot of fun! Generally I make all of my money pf but its really easy to get your opponents to fold in this poker variant because folding is so appealing. You simply fold and see another hand instantly. I've found that huge bluffs are a lot more effective in Zone.
 
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Foxhound3857

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Is the competition generally soft in 2/5 Zone Poker? I was planning on playing traditional ABC tight poker, only playing premium hands and raising when it's folded to me in later position or on the button, or seeing a cheap flop with suited connectors or low pairs in order to setmine.
 
dudemanstan

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I don't know about folding your BB. What if you flop the nuts with it? Although one time in 5nl zone I flopped a full on the BB and was felted by a bigger full.
 
Karozi615

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Yeah well obviously it is seemingly stupid to fold your BB - your losing value because you could potentially see a flop if nobody raises. The thing is, I suggested only to play premier hands because that would justify playing a hand out of position. Even when you see flops with mediocre hands you rarely win, and your playing out of position. Also, my assumption is based on the fact that you are so capable of "out fundamentaling" your opponents that every hand you see is +ev. So the more hands you see, the more money you will make. I mean I literally play so tight I don't call raises with AJs. In a cash game where I have player stats I could 3bet with that hand. My assumption is that you actually gain an edge from seeing more hands, because if you wait to see a flop 1.most of the time you won't see a flop 2. when you do see a flop you usually miss and your out of position 3. you lose 2-3 hands that you could have seen. If you make this a habit you could lose 30+ hands an hour, and 1 of those 30 would have been AKs in position, and some guy in the BB would have called with AJs. Just my 2 cents. But what dudemanstan is saying is technically true, folding the BB is a bad idea. I don't ALWAYS fold, I just fold a lot in the BB, if I have 810 of spades I'll see if I can sneak in for a flop but if its 94 off don't waste your time.
 
Karozi615

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As long as people on 25nl zone are consistently overplaying hands, calling raises with suited connectors and Ax suited - it is in your best interest to see more hands. You WILL get paid with your monsters. Do not play drawing hands who calling a raise out of position with 910 suited is a good idea in zone.
 
dealio96

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I usually play extremely tight and solid when playing zone because It allows you to keep folding until you pick up a premium hand, opposed to playing in a regular game, you get bored at times and tend to play a wider range of hands. I also tend to give players more respect in zone because if they're using a similar strategy, they usually have Premium hands (IMO).
 
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HooDooKoo

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I literally play bovada zone poker 24/7. You know that guy who always seems to have like 12+ buy ins? That's me during a typical day long session. I will admit however, I bust a lot as well. The strategy I have developed (which IS a winning strategy) is to familiarize yourself with the fold button. I'm talking SUPER nit. Like, If you get 26 off in the BB just snap fold it, don't even bother waiting to see the action beforehand. K9 suited on the button? snap fold. See a TON of hands and just capitalize on your monsters. I do this and habitually run a 25$ stack up 5-10 buy ins. Don't even bother playing hands like
For what it's worth, you don't play Bovada Zone Poker 24/7. I'm pretty sure that you eat and sleep. You probably shower, too. You could eat and shower and play Zone Poker at the same time, but you probably don't. And you definitely can't play and sleep at the same time

Enjoy.

-HooDooKoo
 
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credsfan03

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Bovada has a lot of promotions that require a certain amount of points from rake. How many points are you typically getting per hour played at $50 NL?
 
midgetfactory

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how big is the typical player pool on zone poker, can anyone tell me? is it full of regs?
 
jazzaxe

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I like the nine player games which were being played initially, but have now dried up. I prefer a big hand strategy with cheap flops, but there usually is standard raising on this game, so you face at least a 3BB or 4 BB raise to stay in the pot preflop. I call any raise up to 10BB with any pair in any position. I will bet at least 10 BB with AA KK or up to 25BB on a looser table. I will stack out on any raise with these. I will call with suited Aces up to 3BB in any position. I will call with Broadway cards in late position to a limped pot or a minraised pot. Betting down pairs postflop in this game is expensive, so if they don't set on the flop they will fold, especially to a dangerous board. I only draw on flushes and straights with 3 to 1 or less odds. Generally like to play on the flop. In normal cash games, I don't get calls on big flop bets, but these games you see big calls. I play the micros, so I don't know how well it works at higher levels.
 
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