The question what is zone poker has been answered by many people and the answer is a fast-fold poker game similar to Zoom on Pokerstars. The concept behind it is that a player joins a table and then is automatically moved to a new table every time he folds his hand, and each new table has different players that are matched based on the player’s profile. This allows for more hands per hour than at regular tables, but a player’s ability to read opponents is reduced and the player must play a full range of hands.
It also means that the “Dead Zone” of tournament strategy (see Dan Harrington’s book on the subject) is essentially impossible because a player is constantly moving to new tables and is unlikely to see his opponent again before the end of the tournament. However, a player can avoid the Dead Zone by playing a tight aggressive style and making solid decisions in early position.
In addition, the constant movement to new tables means that players are always facing a different set of opponents and can adjust their strategy accordingly. It also means that players can get a higher number of hands per hour than at a regular poker table, especially for MTT grinders who can register for 5 or 10 tournaments at once and thus increase their average hand count.
While the benefits of zone poker are clear, it is important to remember that a player’s abilities and knowledge of the game will ultimately determine his results at this type of poker. It is therefore essential to learn everything you can about the game and its strategy, including reading opponents, determining your optimal playing style, and playing the best hands in each situation.
The good news is that there are now a few tools available for players to help them improve their zone poker strategy, such as the Zone Poker Capture Support from DriveHUD, which adds the functionality to Holdem Manager 3 to import Ignition cash game hands and display a HUD on those tables. This feature is free and available to all DriveHUD users who use the hand grabber software.