Zoom poker tactics. ZOOM poker strategy

Poker and unibet, players have already been given the opportunity to play fast poker.

This one began to gather thousands of people at the tables. And where there are many players, there is usually more money in circulation. Therefore, it makes sense for a player who makes money on poker to master the fast game mode.

Unlike the usual cash game, fast poker has a number of features that affect. In this type of poker, standard strategies can be unprofitable.

Table selection in fast poker and stack size

You should choose a table with fast poker based on its limit and the number of players at one table. Based on bankroll management, you can easily calculate what limit you should play at the table. Players who are just starting to master fast poker can go down one limit when choosing a table.

Fast poker is best played with a deep stack of around 100 big blinds. A player will rarely fight for a multipot. Also in fast poker, most of the opponents entering the auction usually have pocket pairs or strong . The biggest profits can be made from opponents who outplay top pairs or overpairs. To get the maximum effect from the mistakes of such opponents, the player needs a deep stack.

After doubling the stack from the table, it is advisable to leave in order to return again, leaving the profit in the cashier. A number of opponents, having increased their stack by five or more times, can linger at the table. But for a beginner in this type of game, they will be dangerous if he does not leave his winnings in the cashier on time.

Aggressive play and blind stealing

In the long run, stealing blinds is a good profit at the fast poker tables. The player, being in position, with almost any hand should try to pick up . In most hands, he will succeed, as fast poker is usually played by many loose players who treat poker almost like a slot machine. Very often, they will use the Quick Fold button in anticipation of the best starting hands, and thus easily give away . Opponents will have the "Fast Fold" button pressed in many hands before the player even raises.

Pre-flop with a good starting hand and if one of the opponents raised in position, the player is advised to always re-raise. The raiser will be a regular in many hands, making money by stealing the blinds. Therefore, he will easily give up the bank. Such opponents should be marked with an appropriate entry in the notes, which will further facilitate decision-making. Also, in the notes, it is also desirable to indicate the size of the bet, which forces the opponent to fold. Raises from the small blinds should be treated with caution. The opponent in the small blind position, unlike the opponent in the big blind position, can fold immediately after the deal. If he waited until everyone at the table made a decision and only after that he made , despite even the raise made by the player, then the probability of having a good starting hand in the small blind is very high.

Aggressive, with frequent stealing of blinds, brings the greatest profit at tables with no more than 6 players. At such tables, you can enter the auction with an increase in most hands, having good ones, from an average position. From late position, you can enter the game here with almost any hand.

Tight game

Tighter play in fast poker can be played at tables with no more than 9 players, since here the blinds will not come as often. Playing at such a table, you can use the tables of starting hands for large stacks. Play a trick starting hands follows according to the position. So the closer a player is to the button, the wider range of starting hands he can play. Being in late position, the player to top pairs and hands type A,J and above can safely add middle pairs and . The player, having received on the monster, will have more chances to build up the pot compared to regular cash games. This is due to the fact that opponents often outplay top pairs in fast poker. The player should also not forget the stealing of the blinds. Especially if the player is in late position. In the course of the game, such theft of blinds can bring additional income.

At the same time, it should be remembered that at the tables with fast poker there is too tight game will be unprofitable. This is due to the high pace of the game: in anticipation of top starting hands, the player will simply lose money in the blinds.

When is the best time to play fast poker and notes

Fast poker at different times of the day is played by a different number of people. Usually in the evening and at night, most of the players gather at the tables. At the same time, the number of loose players is increasing. Therefore, the best time to play fast poker can be considered evening and night.

Also, do not forget that you can use notes in fast poker. On, for example, it is most convenient to leave notes to players using the "Repeat Play" function. It should be noted here that only those hands in which the player participated in the auction are available in the replay. Nevertheless, this is quite enough to leave your notes on the mass of rivals.

When taking notes, the player should pay special attention to regulars. Most regulars play multiple tables of fast poker at the same time. As a result, the player will meet them more often than other opponents who prefer to play at the same table. Using the "Find a player" function, you can find out how many tables a certain opponent plays at. Thus, by marking at least some of the regulars in the notes, the player can increase his profit. Usually, a regular playing at several tables of fast poker will post blinds more often, and also, if he does not have a good starting hand, will steal more often. Such information can be effectively used in decision making.

Zoom poker is familiar to players PokerStars - it was in this online room that he appeared in the form in which he now exists. However, for the first time, fast poker called Rush Poker was offered by the room full tilt even before the merger with PokerStars. Nowadays quite a lot of players prefer to play Zoom poker at cash tables and in tournaments. Playing in this game, it is important to consider its features, advantages and disadvantages.

What is the Zoom format in poker

Actually, Zoom poker is a type of fast poker that can be played at PokerStars. The main feature is the ability to declare a quick fold. The player does not need to wait for the decision queue to exit the hand. Having made a Fold, he not only folds his cards, but also immediately becomes a participant in a new distribution, moving to the table where it begins. This type of poker has a number of significant advantages compared to the usual cash game:

• A poker player can significantly increase the number of hands played per unit of time;
• The player can increase the profit per session;
• Fast poker is a great alternative to multi-table games;
• Most opponents play tight or have a ready strategy to get rakeback;
• No need to waste time choosing tables;
• The game becomes more dynamic and interesting.

Previously, most players used the multi-table game to raise profits at the usual limit by increasing the number of hands played per session. However, multi-tabling is not suitable for all players, since it is inconvenient to play at several tables with a small monitor size or from a mobile device. In addition, not every player has sufficient reaction speed, which is necessary to successfully play at several tables at the same time. Zoom poker has solved all these problems, but it also has disadvantages:

• With each new hand, the opponents change, which makes it difficult to use observation of them in the game;
• Drawing up notes (notes on opponents) becomes a more time-consuming process;
• Playing Zoom poker requires stricter bankroll management;
• The dynamism of the game takes some getting used to.

When planning how to play Zoom poker in terms of strategy, it is important to take into account these disadvantages. Currently, you can play the following disciplines at PokerStars, which take place in the format of fast poker:

• BL Hold'em and PL Omaha - very high popularity;
• Omaha Hi-Lo - medium popularity;
• FL Hold'em and 5-Card Draw - Low popularity.

Many experienced players use Zoom poker to wager bonuses. Here, playing at only one table, you can significantly increase the number of hands played, and hence the rake generation. Thus, you can quickly collect the required number of bonus points to turn the bonus into real money.

What is Zoom in Tournament Poker

A number of tournament events are also held in the Zoom poker format at PokerStars. The principle of play in such tournaments is similar to fast cash tables. The only difference is that during the game the number of opponents is constantly decreasing, and new players appear only during the late registration period. As the tables get smaller, the game shifts to a classic format, such as when there are 18 or 27 players left, depending on the rules of the tournament.

The advantage of tournaments taking place in the Zoom format is the faster game flow when compared to regular events with the same number of participants.

How to play Zoom Poker

A player who successfully plays at the classic tables can achieve similar results in Zoom poker. However, when developing a strategy, the following points should be considered:

Change of position - at each new table, the position is determined by the random method - randomly. You can pay the Blinds twice in a row or not post them for more than ten hands in a row. You should take into account your losses in the Blinds in order to compensate them in a timely manner. Position takes on a more important role than observation of opponents;

Unfamiliar Rivals - You will have little information about the opponents, and it will be difficult to observe them, given their number. However, a similar situation will develop with them - they will have a minimum of information about you;

Blind Features - the player in the big blind, the only player in the hand who cannot make a quick fold right away. He can discard cards only after one of the opponents rises. This must be taken into account! In Zoom Poker, players are much more likely to defend the Blinds from steals (steal attempts). You should choose your hands carefully in order to steal the Blinds;

Bankroll management – for Zoom poker you should have more buy-ins than for regular cash tables. It is desirable to have a bankroll in the range of 45-70 buy-ins. Raising the stack to 150BB, you should leave the table and sit down at it again with the original stack.

Tracking experienced opponents - despite the fact that it is more difficult to observe opponents, it is worth paying attention to experienced players. The ability to watch the hand without leaving the table after the fold will help you with this. Experienced players should be celebrated.

Entering trades with an increase – you should practically forget about limping, since in Zoom poker you should not enter trades without raising. You should always enter the trade with a raise, and use Cold Call only in multiway pots with pocket pairs and single-suited connectors.

Regularly analyze your game, which will allow you to adjust the range of hands and identify errors.

Remember that the possibility of a quick fold attracts many players, especially inexperienced ones. They often do nothing but press this button, expecting to get good hole cards in the next hand. Your task is not to do this, but to realize the potential of all promising hands for each specific position.

Zoom poker is an interesting and dynamic game that allows you to get increased profits with a competent strategic approach. When getting acquainted with this type of poker, it is recommended to start playing at a cheaper limit than you prefer at regular cash tables. You may need time to adapt to such a game and adjust your strategy. Reducing the limits will reduce possible losses.

Natalia Shibanova

Today, Zoom at Pokerstars is experiencing a wave of popularity. What is it, you ask? This is Stars' own format for speed poker, both tournaments and cash games.

Consider the game of zoom poker in more detail.

What is zoom in poker: its features

The feature of Pokerstars zoom is that in each hand the player fights with different opponents. Championships are played for free, and you can also play Zoom Poker not only for money, but also for conditional “chips”.

The Zoom format at PokerStars is available in Hold'em, Draw Poker, and Omaha.

In the zoom poker game you can do the following:

• discard cards at any time in the tournament and immediately find yourself behind a new board, where the next distribution starts;
• click on the "Quick Fold" button to fold your hand before it's your turn to bet. Thanks to this fast poker, you do not have to wait for the end of each hand. The big blind is brought in by the player who pressed this button less often than others. This is how the organizers of the Zoom tournament ensure that all poker players place approximately equal blinds.

When the pool of players in a Zoom match becomes small (only a few boards remain), the competition turns into a regular freezeout championship. That is, the player crashes as soon as he runs out of chips.

Maximum number of tables in Zoom Poker

How to play zoom poker

You can find zoom poker cash games in the main PokerStars lobby in the Zoom section, and zoom poker championships- in the "Tournaments" section. You can also play Zoom poker mobile version PokerStars.

1. Select your game variant and buy-in level in the Zoom Poker lobby located in the Zoom section. The game will start after pressing the "Join the game" button.
2. Specify the amount of the entry fee and the number of boards. Playing zoom poker is much faster than ordinary tournaments, so we advise you to start from 1 table. Once you get used to the pace, you can play multiple zoom poker boards at the same time. The maximum number of boards is four.
3. Then, by clicking on the “OK” button, the program will automatically select for you a place at the table and opponents within the selected type of poker game. In the first round, you play in the BB (big blind). And for each next stage, the place for you will also be selected randomly.
4. If you want to know how the distribution will end, then when you press the “Fold” button, while holding down Ctrl on the keyboard.

For the first time, the "fast" poker format was introduced in the Full room. Tilt Poker and was called Rush-poker. This type of game offered players a new opportunity - to fold the hand immediately, without waiting for their turn, and move on to the next hand.

Fast poker allows you to play a lot more hands and, accordingly, play the distance faster.

Most of the major rooms offer their players their own version of fast poker:

• Zoom on PokerStars
• FastForward at PartyPoker
• Speed ​​Poker on the Ipoker Network
• Snap on
• Blaze Poker on

One of the main differences between fast tables and regular tables is that every hand you will play at a new table and, as a rule, against new opponents. If you play fast poker at micro limits, then it will be extremely difficult for you to collect up-to-date statistics on your opponents.

As a result, it is difficult to build a clear strategy based on the dynamics of the table and specific statistics for each player, as you do at regular cash tables. This may seem like a disadvantage, but don't forget that your opponents also have limited information about you.

The nature of fast poker allows players not to play with trash and speculative hands, but to play only the strongest cards in their range. Most players, especially recreational ones, get too hung up on this.

The downside to this tactic is that your overall win rate at fast tables may not be as high as it is at regular tables. Your opponents make fewer big mistakes preflop because they don't have to go into the game with marginal hands.

The style of play at Zoom tables is tougher than at regular tables. Blind steals and re-steals are the cornerstone of fast table strategy. Most of the time, just stealing the blinds will be enough for you to earn .

• Don't play too many tables

One of the biggest advantages of fast poker is that the ratio of hands played per hour at a single table is much higher than at regular tables. However, non-stop play means that your attention will be needed more often.

There is no universal number of tables you should play as it depends on the individual. However, keep in mind that the quality of your decisions is more important than the number of hands you play.

Typically 2 or 3 tables of fast poker at the same time provide a lot of action and still leave you time to think through your decisions.

• Move away from tight play

As we said earlier, although a tight game is a plus for beginners, the tactics of playing at fast tables are based on other principles. At fast tables, most of your profit will come from stealing blinds. Steals and re-steals are a fundamental tactic at Zoom tables.

• Protect the blinds

It follows from the paragraph above that the fight at the fast tables is for the blinds. Accordingly, if you are in the blinds, you should defend them more often so as not to give your opponents your money.

3-betting from the blinds at Zoom tables is more intimidating than at regular tables. But remember that you should not abuse this technique, because even your nit and weak opponents can end up with aces sooner or later.

• Take notes on opponents

Due to the fact that your opponents at the fast tables constantly change each other, it is difficult for you to collect representative statistics on them. At this point, notes on players will come to your aid. Notice any non-standard actions of your opponents (bet size and frequency, hands at showdown, general playing style) and use it against them.

• Choose a profitable place to play

Most players prefer to play Zoom at PokerStars, but if you plan to make poker your income, you should look for more financially favorable conditions. The fields of players on the fast tables of PokerStars are the most difficult, and the winning game at the high limits of this format is a real measure of professionalism. But in modern realities, an understanding and smart player should look for only the most profitable options for the game.

Rooms 888Poker and Red Star Poker offers you favorable conditions for playing fast poker. Get $88 no deposit at Red Star Poker and start playing fast poker right now!

Since the launch of Zoom Poker on PokerStars in May 2012, this game format has grown in popularity. Full Tilt (now owned by PokerStars) launched an identical variant of the game called Rush Poker two years before PokerStars. However, due to the company's problems in recent years under the old management, Rush Poker never managed to gain momentum.

PokerStars marketing engine coupled with huge lead software poker rooms in the industry have taken the quick fold game format to a new level. This format is incredibly popular these days (especially at the lower stakes) and I regularly get questions about Zoom poker strategy specifically.

That is why I decided to write this article.

It is important to understand that, fundamentally, Zoom poker is no different from playing at a regular table. Both formats are poker. The same two blinds, the button makes the decision last and the flush is still stronger than the straight. However, you need to be aware of a few important differences in strategy.

The Information Gap Between Zoom Poker and Regular Tables

Each hand of fast poker you are placed at a random seat at a new table with randomly selected opponents. At the lowest limit (NL2), the player pool, even during off-peak hours, usually exceeds 500 players.

In terms of simple math, if you play a full ring table, you can expect to face the same opponent every 55 hands on average (500/9=55). With the same pool size at a 6-max table, you will be playing against the same opponent every 83 hands on average (500/6=83).

Which naturally means that a group of unfamiliar players will constantly compete with you. At this pool size, it will take forever to build a distance at which your HUD stats are at least somewhat reliable.

Even to get basic information about the opponent (VPIP and PFR) it may take more than 1000 hands to play. Usually, in order for these two indicators to be even slightly close to their true values, a hand history against a player of at least 20 hands is needed.

If you're facing the same opponent every 55 hands (or once every 83 hands), again, it doesn't take a math genius to figure out it's going to take an awfully long time.

Game strategy against the Great Unknown

So, as I said, when playing Zoom poker at the lowest of the stakes, you will essentially be fighting a group of unknown players to a greater or lesser extent. If you play Zoom regularly, you will be able to gain significant distance against regulars. However, it will take much more time than would be spent at a regular table.

And it has both pros and cons at the same time.

pros

1. Use lack of information to exploit opponents from the very beginning

It is important to understand that although we do not have enough information, the opponents are in the same position. They probably don't know much about our game either.

Thanks to this, you can get an edge over opponents by playing more aggressively from the very beginning. I call this "first impact theory". This theory is more applicable to modern low stakes games, and I referred to it in a recent article on strategy for playing against unfamiliar opponents.

The essence of the theory is as follows: Usually at the beginning of the game, when there is no hand history yet, your actions will achieve the desired result with a greater probability.

Most players are advised to play tight when they sit down at a new unfamiliar table. They say only play strong hands and just watch what happens. Given that this is what most expect of you, being very active from the start and playing the opposite of such advice can be incredibly profitable.

No one expects you to bluff-raise on the river or bluff-raise on the first hand. It's far more likely that, unless your opponent has a monster, they'll just give up, because your opponents have no reason to believe you'd do something like that out of the blue.

2. Being a chameleon can be very profitable.

Another advantage of the lack of information in Zoom poker is that the opponents have no idea what type of player you should be. You can easily disguise yourself and even radically change your game from session to session to confuse opponents' reads.

Given that when playing Zoom poker, a player is faced with such a huge number of faces, accumulate meaningful history hands against any opponent, in fact, is impossible. The only thing your opponents can count on is meager statistical HUD information. And then, if the opponent uses the statistics collection program at all. Many lower stakes players don't.

But if your opponent has such a tool, you can play as a nit one session, and switch to a LAG strategy the next, and it will take your opponent a very long time to determine your adjustments. This will push the opponent to commit a large number of mistakes. For example, he may trust your actions too much, or, on the contrary, flirt too much against you.

Minuses

1. The question "Why?" disappears

In online poker, where there is no body language, and the game is very fast (and in Zoom poker it goes at lightning speed), we often rely on the statistical information provided to us by the HUD about the opponent's game tendencies. If this information is removed, it will be very difficult to give any decision a rationale other than "because this is a standard action."

If you have no physical interaction with your opponents and only have an unreliable hand history due to a modest distance, it is impossible to reliably determine the value of an opponent's 3-bet, flop raise or river bet.

Of course, in online poker there are timing tells and tells based on bet sizes. However, this is not as reliable as being able to see your opponent or having tons of statistics.

So decisions in Zoom poker can come down to your idea of ​​what would be a "strong game" in a given situation. Under such conditions, it is not easy to act freely.

Some will consider this a plus, as it returns the game to its original form. But the lack of a clear rationale for the decision deprives the game of a huge part of the edge at the expense of skill.

And this is especially important in an era when everyone, no matter how good they are, plays poker more or less well. The severe lack of information is the main reason why you should expect a lower win rate from playing Zoom poker compared to poker at regular tables.

Zoom poker is a holiday for the nits

However, what matters more to your win rate is that Zoom poker is played tighter on average.

The quick fold button may well be the most significant innovation in history. Lately. After all, anyone who has played a tournament online (or offline) knows what it's like to suddenly move to another table where you don't have reads.

However, the quick fold button gives you the ability to fold cards at lightning speed hand after hand until you get what you think is a decent hand to play. The player does not have to wait for the end of the distribution as at a regular table.

And this obviously encourages players to play tighter overall. Due to the lack of information, nits can more easily go unnoticed, wait for the nuts, and thus beat unsuspecting opponents of their approach.

The introduction of the quick fold button is the best novelty for recreational players as it accidentally helps them play better.

What are the main reasons why fish lose money? It's very simple - they play terrible hands, make second-best hands with them, and can't bring themselves to click fold. Why do they play terrible starting hands? Again, simply because they are bored.

Now, after the appearance of the quick fold button, no one will be bored anymore. Recreational players will still play a weak pocket ace out of position and overvalue risky hands like KJ and QJ, but now they're out of their range of total insanity like 85o, J7o, T3s and other rubbish.

The fact that a huge amount of this junk is now being folded has a huge impact on the rate at which recreational players lose money. In the long run, they will still be losing money, but in Zoom poker, fish will not lose money at the same insane rate as at regular tables.

How to exploit tight games

However, everything is not so bad.

Yes, Zoom poker even at the lowest stakes (NL2, NL5 and NL10) is often insanely tight these days. The classic fish (40+ VPIP, and single digit PFR) is not that common.

However, extremely nitty games can be exploited with ease. All it takes is a slightly different strategy.

The great thing about the lower stakes is that most of the regulars are relative newbies who play ABC poker. In addition, they often climb too many tables at the same time. Therefore, they do not adapt well to loose and aggressive players.

They tend to just play according to the cards until it becomes clear that a certain opponent is clearly just fooling them. Then, and only then, can they begin to adjust to the opponent's play.

Of course, recreational players do not play well regardless of the limit, and even if they play tighter like in Zoom poker.

The key to exploiting tight games is simple: play loose-aggressive.

Loose and aggressive play at low limits at regular tables is insanely profitable, and this approach is even more effective at the Zoom poker tables.

So what does loose-aggressive play look like in practice?

1. Steal the blinds more often

Blind stealing becomes even more effective if your opponents narrow their opening range. So opening wider from all positions when playing Zoom poker is a good idea.

An equally good idea would be to choose to open-raise to 2.5 big blinds or even min-raise. So with speculative hands in your open-raising range, you will be risking less money.

2. 3-bet and 4-bet more often

The same approach can be applied to 3-bets and 4-bets. If most opponents tend to fold non-nut hands, the pot should be fought harder.

All the nits know that there is little time to make a decision in Zoom poker. And besides, there are a few more tables waiting for them to decide, so unless your opponent has a very strong hand, he will most likely part with his cards and wait for a better opportunity.

3. Call preflop raises more often and take the pot down on the flop

However, you shouldn't be constantly 3-betting and 4-betting regulars with weak hands. And my favorite way to take pots from them is to flat-call with a wide range in position preflop and attack when the opponent shows the slightest weakness postflop.

What are some specific ways?

• Float on the flop if you have any equity and then bet on the turn every time Villain checks
• Raise more often on the flop with draws, pairs, and even overcards
• Bluff more often on the river, especially when there is a dangerous card (broadway cards and those cards that potentially close a flush draw or straight draw)

Those are three relatively cheap ways to snitch the sweat. None of them require a significant amount of stack investment, but each puts significant pressure on the opponent.

Of course, from time to time your hand will be cut open. However, with such a horde of weak, actively multi-table regulars at these stakes, you'll find that more often than not, they just part with their cards and put the pot in your hands.

Final Thoughts

Zoom poker is a relatively new and exciting game format. The great thing about it is that you can easily take a seat at the table and start playing in just a few seconds.

It's really very cool.

However, with positive quick access to the game, Zoom poker has a rather big drawback. It attracts legions of multi-table nits and tighter fish and makes it impossible for you to easily isolate your opponents.

No matter how good you are at loose-aggressive play, blood can't be squeezed out of a stone, and even your top money providers won't add to your bankroll as much. This is why I personally don't play Zoom poker very often, and I don't recommend this format if you're looking to break games.

However, some prefer to gain huge distance and chase rakeback. For such players, Zoom poker is the perfect option.

What's more, some players just don't want to hunt down fish all day long and move from table to table. They just want to sit down and play. I understand this and respect this choice. And for such players, Zoom poker is also ideal.

The choice is entirely yours.

I hope that this article will help you start playing strategies that will improve your results in games of this format.