Chances are you’ve seen Zoom Poker in the PokerStars lobby.
Looks good, doesn't
it?
Below is a guide to getting started in💰 Zoom Poker including some background
information and basic strategy tips.
Follow these guidelines and you’ll be crushing
Zoom Poker games in💰 no time!
What is Zoom Poker?
PokerStars’ Zoom Poker is a
high-action online poker variant similar to the old Rush Poker on💰 Full Tilt Poker and
various others at competing online poker sites..
The basic premise is simple: Fold your
hand and immediately💰 get a new one at a new table with new players.
If you hit the
fast-fold button you can even fold💰 before the action is on you and get reseated even
quicker! It’s essentially poker for adrenaline junkies as the action💰 never stops.
If
you’ve ever 8-tabled online poker or played multi-tasking video games like Starcraft
there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy💰 the speed of Zoom Poker.
What’s Good About Zoom
Poker (Hint: Volume)
Zoom Poker is a godsend for any ADD-riddled poker player💰 who
simply needs more action.
It’s also very good for generating massive amounts of reward
points for the PokerStars rewards program.
You💰 can triple or even quadruple the amount
of hands you can play in an hour quite easily with Zoom Poker.
Is💰 Zoom Poker Real
Poker?
This remains a contentious issue as Zoom Poker is lacking one major aspect of
regular poker –💰 the chance to develop a read on a player.
Hope you like PLO or
NLHE
Because you’re always moving to another table💰 you’ll constantly be playing against
opponents you know nothing about.
It gives the game a much more robotic feel.
It also
means💰 that math plays heavier into the game as well as the ability to develop quick
reads on virtually unknown opponents.
Zoom💰 Poker also discourages seasoned grinders
from hunting inexperienced players because they are constantly being moved.
Some Quick
Tips for Playing Zoom💰 Poker
Tight tends to be right in Zoom Poker. No one can tell how
tight you’re playing so it’s possible to💰 fold every hand unti you get aces and stack
someone who has AK.
Speaking of AK, be careful with it. It’s💰 far weaker in Zoom Poker
than in a normal game.
You can watch the end of a hand by holding the💰 CNTRL key when
you click the fold button (That’s the command button on Macs).
There are several
different Zoom table animations.💰 Some feel faster than others. You can find these by
clicking ‘Options’ > ‘Table Display Options’ > ‘Zoom Animation’. We💰 like ‘Flip’ a lot
but default ‘Fade’ still seems fastest
Play fewer tables with Zoom Poker (It’s freaking
fast!)
Be mindful of💰 your blinds as you’ll pay more of them
The big blind is the only
player who doesn’t have the option of💰 fast folding. Expect a wider-range of starting
hands.
Each Zoom Poker game or tournament has hundreds of players. You can open
💰 multiple tables in the same game.
Be prepared for massive swings as you’ll being
playing a massive number of hands
You’ll see💰 a fair amount of min-bets from late
position as people attempt to steal a pot off the players who have💰 already fast
folded.
Quite often you’ll run into deep stacks with 100+ big blinds behind. Check this
article on NLHE Deep💰 Stack strategy.
What's the Best Strategy for Zoom Poker?
So what’s
the correct strategy for winning at Zoom (aka "Fast Fold") Poker?💰 The biggest change to
the game by far is that you instantly change tables when you fold your hand. Meaning
💰 you never have history with your opponents.
Each hand is at a new table with new
opponents. You don’t know who💰 the fish are and you don’t know who the regulars are.
Everyone’s just a blank face. Because you can’t develop💰 reads through playing multiple
hands with the same opponent you have to treat each opponent the same. But that works
💰 both ways.
Since you can’t develop reads on your opponents, they can’t develop reads on
you. In Zoom Poker you don’t💰 have to worry about levelling, balancing your range or
anything like that because your history with your opponents is going💰 to be minimal.
How
Should I Play Zoom Poker?
In small-stakes poker the bulk of your profits come from
fish. Even if💰 you’re the best small-stakes player in the world and you regularly own
other reg’s souls, the majority of your profit💰 is still going to come from playing the
fish.
Unfortunately in Zoom Poker you may not know who the fish are💰 and who the regs
are until after the hand's over. And by then it’s too late.
So the best way to💰 play is
a basic ABC poker game. In fact you can play even tighter than you would normally
because your💰 opponents are never going to notice and never going to be able to
adjust.
When you’re moved to a new table💰 it’s a clean slate. They have no idea that you
just hit quick fold 20 times in a row and💰 are now cold four-betting AA from the
blinds.
They’re just thinking, “Wow, I’ve got AK. I’m supposed to felt AK.” And💰 they
call it off, drawing nearly dead and chalk it up to a cooler. Just like when you first
started💰 playing poker, tight is right. The mantra is especially true for Zoom
Poker.
Wait for big pairs, AKs, set mine, make💰 top pair or better and value-bet
relentlessly.
Related Reading:
How to Make Money in Zoom Poker
Of course the whole game
is changed💰 by the fold and quick-fold buttons. Players don’t have to wait around for a
great hand. They can just fold💰 their junk and move on to a new table and a new
hand.
That means your average player’s range is going💰 to be significantly tighter. The
fish are going to be fish and do what they always do: play strange hands💰 and take them
way too far after the flop. But the regulars are going to be playing a much tighter
💰 range.
It’s because of the quick-fold button. If you’re sitting with 6-8o in the small
blind, are you going to wait💰 around and see if you get the chance for a Blind vs. Bling
steal? No, you’re going to hit quick💰 fold and move on to another table.
So when you
raise from under the gun and get called in the small💰 blind you have to realize that
that player had the chance to quick-fold and get a new hand at a💰 new table but
didn’t.
He waited around to play against you. Either he’s a fish or he has a pretty
damn💰 good hand. Because he didn’t choose to quick-fold you can already start assigning
him a range.
It looks something like JJ-22,💰 AQ and maybe AJs. Anything else is
definitely too wide vs. a UTG raise. From there, as the hand plays💰 out, you do what you
always do. Start narrowing his range down until you have a good idea of his💰 actual
holdings.
Further Reading:
*Any mention of a bonus or discussion of such terms is not
in relation to the province of💰 Ontario.
What to Do in the Big Blind
The big blind is
the only position where you can’t insta hit quick-fold. That’s💰 because you have the big
blind invested already. You have to wait until there is a raise before you can
💰 quick-fold.
Meaning that the above is not as true for the big blind in unraised pots.
He didn’t have the opportunity💰 to quick-fold his hand, so if it’s folded to you on the
button or in the small blind and you💰 raise, when he calls it doesn’t mean his range is
necessarily tighter.
For that reason, as of now, the majority of💰 “light three-betting”
comes from the big blind. Because any other position wouldn’t wait around until their
turn to three-bet some💰 trash hand, they’d just fold and move on.
The big blind doesn’t
have that chance so he gets mad and three-bets💰 those steal raises far more than he
would from the small blind.
Obviously not every player plays the big blind like💰 this,
but it’s something to be cognizant of.
Related Reading:
No Need to Play Marginal
Hands!
Like in any form of poker the💰 difference between shorthanded and full ring is
very real, only in Zoom Poker it’s absolutely huge.
A six-max Zoom game plays💰 only
slightly different than a regular six-max game. With so few players and everyone
playing so fast, you often can’t💰 even hit quick-fold before the action is on you.
While
everyone’s early position ranges tighten up, the late position raises remain💰 wide.
In
full-ring the tightness is extremely magnified. Why even bother calling a raise with
ATo when you can just insta-fold💰 and get a new hand? There’s no reason. Ranges are, or
at least should be, tighter across the board.
There’s just💰 no need to be involved with
marginal hands!
Is Fast Fold Poker More Profitable?
It's fast and exciting for sure -
but💰 is Zoom Poker, or any Fast Fold variant, more profitable? Before you quit
traditional poker and make the switch to💰 Fast Fold poker you should really weigh the
pros and cons.
3 Major Upsides of Fast Fold Poker
1. Fast Fold Poker💰 = More Hands Per
Hour
In a regular online Texas Hold'em game you're lucky to be dealt 80-90 hands per
hour.💰 Compare that to the 30 you get in a casino and you're laughing.
But in Zoom Poker
you can be dealt💰 over 250 hands per hour depending on how fast you click! With more
hands per hour comes more good hands💰 and more hands where you can exploit your
edge.
Furthermore, with more hands comes more bonuses and, if you get it💰 from a site
like partypoker, rakeback. Which for many players is a very high percentage of their
total winnings.
2. Fast💰 Fold Poker Evens the Playing Field
You're moved to a new table
with new opponents every time you fold your hand.💰 Playing a different opponent each
hand makes it extremely difficult for your opponents to get a read on you.
You can💰 use
that as an advantage any way you like. If you only want to play aces and kings your
opponents💰 probably won't catch on. If you want to three-bet every single button and
small blind, same deal.
Fast Fold Poker evens💰 the playing field and takes out the read
and tells aspects of the game, which you can use it to💰 your advantage.
3. Fast Fold
Poker is REALLY Fun
The biggest advantage to Zoom Poker is that it's action-packed and
fun. It💰 makes grinding less of a chore and the fun factor helps bring more fish into
the game. More hands vs.💰 fish is a good thing. The only problem is that it's sometimes
difficult to spot the fish until it's too💰 late.
3 Downsides to Fast Fold Poker
1. No
History
This one's a pro and a con. It's a negative because as a💰 good player you should
be formulating reads. You should be observing your opponents and figuring out how they
play and💰 then using that information against them.
When you change tables after every
single hand it's impossible to truly understand how your💰 opponent plays. You have to
treat everyone the same and make ABC, generalized, decisions against everybody.
Snap
Poker at 888poker
If you're💰 a better player than your opponents Zoom Poker forces you
to give up a percentage of your edge.
2. Tilt Factor💰 Goes Up
Because you're playing so
many more hands per hour you're also dealt more bad beats and coolers than you💰 would in
a typical poker session. Add in the fact that players are often turbo-folding waiting
for aces and kings,💰 and coolers happen seemingly all the time.
If you can't control the
emotional side of your game and are susceptible to💰 tilt you may have problems with Zoom
Poker - it's even easier to tilt when you can play 1,000 hands💰 per hour on four
tables!
3. It Can Stunt Your Poker Growth
Maybe the biggest disadvantage to Zoom Poker
is the fact💰 that it can stunt your growth as a poker player. If you're happy grinding
and winning a little and making💰 a decent earn atR$1/$2, then Zoom Poker is great.
If,
however, you would like to move up in stakes and improve💰 as a poker player, Rush Poker
is not for you.
To succeed in poker's middle stakes and beyond you have to💰 develop
reads and use your reads against your opponents. Zoom Poker teaches you to treat all of
your opponents as💰 equals. If you try and treat everyone the same at medium stakes and
above you're going to bust your roll💰 pretty fast.
Final Word on Zoom Poker
Zoom Poker
or any form of Fast Fold Poker is a great game and can💰 be really fun to play. But you
have to know what you want to be as a poker player to💰 decide whether or not you should
switch to the game full time.
Use this list and think of pros and cons💰 of your own
before deciding whether or not to make it your full-time game.
More on Fast Fold
Poker:
