TheGenera1
Visionary
Silver Level
Ok so I have looked online and seen very little in the way of useful tips for beating micro stakes zoom poker on stars. I have played since it first game out and I'm averaging around 6k hands a day on it. I play 4 tables of 5nl and 2 tables of 2nl. 6 tables is the max you can play now because PS lowered the amount, I guess this was due to people being extreme nits... not sure however.
Anyway use this topic to discuss all things zoom as I'm sure there are a lot of strategys that will crush zoom as it is a really new thing to stars and Rush sucked.
Useful things I do to ensure I make a profit almost every single session I play. (I don't use a hud for zoom yet, only for regular poker) There are exceptions to these rules if you have info on your opponent.
1. Fold KK preflop to a 5 bet/don't call all in preflop with KK because you are up against AA almost EVERY TIME.
I don't care what anybody says to me because after playing thousands and thousands of hands at zoom, I have noticed that people almost never shove without AA or KK so you are a flip at best.
Exception to this rule is if you have notes or the villain is short stacked or you are in the blinds. Blind on blind play tends to be looser.
2. Do not over play bottom set/22 33 sets.
Now this is a complicated point and it by no means suggests you should fold your bottom set at all, but what it does mean is you should be wary of someone with massive aggression on the flop because they more often than not have a higher set. Just imagine you are in a live casino playing a cash game, and there is a bloke across from you literally spilling his food and drink because he can't get the chips into the middle fast enough. Is someone really going to be 4/5 bet shoving you on the flop with anything less than a set? I think not... I no I wouldn't.
The way you should play your 22 33 sets is by calling an EP/middle open raise and hoping to stack them if an A or K falls on the flop (and you hit your set) because they hit their TPTK. This spot is fine for a stack off. However if you all LIMP in pre flop, then your tiny bottom set is very often up against a higher set. You should not limp 22/33 but CALL open raises with them. This ensures that you will almost always be in a favourable spot with your tiny set.
3. 3bet in late position like there is no tomorrow.
By 3betting a wide range of hands you will so often make people fold their AK or w/e oop and take down a small pot. All these pots add up and really help your winrate. The reason this works, is because with the vast amount of hands people are seeing per hour, they really have no desire to call out of position with mediocre hands. They will fold out lots of strong hands that they would not normally fold in a Ring Game.
If you do get flatted, then it is even more profitable when you take it away on the flop by cbetting. (ensure proper board texture) Give up on the turn if called unless you improve.
4. Raise blind steals with a wide range of hands.
A lot of recreational players think they are being smart arses raising every single button that they have to steal the blinds because they think no one will notice because of the zoom format. By raising their steals you will take down a large amount of pots where the villain has absolute garbage and cannot possibly call profitably. If they do call, then take the pot away on the flop as it is likely that have missed. Again, give up on the turn if called because they obviously have strong holdings to make the flop call. If they are floating, then well played them... however you don't run into these players often.
5. Isolate single limpers if you are in the button or cutoff as much as you can with a wide range.
This is a strategy that I'm sure you will all know from your standard ring game experience, but in zoom, you will find it is even more profitable as people are constantly limping to try and make sets, and when they miss they lay down the hand. Micro Zoom poker is all about making sets and punishing people stupid enough to get attached to their high pocket pairs. So this being said, it is inevitable that you will find people limping with a lot more frequency than in a standard ring game, but more importantly, they don't get attached to their hand due to boredom, like in standard micro stakes games, because the next hand is right around the corner. So by isolating these limper's while in position, you can take away a lot of pots on the flop when they fold their low pp's that haven't set mined successfully.
6. DO NOT BLUFF
Seriously, beyond the C bet on the flop, just don't do it. People are unlikely to fold on the turn, what they liked on the flop and double barreling gets very expensive when people keep calling you down. Sometimes you can get away with a double barrel if an A or K falls on the turn as players will be scared of this, but apart from that, don't bother. There is a lot of easy money to be made at zoom, and it doesn't come from bluffing.
7. Be very wary if raised post flop.
As with your standard ring games, you want to be very wary if raised post flop, especially if you have a hand that you like the look of but is simply a mere pair. This means that if you have AK on an A or K board and some one raises the flop it means more often than not, you are going to be facing a large turn bet as well. It is up to you to judge to size of the flop raise and whether or not they are likely to fire the turn as well, which in most cases signals a stronger hand than TPTK or an overpair which is what you will be holding.
The reason you should be more wary of raises at zoom, is because people bluff less and value more. They don't have to worry about a tight image as the table is new each time, so they are going to show up with a hand that beats TPTK or an over pair a lot more than they would if it was a standard ring game. (For the record, Russians and Germans tend to be really aggressive, so if you can't decide whether to call the flop raise, check to see if one of these nationalitys is there ) However don't get carried away as they get good hands too. A standard rule for whether to call a flop raise or not is to check if it is more than a min raise. You can call a min raise, but should probably fold to a larger raise. Fold to a large turn bet if you called a flop minraise as they will often have better than a pair when firing the turn as well. If they check, then you will often have the best hand.
8. Playing Small and Medium Pocket Pairs.
You should be looking to set mine as much as possible with these hands and be ready to throw them away on the flop unimproved. Certain paired boards warrant a call, but mostly get rid of them if you don't hit.
EP. Open 77+ for a 3x raise. If you miss your set you can C bet in a HU pot and try and take it down. (Ensure propper board texture)
Limp 44-66 and then call a medium sized raise from players to act behind you. Your limps will get raised often (which is good because when you do hit your set, you get paid off more)
There is no need to open 6's and below because people will always raise your limp.
MP. Open raise 44+ and call reasonable sized opens from in front of you with any PP. You can open all pocket pairs from here because it is less likely that you will be 3bet. You also open all pairs from here to help build a pot.
Finally just bare in mind that this is for 2nl 5nl and 10nl ONLY. I have no experience at the higher stakes so really cannot comment on that. These tips are only what I have learnt from playing lots of zoom hands, and although you may disagree, remember that this is just an opinion and I am by no means forcing anyone to play like this
While this strategy is very weak tight, I would like to add that I have had only great results using this play. It DOES win, and with decent win rates as well. Yes you might be folding the best hand occasionally, but believe when I say how good it feels to walk away from almost ever session with considerably more money than when I started. Sometimes you will have a god awful run if cards and it will drive you insane, but these tips ensure that your session will be filled with extremely easy decisions throughout, and you won't find your self in marginal spots hitting the desk with you head for calling when you shouldn't or for having a cooler.
Thanks for reading.
Anyway use this topic to discuss all things zoom as I'm sure there are a lot of strategys that will crush zoom as it is a really new thing to stars and Rush sucked.
Useful things I do to ensure I make a profit almost every single session I play. (I don't use a hud for zoom yet, only for regular poker) There are exceptions to these rules if you have info on your opponent.
1. Fold KK preflop to a 5 bet/don't call all in preflop with KK because you are up against AA almost EVERY TIME.
I don't care what anybody says to me because after playing thousands and thousands of hands at zoom, I have noticed that people almost never shove without AA or KK so you are a flip at best.
Exception to this rule is if you have notes or the villain is short stacked or you are in the blinds. Blind on blind play tends to be looser.
2. Do not over play bottom set/22 33 sets.
Now this is a complicated point and it by no means suggests you should fold your bottom set at all, but what it does mean is you should be wary of someone with massive aggression on the flop because they more often than not have a higher set. Just imagine you are in a live casino playing a cash game, and there is a bloke across from you literally spilling his food and drink because he can't get the chips into the middle fast enough. Is someone really going to be 4/5 bet shoving you on the flop with anything less than a set? I think not... I no I wouldn't.
The way you should play your 22 33 sets is by calling an EP/middle open raise and hoping to stack them if an A or K falls on the flop (and you hit your set) because they hit their TPTK. This spot is fine for a stack off. However if you all LIMP in pre flop, then your tiny bottom set is very often up against a higher set. You should not limp 22/33 but CALL open raises with them. This ensures that you will almost always be in a favourable spot with your tiny set.
3. 3bet in late position like there is no tomorrow.
By 3betting a wide range of hands you will so often make people fold their AK or w/e oop and take down a small pot. All these pots add up and really help your winrate. The reason this works, is because with the vast amount of hands people are seeing per hour, they really have no desire to call out of position with mediocre hands. They will fold out lots of strong hands that they would not normally fold in a Ring Game.
If you do get flatted, then it is even more profitable when you take it away on the flop by cbetting. (ensure proper board texture) Give up on the turn if called unless you improve.
4. Raise blind steals with a wide range of hands.
A lot of recreational players think they are being smart arses raising every single button that they have to steal the blinds because they think no one will notice because of the zoom format. By raising their steals you will take down a large amount of pots where the villain has absolute garbage and cannot possibly call profitably. If they do call, then take the pot away on the flop as it is likely that have missed. Again, give up on the turn if called because they obviously have strong holdings to make the flop call. If they are floating, then well played them... however you don't run into these players often.
5. Isolate single limpers if you are in the button or cutoff as much as you can with a wide range.
This is a strategy that I'm sure you will all know from your standard ring game experience, but in zoom, you will find it is even more profitable as people are constantly limping to try and make sets, and when they miss they lay down the hand. Micro Zoom poker is all about making sets and punishing people stupid enough to get attached to their high pocket pairs. So this being said, it is inevitable that you will find people limping with a lot more frequency than in a standard ring game, but more importantly, they don't get attached to their hand due to boredom, like in standard micro stakes games, because the next hand is right around the corner. So by isolating these limper's while in position, you can take away a lot of pots on the flop when they fold their low pp's that haven't set mined successfully.
6. DO NOT BLUFF
Seriously, beyond the C bet on the flop, just don't do it. People are unlikely to fold on the turn, what they liked on the flop and double barreling gets very expensive when people keep calling you down. Sometimes you can get away with a double barrel if an A or K falls on the turn as players will be scared of this, but apart from that, don't bother. There is a lot of easy money to be made at zoom, and it doesn't come from bluffing.
7. Be very wary if raised post flop.
As with your standard ring games, you want to be very wary if raised post flop, especially if you have a hand that you like the look of but is simply a mere pair. This means that if you have AK on an A or K board and some one raises the flop it means more often than not, you are going to be facing a large turn bet as well. It is up to you to judge to size of the flop raise and whether or not they are likely to fire the turn as well, which in most cases signals a stronger hand than TPTK or an overpair which is what you will be holding.
The reason you should be more wary of raises at zoom, is because people bluff less and value more. They don't have to worry about a tight image as the table is new each time, so they are going to show up with a hand that beats TPTK or an over pair a lot more than they would if it was a standard ring game. (For the record, Russians and Germans tend to be really aggressive, so if you can't decide whether to call the flop raise, check to see if one of these nationalitys is there ) However don't get carried away as they get good hands too. A standard rule for whether to call a flop raise or not is to check if it is more than a min raise. You can call a min raise, but should probably fold to a larger raise. Fold to a large turn bet if you called a flop minraise as they will often have better than a pair when firing the turn as well. If they check, then you will often have the best hand.
8. Playing Small and Medium Pocket Pairs.
You should be looking to set mine as much as possible with these hands and be ready to throw them away on the flop unimproved. Certain paired boards warrant a call, but mostly get rid of them if you don't hit.
EP. Open 77+ for a 3x raise. If you miss your set you can C bet in a HU pot and try and take it down. (Ensure propper board texture)
Limp 44-66 and then call a medium sized raise from players to act behind you. Your limps will get raised often (which is good because when you do hit your set, you get paid off more)
There is no need to open 6's and below because people will always raise your limp.
MP. Open raise 44+ and call reasonable sized opens from in front of you with any PP. You can open all pocket pairs from here because it is less likely that you will be 3bet. You also open all pairs from here to help build a pot.
Finally just bare in mind that this is for 2nl 5nl and 10nl ONLY. I have no experience at the higher stakes so really cannot comment on that. These tips are only what I have learnt from playing lots of zoom hands, and although you may disagree, remember that this is just an opinion and I am by no means forcing anyone to play like this
While this strategy is very weak tight, I would like to add that I have had only great results using this play. It DOES win, and with decent win rates as well. Yes you might be folding the best hand occasionally, but believe when I say how good it feels to walk away from almost ever session with considerably more money than when I started. Sometimes you will have a god awful run if cards and it will drive you insane, but these tips ensure that your session will be filled with extremely easy decisions throughout, and you won't find your self in marginal spots hitting the desk with you head for calling when you shouldn't or for having a cooler.
Thanks for reading.