Strategy at ZOOM tables comparing to ring games?

[jerohit]

In Zoom cash game play very tight .. on good cards like AA KK AK .. go all in only when have pocket Aces or kings.. on post flop be aware of a huge raise against your top pair coz many player looking for 3 of a kind with thair small pocket pair and when they hit they will do something unusual..
You can play little loose while on BB and Button or CO raised to 3BB.. Coz most of the time they try to steal blinds..

Best thing you should do is fold fold till get aces .. When get premium cards like AK AQ see flop and then decide what to do.. when ever you get small pocket paira try too see cheap flop and look for three of a kind..

And C bet.. when ever on post flop opponet checks give a C bet if you missed..
If opponent gives you a c bet and you have a good hand you can 3 bet his bet.. but be careful coz some player limped with aces to trap you.

 

[Nathan Williams]

The biggest thing with Zoom poker is that you are almost always at an information disadvantage because you get to see the same opponents much less often than at a standard 9 or 6 max table.

So you have to play a more ABC brand of poker where essentially you just "play by the book" to use a tired cliche. What I mean more specifically is your reads will be weak and you can't really take the custom lines that you can like in a traditional ring game.

Another big difference is that you can't get position on the fish and tilt them or even the regs for that matter. So this means that there is no real history or a dynamic between you and anyone. Again, this leads back to playing an ABC version of poker where you just make the "standard plays".

One of the good things from a strategy perspective with Zoom though is that you can get away with much more aggression at all stages of the hand because while we don't know much about our opponents, they don't know much about us either.

This means that when you take an aggressive line like 3Betting or 4Betting light preflop they will be more likely to lay it down instead of fight back. They will give you the benefit of the doubt more often.

I actually just came out with a new video series today with 6 hours of live play both at the regular tables and at Zoom. I discuss the differences between Zoom and the regular tables in depth.

http://www.blackrain79.com/2016/06/announcing-release-of-nl2-mastery-course.html

 

[mauroc711]

As a player Lose something, I hate zoom. In traditional tables it is easier to use the metagame.

 

[mezzodana]

ZOOM TIPS

1) Don't limp

2) Raise at least 2x if action is folded to you pre-flop

3) Narrow range at first, then loosen up a bit as you get to know the regs in the session.

4) As soon as you double+ your money, get out & rejoin. You don't want a ridiculous suck-out taking your profits.

5) One or even two pair does not show down well in ZOOM.

6) Get out if there's any over-aggressive action pre-flop - unless you have a premium hand and unless you want to gamble.

Good luck! Let me know if this helps or if you have any other suggestions!



dc

 

[MaxMx2]

1) Don't limp

2) Raise at least 2x if action is folded to you pre-flop

3) Narrow range at first, then loosen up a bit as you get to know the regs in the session.

4) As soon as you double+ your money, get out & rejoin. You don't want a ridiculous suck-out taking your profits.

5) One or even two pair does not show down well in ZOOM.

6) Get out if there's any over-aggressive action pre-flop - unless you have a premium hand and unless you want to gamble.

Good luck! Let me know if this helps or if you have any other suggestions!



dc

Good points. Mostly agree, especially with 1, 4 and 6.

Not sure I got point 2. If it's about preflop raise, then 2x is not enough since it trigers too many calls.

As for point 5, I'd say that with one or two pairs it makes sense to play pot control, however micro limit players often are ready to show down with small pairs or even with high ace.

 

[Harold]

If people in front of you are taking ages to fold and you open for a raise after two minutes of waiting, the guy who raises you is not bluffing.

 

[mezzodana]

Good points. Mostly agree, especially with 1, 4 and 6.

Not sure I got point 2. If it's about preflop raise, then 2x is not enough since it trigers too many calls.

As for point 5, I'd say that with one or two pairs it makes sense to play pot control, however micro limit players often are ready to show down with small pairs or even with high ace.

You want it to trigger raises, rather than calls. In my experience, 2.5-ish gets the majority left to act to fold out. & you're right about micro players, but in Zoom aggression plays out really well. if you're strong, play aggressive all 3 streets & they'll fold out. chances are that player won't see you at the table again for another 2 to even 10 hands. act fast enough & they won't even catch your handle.

 

[Sidetracked]

I think since you're seeing so many more hands, playing good solid ABC poker is your best bet

 

[Zeimar Silva]

1) Don't limp

2) Raise at least 2x if action is folded to you pre-flop

3) Narrow range at first, then loosen up a bit as you get to know the regs in the session.

4) As soon as you double+ your money, get out & rejoin. You don't want a ridiculous suck-out taking your profits.

5) One or even two pair does not show down well in ZOOM.

6) Get out if there's any over-aggressive action pre-flop - unless you have a premium hand and unless you want to gamble.

Good luck! Let me know if this helps or if you have any other suggestions!



dc

I would add ...

7. Be careful when bluffing
8. Learn how to use HUD and use it at all times. It is essential to know the villains.
9. Improve pre-flop play.

good luck.

 

[miric007]

Play only strong hands!

 

[Zeimar Silva]

Cash games is cruel, lol

Before entering a table, see, study how the players are playing, which hands are winning the pots. You will see that there are many high pairs, 2 pairs, three of kind ... and high raises ...

Cash games is cruel, lol

 

[CRStals]

I play ZOOM a lot on Stars and SNAP on 888. My two cents:

- Bluffs almost never work especially at MicroStakes. People are on ZOOM for action and I find tend to call down with garbage more often.
- Playing with a HUD is essential. You'll see players often and that info is so much more powerful on ZOOM knowing something about your opponents
- Def agree never to limp - aggression works better
- Don't play too many tables. I find I can comfortably play 2 at a time, but even then prefer playing just 1. Still get 200 hands / hour in.

I disagree that ZOOM is ruining classic poker but I will agree that it's a good way to gain experience playing ABC poker, build a foundation and get a lot of hands in quickly. It's the same poker as a classic ring game, except your information is limited. The HUD gives you an edge that not everyone will have so that's a critical element to use. Definitely watch hands before you jump in, get a feel for the action but note that you'll only see on Stars action hands.

 

[nworsley94]

There is some good advice on here. For me what works well is being very selective, folding a lot and only playing when I have a good hand. When I choose to play a good hand, playing it aggressively.

So far its been a good way to earn some money, although I need to remove myself after a little while or I get too confident with my bets and loose a lot of what I've accumulated.

Enjoy!

 

[3ccasd]

zoom in poker, I try to catch the monster and play with it, for me, this is the whole strategy)

 

[antonis32123]

Yep , I agree , in zoom microstakes it's sometimes like they are playing bingo and can't leave a hand once they catch something , not respecting many times position , not large bets ,at least at 9 max I play (But I saw it and at the 6 max , calling with 77 , I had position , I was betting , K Q , on the flop , he stacked me the stu*&%$ ) . Don't bluff , and it's more easy to overplay some hands . About the HUD , I don't know , maybe CRStals you are right , to know who is more exploitable , whose bets to be aware of more , I should buy one .

 

[Cmoneytaker5]

i play only zoom...you need to play A LOT OF HANDS to get your self a nice sample of the other players for your hud....basic hud for zoom needs this ...
VPIP PFR HANDS CASH
CB FCB RCB RRCB
FSM FBB TFB
plus what ever you like my hud has more data.

Even though i am on tilt the last month i agree with the guys above...take the blinds from CO and BU wait for good hands like AA KK QQ AKs AKs KQs JJ call with smail pairs from any position or raise if you act first and try to set mine ...if you don't hit the flop and there is a bet LEAVE the hand, if you can see the turn cheap DO IT ...play spaculative hands from position if more than 2 or 3 vilains are in the pot your hand takes MASSIVE VALUE if you hit the board ...when someone is reraising your 4bet etc BE VERY ALERT and avoid all in preflop except if you are holding A's or K's (if you have sample of the other player you can jump in with AKs) your CBET need to be apr 70% to 75% if there is no action postflop CBET AND 99% YOU WILL TAKE THE POT if you see crazy overbets FOLD they got them selves a set...2 pairs are good BUT NOT BEST most of the times ...when you see 2 same cards on the board FULL HOUSE ALERT ...most important if they shove on the river FOLD they got the nuts 90% of the times...because it's easy to fast fold all the players got strong hands so if you raise and the call or reraise GET READY TO FOLD POSTFLOP ...i have seen crazy things in Zoom like sets over sets full house's crushed by quads etc...except this you are playing 6MAX and the dynamics of the game is more agressive...a good solid VPIP PFR for Zoom 25nl 50nl 100nl is about 20 to 22 VPIP and 15 to 20 PFR ...the same players are playing at 25nl 50nl 100nl (100nl more regs) ...no matter what they say if you beat 25nl you can also beat 50nl and 100nl .
If you do a mistake you probably gonna lose your whole stack...i used to stay connected and play 2 to 4 tables of Zoom and i was 400bb deep ...i don't do this anymore...once you go 200+bb deep leave and join again to protect your profits...a bad beat can remove your hard work in blink of an eye...and bad beats are always there.

 

[Bluenipps]

I find it best to tighten ranges, particularly in earlier positions. Avoid playing pots where you can be easily dominated.

One key adjustment at Zoom I find is to play in a way that exploits what the average player in the pool does; unless you have history with your opponent. In standard cash games adjust play specific to opponent as much as possible since you will have a lot more player specific knowledge.

Overall just play a bit tighter, find plays that are +EV against the player pool and use them in ways that you wouldn't be able to at a normal cash table.

Zoom is more systematic and repeating a process.

 

[dimon4ik89]

Tips for playing Zoom Poker

Tips for playing Zoom Poker:
1. Play tight than normal NL Holdem.
2. Pay attention to the position, because of the lack of stats - the position is our only factor for determining the approximate strength of the hand.
3. Protect your money from tilt. In Zoom Poker there are a lot of fish, and as everyone knows they can easily enter tilt with crossings.
4. Leave the table when your stack is more than 150BB, because the game with a deep stack is quite complicated, especially without statistical data.
Personally, my opinion, in the zoom poker you need to play tight than in conventional hold'em, and then success is guaranteed to you.

 

[Hujiko]

Play the player pool.

That is if the average player is folding more because of the fast fold button the steal more. If the average player don't call enough cbets then cbet more as they will fold etc.

I love tight players at the table