Is it worth playing zoom poker? Folding is no longer a problem: how does fast poker attract new players? What is zoom in poker: its features

Zoom poker is a relatively new form of poker that hit PokerStars in 2014. And although Zoom cannot be called a completely new type of poker, since it is played by game, it still differs from traditional Hold'em, first of all, in the intensity of its game. After all, if at ordinary tables you sometimes have to open dozens of tables at the same time in order to play against hundreds of opponents at once, then in Zoom poker you can play at once on 200 tables against several thousand opponents at the same time!

What is Zoom in Poker?

At the same time, the game itself at first looks exactly the same as when playing regular Hold'em. You are dealt the cards, you post the blinds, go through the same betting rounds ... Everything is so, but only until you press “Fold”. Because as soon as you fold, you will immediately move to a new table, against new opponents, and the next deal will immediately begin! So you no longer have to fold your 7-2 offsuit and then wait until the deal is over to get your next cards! Now all you need to do is to press the “Fast fold” button, and you will immediately switch the game to another table!

Major changes to Zoom poker

The intensity of the game changes, therefore, the approach of the players to the game also changes. And, therefore, the strategy of our game should also change, shouldn't it? Let's take a look at the differences between the Zoom poker strategy and the regular tables:

1. First of all, your rivals know very little about you. They can only play a few hands with you in a few hours of Zoom. Therefore, there is no need to play on the image, trying to create about yourself good impression from rivals. If at a regular poker table everyone usually looks at each other and knows who is more often the aggressor, and who is more, then at Zoom it all remains a mystery to the end.
2. However, on the other hand, the same can be said about your opponents. Every time you fold, you find yourself at a new table, with new opponents who have never played with you before. Accordingly, here it is already much more difficult to judge your rivals and make some notes about them, even if there are additional ones.
3. Now you no longer have to wait for the end of a distribution every time to move on to the next one. Accordingly, you will be able to take part in a larger number of draws, and play more cards... And all you have to do for this is just to quickly discard those cards that you do not need.
4. However, in this case, the blinds still have to be posted, one way or another. The presence of the “Fast fold” button will not allow you to just sit and wait for aces, and therefore, in order to actively play and win, you will have to enter the hands one way or another. This, by the way, is the common mistake of many newcomers to Zoom - they try to wait only for the strongest nut hands, folding completely playable hands.

At first glance, the above differences are understandable, but many players forget about them when it comes directly to the game. A striking example: a player who receives two aces in his hands begins to slowplay them, as he did the previous time with such cards. But in fact, these actions will go unnoticed, since no one remembers how and with whom you played aces the last time.

In addition, poker zoom has other, less obvious differences that also affect our strategy:

1. When playing Zoom poker, you no longer have to open several tables at once in order to increase the number of cards played. Basically, if you feel that you can do this, you can try to play at two tables at once, but for a start, one tab will be enough.
2. During the course of the hand, you need to constantly monitor all parameters, from the number of players at the table to their stack sizes. And if you decide to play some kind of hand, then first look at whom you will play it against - will there not be players with “short” stacks among your opponents who will somehow call your raise, as they say?
3. Since any player can easily fold their cards and move on to the next hand, players usually follow a tighter strategy for playing Zoom-poker, playing much less starting hands than at regular tables. And if you are used to the fact that at a full table your opponents will play, on average, 25% of all their starting hands, then in Zoom this figure will be about 20%.
4. We cannot choose the tables on which we plan to play, as with normal game... Accordingly, we will not be able to pick up strong or, on the contrary, weak opponents. We're just going to play against the middle field, and we have to play better than him to be in the black. Thus, in the zoom there are no specific personalities, players, we just have to play better than the average player does.
5. If you raise and the player in late position twists or just calls, it means that he has a really good card in his hand. Otherwise, he would have simply folded his cards and moved to another table a long time ago. But no - he even went into the hand with your raise to see what the flop was going to be.
6. Thanks to more aggressive play the level in the game also fluctuates much more significantly. Therefore, you need to think in advance about how you plan to manage it. At the same time, the minimum bankroll level with which you can sit down to play is 45 big blinds, and it is better to start playing when your stack is 70 BB.

How to play poker Zoom in the big blind?

The strategy for playing the big blind is different from all other positions at the table in Zoom poker. The player who posted the blind does not have the opportunity to quickly fold his cards and move to another table. Until no one raises, he must sit at this table and wait for his move.

Accordingly, in Zuma, players are much more likely to try to defend their big blind, even more often than at regular tables. And if all other positions in this kind of poker are played more tightly, then the player in the big blind can play even more loosely than at standard tables.

Pros and cons of Zoom poker

Like any other form of poker, Zuma has both advantages and disadvantages. The undoubted advantages include:

1. More hands to play.
2. Ease of starting the game. You do not need to look for tables with suitable opponents, wait until there is free space, etc. All you have to do is just choose the limit you want to play at, decide on your stack size ... and start playing!
3. The high activity of the players leads to the fact that they play a lot more starting hands per hour. Accordingly, not everyone is ready for such a game, so here more often players start after a series of unsuccessful hands.
4. You can also write down the advantages that your rivals do not know anything about you, and you do not know anything about them.
5. If you use special programs for help (such as), then they can record information about your opponents even after you have moved to a new table by making a “quick pass”. Thus, even here you can mine.
6. As you play more hands, you pay more rake to the room. Accordingly, you will receive more VIP Player Points to help you reach the VIP level at PokerStars. This could open up access to special tournaments or special items in the PokerStars internal store.

At the same time, if you are still thinking how to play zoom poker, then it should be noted that this type of game also has its drawbacks, which for some players may seem critical:

1. First of all, we have much less time to think and make a decision. You are given only 10-15 seconds to decide whether you will play these cards, or fold them.
2. And at the same time, we do not know anything about our opponents, except for their nicknames and the size of their stacks.
3. If you press “Fast Fold”, then you will not be able to watch the hand to the end to find out who played which cards.
4. Zoom poker is not suitable for those players who are used to building their strategy on creating a special image at the table, since the image is not so important here. great importance... Much more important here will be your reaction and the ability to quickly analyze the situation at the table.

Winning style of play

So, we come to the most important question, namely, how to play poker zoom in order to regularly beat your opponents? What tips should you follow to be head and shoulders above them? And what mistakes should you avoid?

Of course, as with any other form of poker, there is no one style of play for Zoom to stick to and win regularly. However, if at regular tables we have to adapt to certain opponents, then here we have to play depending on everything. playing field rather than from individuals.

There is a rule in poker that the pros often adhere to: "If your opponent is playing too tight, play loose and vice versa." So, the same rule applies to playing Zoom, with the only difference is that you need to look not at a single opponent, but at the entire playing field that is playing against you.

ZOOM tournaments are a special format of multi-table tournaments, where a player has the right to instantly send cards to pass, without waiting for the actions of opponents. Immediately after the discard of cards, he will be transferred to another table to the new participants. It is forbidden to fold cards out of turn only in the big blind, if no player has shown aggression preflop. When there are three tables remaining in the tournament, the game switches to normal mode.

How to find ZOOM tournaments at PokerStars

They are located in the "Tournaments" tab and are marked with a special symbol, as shown in the picture below.

There are two ways to simplify your search for ZOOM tournaments on PokerStars:

1. In the special field write the word "zoom" to find these tournaments by name:

2. Filter tournaments by type, displaying only events in the "fast" poker format:

ZOOM tournaments at PokerStars are very diverse. They take place in the following formats:

• heads-up;
• 3-max;
• 6-max;
• with knockout awards;
• with rebuys;

Buy-ins range from $ 1.10 to $ 215. As part of the prestigious online series, the entry into such tournaments can be as high as $ 2,100.

The strategy of playing in “fast” poker tournaments is slightly different when compared to regular events. PokerStars reporters contacted seasoned pro Steve O'Dwyer, who agreed to provide some tips for playing ZOOM tournaments:

• v initial stages play ABC-poker and don't invent anything;
• when ante appears in a tournament, you need to activate and start playing more loosely;
• Don't overdo it with the quick fold button when you are on the button, cutoff, or small blind. In these positions, you need to open a wider range of hands, and send very weak hands to pass;
• try to defend the blinds;
• 3-bet less often, because in ZOOM tournaments there are much more chances to raise first, and this should be used;
• with a short stack, you don't just need to wait for a premium hand, you need to look for the best situation to push all-in or steal the blinds;

Analogs of ZOOM-poker in other rooms

The "fast" poker format almost instantly fell in love with players from all over the world, so various poker rooms did not miss the opportunity to add this popular type of game to their lobby. Not all poker rooms offer tournaments in this format, but you can play at the cash tables in.

In those periods when there is no desire to play tournaments, you can switch to ZOOM poker. We considered why this can be done. Now we will look at how best to play it, and first, we will study some peculiarities:

positions are assigned randomly, and not clockwise, as in ordinary tables;

the game is faster (one ZOOM table is equal on average to 4 regular ones, i.e. 250-300 hands can be played in an hour);

reads on opponents are of lesser importance, in each new hand there are new opponents (reads will matter after a very long game, since regulars are also encountered here);

Nits are often seen at the table playing exclusively premium hands (QQ +, AK).

What can you give basic tips to start?

take into account that most players play only really good hands;

take into account the position more than usual, we rarely have stats, so we define the game positionally;

in ZOOM it is easier to fall into tilt - there are a lot of fish, and they bring anyone with their actions;

you shouldn't play with a deep stack (> 150bb) - it causes difficulties on ordinary tables, and even more in ZOOM;

Tactics. How to play ZOOM?

Although ZOOM is a cash game, there are differences in strategy compared to playing at regular tables. Therefore, you should change some of your techniques for a more profitable game.

Player types

In ZOOM poker, most of the players are people who play poker for fun. They want to have a good time and, if they're lucky, win something. Such players do not like to sit for a long time and wait for a good card (because they only play with such cards). ZOOM is another matter. If you don't like a card, discard it and switch to another. Because of this, fans of "break" poker very often appear at various fast tables.

This all means that although these players are far from regulars, they will play with good cards, and, therefore, you also need to narrow the range a little. A strategy based on these circumstances has both pros and cons.

Among the advantages are:

easier to style the blinds;

It is easier to take the pot by c-betting the flop;

easier to determine the range of a weak opponent;

In addition, in ZOOM poker, you don't have to worry too much about the image at the table, you need to take into account the positions and current actions of your opponents. But this does not mean that you should not track strong opponents and take notes on them. You will encounter them more than once, and unlike fish, they analyze the situation at the table, opponents, they can steal the blinds and make 3-bets from late positions. Against them, you must follow all the rules of caution that are used at ordinary tables.

You also need to reckon with them at the expense of your actions - you do not need to give them a reason to doubt the quality of your bets. But remember that the chances of meeting an incredulous opponent here, especially at the low limits, are very high. Therefore, one must be prepared that A.A.<72 ;) Такие ситуации подкашивают иногда, а поэтому можно брать перерыв (ZOOM-покер в этом плане подходит как нельзя лучше).

Position value

Position in ZOOM plays a bigger role than at regular tables. For example, you can style the blinds much, much more often. Therefore, the blinds need to be defended more aggressively. It will not be superfluous to use a squeeze. 3-bets are called less often here, as less experienced players will only call with very good hands. This will mask your bets and will also give you an advantage postflop where weaker players become even weaker.

Stack size

To be able to maneuver postflop, you need to choose the right stack size. We're rarely going to show up, so the stack size should leave room for bluffs while still being able to get out of the pot. In post-flop play, it is important to remember that if the opponent does not give up and does not fold his cards, then either his hand is stronger, or it is a fish that will call with the second and sometimes with the third pair. It is contraindicated to play out of position here.

In addition to the position, the size of the bank should be monitored. Don't try to inflate it with a middle hand. The situation is different when you have a set, two pair or a straight, you can draw the stack from your opponent. Playing such combinations in an aggressive style is profitable. You will not always win, but in the long run you will definitely be in the black.

Strategy

Early position

Everyone knows that you need to play a narrow range of hands from early position. In ZOOM poker, it would be more correct to narrow it down even more - this will simplify the further game if someone enters the game after you or makes a reraise. But there is also a downside - due to the fact that all bad hands are folded, we are less likely to find an opponent, so from early positions you can open with 77+, Ajs + and AQ. Maybe it's even looser somewhere than required. If after you they made a raise, then it is better to stay in the bank with cards like KK and AA. The only exceptions are when you have notes on an opponent. In all other cases, it will be correct to fold even such hands as JJ, QQ, AK. Everyone knows that a raise from early position is a strong raise, so only a strong hand will be rearranged.

There are also players with VPIP / PFR 30/25 in ZOOM, and it's a pity to throw out 99 pocket jacks and ladies against them. But this is in cases where you have statistics on the player based on the sane distance, at least 500 hands.

Middle position

Here you can already play looser. 55+, AT +, KQ + are added to the starting spectrum. If you get reraised then fold everything without regret except premium hands. Cards like QQ and AK can be played, but you won't always be ahead. You can fold out of position without regret. You know the saying that it's better to make a bad fold than a bad call. Exceptions appear when you have statistics per player. Then 4bet, but not call, and play aggressively on the following streets. In ZOOM poker you don't have to wait long for good hands, so if something goes wrong, fold.

Late position

In late position, you can afford to play, if not all, then a lot: 22+, A2s +, A8o +, JT +, 45s +. Here you can even sometimes call your opponent's 3bet, because you will have position, which is a significant plus. But don't call everything. Only TT + and AQs + can be played this way. Premium hands should be 4betted.

You don't need to limit any position. We either enter the pot or not. Although ... In some situations I would still limp in with small pockets in order to get a set, especially in multi-way. If there is no set on the flop, feel free to press fold.

Opponents' 4betting from early positions should be respected, and you should do them yourself extremely rarely, and it is better not in bluffing situations.

Conclusion

In general, ZOOM poker has the same fundamentals as at regular tables, only with some amendments. Do not be afraid to fold good cards if you see that your opponent is showing great aggression, and you do not have a monster. You don't have to wait long in ZOOM, so sometimes reset is the best option. And remember the advantages of this type of poker, use them to the maximum.

The poker room Poker Stars has presented a new kind of poker, which has definitely won the hearts of some of the players. In other words, this is a new kind of poker from Poker Stars. In fact, this is a completely different game. Studying at the Academy of Poker includes teaching fast poker.

Instead of placing the blinds in a circle, in Zoom Poker we are moved randomly around the tables (one table in this game is actually a tandem of several hundred tables). Thanks to this, non-stop play is achieved. Now you do not need to wait, as before, for the opponents to think, you can simply press the Quick Fold button, and we will immediately be transferred to a new table.

WITH Cu and BU we open with the widest range of hands, since now we have one of the main weapons in poker - POSITION. We play with hands like 22+ , A2s +, A8o +, JT +, suited connectors 45s +.

In the case of a 3bet, you have the option of calling a 3bet, since you have position and you can see what your opponent has done in front of yours. Fold most of the time, as you will have medium strength hands for a significant portion of your late-position opening range. Strong pocket pairs JJ + and a good suited broadway AQs + I would recommend not folding to 3bets and calling in order to play postflop, where these hands are quite tolerable in position.

Before that, we considered the options for opening with a raise in case you make the first move, or there were limpers in front of you. Regarding limps (entering the game first, not by raising, but by calling) - I do not advise, if you enter the game first, then either raise or not. You can cold call only on a set with pocket pairs, if before you there was a raise, a call raise, then it is quite possible to connect in addition to pocket pairs and suited connectors, in multi-pots they are perfectly played in position.

And the last thing 4bet... Do not bluff them on trash, it’s painfully unprofitable (and unnecessary) pleasure in Zoom poker, especially at small limits. Make them only for value bet (against all: KK, AA, against loose opponents: QQ +, AK). Believe me, everyone will pay you in full, so there is no point in using a 4-bet bluff. It only appears at mid-stakes: at least 100 NL.

Yes, and one more piece of advice. About pocket kings... Do you always play them on the stack? In most cases, naturally, yes. However, there are also exceptions. For example, you have accumulated decent poker statistics on opponents (from 500 hands for each), and you, having received KK, you see the following picture: a VERY tight opponent from UTG raises (let his statistics be 6/3), followed by 3 bets from the same tight opponent with 3 bets, 2-3%.

In this case, you can fold quietly their kings and not think about them, since in most cases one of the opponents will have exactly aces. In general, if you run into 4-bet from a very tight opponent, you can seriously think about the pocket kings pass.

In this article

• How Zoom Poker works
• What is the impact of format features on our game
• How to benefit from it

Note: this article is a revised and updated version of the article on Rush Poker by peachgabba, who won a prize in the 2010 Diamond Theory Russian Community Articles Competition.

Zoom Poker is a new format for playing Texas Hold'em and Omaha, offered by PokerStars. In this format, there was a rejection of poker tables in the traditional sense, where the dealer's button smoothly moves clockwise. Zoom poker works in a similar way to Rush Poker, a format developed by the Full Tilt Poker platform.

"Another game", - will say with a twist, those who, having caught a dozen coolers on this hellish carousel, decided to play "regular cash". "Another game" - say those who have placed their blog in the newly-minted section for Zoom poker and no longer plan to return to playing at regular tables. From most players, you will hear exactly one of these two polar opinions.

In this article we will look at the features of the Zoom poker format and the non-gaming advantages that follow from it.

Features of the Zoom poker format

Zoom poker involves the creation of a pool of players (~ 250-1000 people). They are instantly seated nine (or six) at a virtual table, which is assembled anew for each distribution. In this case, the big blind pays the one who did it the least of the collected nine. At the same time, when the "Fast fold" button is pressed, the player is immediately transferred to a new virtual table, which allows him to participate in the game constantly.

This article will focus on full-table Hold'em. Unlike Rush Poker, you now have a "Skip Next BB" feature at your disposal, which is especially useful for MSS players and can save them a lot of big blinds in the long run. The fact is that after doubling, we can still play all the hands for the round, which we paid for by posting the blinds. In Rush poker, this function was not available, as a result of which we were forced to immediately leave the table after doubling, so as not to pay the big blind again by mistake.

But BSS players can also use this feature to their advantage. Namely when they don't feel comfortable at the table with more than 200 BB in their stack. Since here you can also play the circle to the end before leaving the table.

The next feature of Zoom poker is that you need to buy at the tables with a stack of at least 50 BB. Therefore, middle-stacked players need to make certain adjustments to their play compared to the standard MSS. Postflop play is becoming more and more important, and calling is becoming more important for MSS players as the stack size is now larger and this changes our stacking ranges.

Time factor

New to poker and often overlooked resource of Zoom Poker is hand time. It is often not taken into account either in Holdem Manager's charts or in the minds of players who come to “try” Zoom after regular games.

When playing on four virtual tables, you can play 1200-1300 hands per hour, that is, more than 20 hands per minute. For comparison: on regular cash tables we only play about 70 hands per hour, i.e. when playing at four tables, it turns out about 280 hands per hour. At the same time, fingers crumpled by "Starcraft" and "Counterstrike" spend about a second in the Zoom to reset the garbage hand, and the saved time is almost completely "used" - for the drawing.

Due to the fact that we play so many hands, it can seem like we are constantly playing against the nuts. What is an unsuccessful session - each of us knows. However, usually such a session lasts several hours, and therefore it is perceived differently by us. But if adverse events follow one another, it can be very frustrating.

Therefore, in Zoom poker, the mindset and psychological attitude of the player is very important in order to be able to cope with such situations. Indeed, in such scenarios, players often fall into tilt, and in Zoom poker, with so many hands played per hour and stronger preflop ranges, it can quickly become very expensive.

Therefore, it is simply necessary to control yourself here, and it is better to leave the tables altogether if you notice that you are no longer able to play your A-game.

Alternatively, you can also set a "stop loss" limit for yourself and leave the tables when this limit is reached.

Consider a situation in which the factor of "time to play a hand" manifests itself as much as possible:

You are in the small blind with a marginal hand like 97s in front of the tight big blind. In normal play, this is a wonderful situation and a good steal hand. In Zoom poker, especially if there are active styling regulars in the late positions, it's a waste of time.

The reason is that in the 7-8 seconds that will pass before all the players fold and we get the opportunity to steal the big blind, we can have time to watch seven hands, of which two or three will be with better equity than 97s, and we get almost all of them in better position than the small blind.

Plus, we must take into account that often the cut-off and button steal will be made on any two cards, and we will have to spend our time and end up folding anyway. And also the fact that if the player in the big blind calls, we will get into a marginal situation, and playing out of position against a strong range will require a lot of time resources and, obviously, it is unlikely to be + EV.

So, if you are not going to resteal, then waiting for your turn in the small blind without a good hand is simply not profitable. This is how the resource of time manifests itself: yes, you incur losses in the small blind, but due to the fact that during this time you have seen a couple of good hands and someone has stacked, you will increase not only the number of hands played, but also your expected winnings in hour.

However, in this situation there are also purely playable advantages. Admit it: you dreamed of having a solid steal range from the small blind and not feeling like you were missing out on a profit?

Zoom poker allows it - thanks to the resource of time. By the way, if you are lucky enough to sit in SB to a steal situation (for example, recording the traditional notes "coldcall QQ +"), then no one bothers to steal BB on any two cards, diluting your strong range with weak hands.

Insulation

The next feature, due to the Zoom Poker format, is the relatively small preflop fold equity against limpers. It's easy to wait for an acceptable hand - and since the "fish" has waited for it, he will most likely see the flop. Isolates for value have never been so easy and so profitable: 5, 6, 6.5 BB - experiment with your health.

At the same time, of course, we always need to pay attention to the opponents behind us, so that we do not inadvertently put ourselves in a difficult situation postflop.

UTG (100 $)
Hero ($ 100)

Preflop: Hero is MP3 with
MP2 calls $ 1, Hero raises to 6 $, MP2 calls 5 $

Flop:
MP2 checks, Hero bets $ 9, MP2 folds

This is a typical situation in which we have a good hand for an isolation raise. Our hand is so strong that in position we can raise almost any limper with it (except when we know he has limped / raised 100% of the time).

If he's a tight player, then his limp-calling range usually consists almost exclusively of pocket pairs. If we know this for sure, then this player will never be able to profitably play his "pocket" against us. Especially on "draw" boards, many players still check / raise their sets out of position because they are afraid they will not be able to get all the money in the pot.

Therefore, if we want to barrel, it is very useful for us to know if our opponent is doing this, because then we can exclude many of the nut hands from him. In our example scenario, we can often continue to bet on the flop or on the flop and turn (in the case of dangerous cards) and force our opponent to fold almost all of his hands. In addition, these players almost never bluff raise the flop out of position, which means they usually play their hand very "transparently", which is also beneficial to us.

If the opponent is a "fish", then it is obvious that this is also a very profitable situation for us. He has a wider range preflop than a weak regular and will often lim / call with different Kx and Ax hand combinations. Here we also have a big advantage, as we have the initiative and play in position. We know much better than a weak player how strong our hand is on the potflop. Because of our postflop advantage, we can even isolate him quite loosely, since the fish will fold frequently if he misses anything, and we can also really appreciate when we can keep betting for value.

As you can see, isolation is very profitable against almost any type of player.

Another specific consequence of the format that allows a long wait for a good hand is that the fish ranges are more or less well defined. How many times in "regular cash" have you confidently bet with AK on a K96 flop and watched the chips go to the "fish" with his 96s? And then there was also a showdown in the chat ... For Zuma and fish in the 50/3 format, and such hands are rather an exception. And there is no one to scold in the chat - you are already at the new table.

Especially against weak opponents in late position, we can overcall with many hands as we have a big advantage postflop. The fact is that due to the presence of the "Fast Fold" button, weak players become a little tighter preflop, but postflop they play just as weakly as at regular cash tables.

They are often unable to fold a hand such as top pair or overpair, no matter how unpleasant the board is for them. And this is where we win the most, as hobby players cannot appreciate when their hand turns into just a bluff catcher. And here it is extremely important for us to be able to bet well for value.

Zoom Poker Regulators

The attractiveness of playing rakeback is another sign of this format. "Carousel" gameplay, lightning-fast leapfrog of hands and general stringiness of the field often lead to absolute automation of the game process. Sort out in the lobby those who play 4 tables (or maybe they play 4 more tables at a different limit?) - these are your clients, often with a fold to 3-bet and a check / fold flop of about 70%, with a turn continuation of 25%. ..

The only thing to consider is the complete lack of table dynamics. As well as the mining of bases, which simply do not exist. In view of this, the main source of information for you is the hands played with your opponent. And the expected EV from recording notes on victite regulars has never been so high - after all, the carousel of Zuma can match 3-4 times with the same rival robot in 10 minutes.

Accordingly, it is also very profitable to bluff-3-bet with a wider range against such opponents when they open-raise from early position. The reason is that our 3-bets are very credible and our opponents find it difficult to fight back. If they call, they will very often fold on the flop. You can hardly expect frequent moves from them, since they will proceed from the fact that our spectrum is very strong.

A lot of players make the mistake of looking only at the overall 3-bet rate, rather than the rate that indicates which position they are 3-betting against. Indeed, on its basis, you can much more accurately assess the range of your opponent's hands. Nevertheless, here we need a very large sample of hands to get intelligible information. Otherwise, it can turn out to be very counterproductive, since we will give our opponent either too weak or too strong a range.

UTG (100 $)
Hero ($ 100)

Preflop: Hero is BU with
UTG raises to $ 3, Hero raises to $ 9, UTG calls $ 6

Flop:
UTG checks, Hero bets 10 $, UTG folds

Here we have bluffed 3-bet preflop with a marginal hand. This is a very loose example, but there are quite a few regulars in Zoom poker who have rudimentary leaks in their postflop play. Therefore, it is profitable to use such bluff-3-bets.

Despite the strong range in UTG, many regs fold up to 70% to 3-bet, which makes it profitable for us to 3-bet with a wider range. Also, usually our opponents will be very "fair" to continue playing postflop.

If in the above example we assume that the opponent has QQ, then at the latest on the turn with this hand he will check / fold.

In such a spot, we present not so many combinations, but almost always we will have them, if we do not reraise too many bluff hands against UTG.

However, before you start to use loose 3-bets, you need to accumulate a certain sample on your opponent. Then you can already see how profitable the continuation bets on the flop and turn are against him if he calls. After all, if he has serious leaks on the flop and the turn, then it’s not scary for us if he doesn’t fold so many hands preflop, because he will fold too many hands postflop and we will thus be able to win a lot from him. money.

If we bluff-3-bet from the small blind, it is usually much more credible than if we re-raise from the cut-off or the button against a weak range. The reason for this is quite simple. As we said above, especially in the small blind, we should fold marginal hands as soon as possible to save time. Therefore, our 3-bet from the small blind looks stronger. We can of course also use this circumstance to make more light 3-bets. Especially when our opponent often folds his hand in response to a 3-bet.

You might think that a similar situation occurs in the big blind. However, it is not. The reason is obvious enough. In the big blind, we often have hands that we can defend either actively or passively, since we are the player completing the action preflop. In addition, there is no "Fast Fold" button in the big blind, so we may not fold our weak hands until the first player opens-raise.

Naturally, the use of 3-bets should not be carried away, so as not to get into too marginal situations postflop. Most regulars these days play by stats, and if they notice that your 3-bets in the blinds have reached astronomical heights, they will start defending against your 3-bets.

An exception to this are the players on autopilot, which are very common in Zuma. They just play their hands regardless of position stats, usually play too many tables without any positive win rate, and have significant leaks in their game. It is against such opponents that you can resteal a little more often, since, despite the very high fold to resteal rates, they are unlikely to start fighting back. In theory, they should open-raise tighter or defend against you with a wider range, however, since they are constantly looking at their hand, neither one nor the other happens, which, of course, makes the situation very pleasant for us. ...

VIP-System becomes more attractive for micro-stakes players

PokerStars does not have a fixed rakeback interest rate with fixed payouts. However, PokerStars offers a very extensive VIP program.

As many hands are played in a very short time even when playing at four tables, reaching high statuses on PokerStars becomes possible even for low limit players. Accordingly, even a micro-stakes player can earn a higher percentage of rakeback than the approximately 9% for BronzeStar status.

Blinds	VPP for $ rake (Full Ring)	VPP for 100 hands	~ Hands for "SilverStar" status
$0,01/$0,02	10	1,2-2,5	30.000-63.000
$0,02/$0,05	8,5	2,3-3,8	19.700-32.600
$0,05/$0,10	7	4,2-5,2	14.400-17.900
$0,10/$0,25	6	8-9,5	7.900-9.400

Please note that these numbers can vary greatly depending on your play style and the play style of your opponents. Therefore, they serve only as a rough guide.

The highest rakeback interest rates come from the two highest statuses in the VIP system: "Supernova" and "Supernova Elite". More than 37% rakeback is possible here. However, to obtain these VIP statuses, which are calculated based on the results of the calendar year, even at the NL $ 100 limit, a large amount of play is required.

If you are considering upgrading your VIP status, after a few thousand hands played, you should calculate how much VPP you earn on average playing your style. Based on this, you can calculate the approximate number of hands you will need to reach the appropriate VIP status. If you have any questions, please visit the PokerStars Forum for help.

We hope that we were able to better acquaint you with this game format. We wish all lovers of fast play success at the Zoom poker tables.