Zoom Poker is one of the most popular types of cash games on Pokerstars and Party Poker, the fast-paced action means you're always making a decision with no downtime between hands. It's also one of the most competitive game types out there.
Wondering if zoom poker is beatable and profitable? In this article, we'll be outlining what adjustments you'll need to make if you want to make the transition to zoom poker.
Zoom Poker Basics
In 2010, Full Tilt launched a product called "" which allowed you to instantly move to another table after folding, putting you right back into the action without having to wait.
This is a huge change from regular cash games where you're forced to wait until all action is completed before you're dealt a new hand. If you're playing one table of a regular cash game, the action will seem very slow but one table of zoom is the equivalent of playing 4 regular cash games at once.
The most popular form of zoom poker is now , though a lot of poker sites have their own version of this game.
Zoom Poker Profitability
As zoom poker is one of the most popular formats around, there is a lot of potential for profitability and a variety of ways it can be done.
Beating The Fish
The more popular a format is, the more fish are going to play. Zoom is no exception and there are plenty of fish in every player pool that can be exploited. However, due to the fact they can fold and instantly get a new hand, you may not see as many erratic preflop plays as you do in regular cash games.
Despite this, they're still making enough post-flop mistakes that a decent win rate can be achieved at most stakes. As with all cash games, it's important to recognize and tag your opponent's so you can quickly identify the fish, allowing you to adjust your game every time you're taken to a new table.
🔴 More than with any other type of poker game, Zoom Poker needs incredible discipline with your bankroll management and the amount you decide to start playing with. Games go by fast, and money gets dilapidated quickly.
Rakeback
Due to the large number of hands, you can play in a short amount of time (especially if you multi-table), some players are able to make a good amount of money through rakeback. Some sites offer better deals on rakeback than others, with being one of the best of the bigger sites in this regard.
It's possible even playing low stakes to make a few hundred dollars a week from rakeback if you put in the hours at the table and choose the right site to play on. When you can make this amount just from playing, any money you can win at the tables is a bonus!
Exploiting Tight Regs
Some players who do chase rakeback will sacrifice the quality of their play to increase the number of tables they can play. By doing so their game becomes tighter and more predictable.
These players can be heavily exploited as they won't be fighting for pots as often as they should be, and when they do show interest you'll know that they have the goods.
Tagging your opponents is essential in zoom poker as you don't get to spend much time with each player to figure out how they play so any information you can have when you arrive at a new table is invaluable.
Challenges of Zoom Poker
Whilst there is a lot of money to be made from zoom poker, it does provide some challenges for prospective players.
Wild Swings
As you can play hundreds of hands an hour playing zoom poker, you'll find yourself in a lot more all-in pots per hour than you would be playing a regular cash game live or online. This can lead to big swings if you're running particularly bad/good and some players struggle to deal with the emotion that comes with that.
If you're one of these players I would advise you to set a stop loss or target win to stop yourself succumbing to the emotion that swings can produce. Zoom poker becomes almost robotic due to the constant action and if you're tilting you can easily dust off your bankroll in the blink of an eye.
Covering Numerous Blinds
One of the downsides to playing so many hands per hour is that you're going to be in the blinds a lot more than you would in regular cash games, especially as most zoom poker games are 6-max.
Your worst positional win-rates will be from the blinds as you're forced to post either 0.5bb or 1bb without even seeing your cards. A lot of players struggle against this uphill battle and are losing players purely because of how poorly they play from the blinds.
Profitable Zoom Poker Strategies
If you want to give zoom poker a try, take a look at these strategies to get you on your way:
Tight Is Right
One of the big advantages of zoom poker is that when you fold you don't have to wait for the hand to be over before you're dealt a new one. This means that waiting for a good quality starting hand doesn't take nearly as long as it sometimes can in a regular cash game.
You'll find that most regulars will play a slightly tighter style than they would in regular cash games, so if a player has come into the pot we should also be adjusting tighter in anticipation of this.
Tag Your Opponents
As you're moved to a new table as soon as you fold, you don't get to see how hands play out unless you go back and watch a replay. There's valuable information that can be missed that would let you know what kind of player someone is.
This is why as soon as you've worked out whether someone is too tight or too loose that you mark them as such, so when you next arrive at a table with that player you'll know how to adjust your game.
Adjust To Your Table
Knowing how to adjust to your table will substantially boost your win rate and underlines how important tagging your opponents is. If you arrive at a table and see there are two nits in the blinds, you can print money by raising any two cards from the button knowing they're folding too much.
Similarly, if you see an aggressive regular on the button you may decide to open tighter from the CO/HJ knowing that you're likely going to be 3bet. Knowing when to play wider to pick up the blinds or save money by raising tighter can be the difference between being a winning player or a losing player at zoom poker.
There's a lot of money to be made in zoom poker, either through rakeback or crushing the games so check it out next time you play!
This article was published on July 3, 2021, and last updated on July 20, 2021.