Zoom poker strategy 6 max. Zoom Poker: the right strategy for the game. What is the best strategy for playing zoom poker?

Zoom Poker is a new direction of online poker cash game, "sharpened" especially for those people who do not like to wait. If you have finished playing your hand and do not want to wait for your opponents to finish playing the hand, then the button Fast Fold instantly transports you to a new one. In theory, in this way it is possible to increase the number of hands played per hour, by 400%.
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Hello friends and girlfriends!

Today Sandrix will tell (and show) you why you should pay close attention to the well-known Zoom poker, and maybe even completely switch to it from the disciplines you are used to today.

Disclaimer: the article will focus on low limits (up to NL25 inclusive) in the format 6-max, although most of it is also true for other limits and formats.

The essence of zoom poker is that a pool is automatically formed from several hundred players of the limit, the participants of which are subsequently randomly (or almost randomly) seated at the tables of the selected format (6-max or full ring) for exactly one hand. Upon completion of the distribution (or by pressing the quick fold button), the player is automatically moved to the newly created table with the next random opponents from his pool.

Here is another talkative missile defense system that explains it well in Shakespeare's language:

In short, innovation in all fields (once there was), revolution in the world of online poker and all that. Now let's move on to the main, more prosaic and practical part of this article. For the reasons why you should look towards this very zoom. So,

The first and foremost reason is "rakeback" - more hands are played per hour at Zoom Poker.

One zoom table allows you to play non-stop about 300 hands per hour (on "normal" tables this figure fluctuates around 75), so the loud statements by developers about a 400% increase in your distance per unit of time are not so far from the truth ... Simple arithmetic tells us that on 4 zoom tables in such a way it is possible to win back an average of 1000-1200 hands per hour, not really straining at the same time, in contrast to the mental stress in the "classic" mass multitabling, but we will talk about this later.

I said exactly on 4 tables, because at the time of this writing, only 4 entrances to one pool are allowed in the zoom by default. That is, only 4 tables of the same type of poker can be played at the same time in a single format(say 6-max NL25). At the same time, no one prohibits connecting additional limits or switching to the same full ring. However, practice shows that not every modern adherent of the cult of the name Nanonoko will master even 8 zoom tables at the same time.

Anyway, what does this reason tell us? The fact that even in draconian conditions with virtually no rakeback for every low-plus or even near-zero regular, there is still an opportunity to feel the depth of the phrase "living on rakeback" thanks to the zoom (especially in cheap China!). After all, every self-respecting Jew knows: more hands per hour = more rake (and "rakeback", respectively).

Thus, if you manage to maintain your usual win rate (which will be discussed later), then you will earn more money in the zoom thanks to all sorts of Starz "stellars" and other bonuses, because you will get much more FPPs in the same time, that ordinary tables would play. Oh how.

The second and unobvious reason, bankroll - you need fewer buy-ins to play at PokerStars Zoom.

Unlike multi-tabling in the usual mode, when a significant part of the bankroll is distributed between 9-16 tables, from the previous paragraph about 4 tables in the zoom follows the nuance that you actually need fewer buy-ins of the limit in order to comfortably ride this format, because for each of the tables you can take initially, a maximum of 100bb (or 4 full stacks).

Many of you have probably come across a situation when you are sitting at one of the tables and stupidly cannot buy more, because the entire bankroll in the room is "smeared" across the rest of the tables. And here you need to look for which table is better to close in order to buy more on the current one, time and focus are lost. One disorder and nerves in general.

In zoom, most adherents of aggressive bankroll management will appreciate the moment that you can keep in the room no more than 20 buy-ins of the working limit and at the same time feel like Sheinberg's in the bosom (with a positive winrate, of course). On average, whichever BRM you use, you can follow simple rule: 1 buy-in of zoom = 3 buy-ins for "regular" poker. That is, if your usual BRM is 60bi, then for zoom you need exactly those 20 bi. And this is also, one might say, a relatively conservative BRM.

The third and important reason, time-saving: Zoom Poker makes it easier to organize your gaming session.

The mechanics of zoom are such that, unlike ordinary tables, where you are in fact tied to a successful line-up / position / fish / etc (and therefore you cannot flexibly manage your time), here you are absolutely not dependent on anything. Have some non-poker friends suddenly come to visit? I pressed the sit-out in the zoom and went to hang out with the corefans. Wife urgently asks to fix the outlet? I ticked the same box and reinforced it. Remembered an urgent matter during the session? Well, you get the idea.

By the way, it is precisely the zoom that gives the freedom that cashheviks love to sing about, extolling themselves over MTT-"slaves", who, by the nature of their activity, need to sit without looking up, sometimes for several days in front of the monitor, without closing their eyes. So, a cash game at regular tables is essentially no different from hours of tournament vigils, because in the event of a forced break, you will most likely lose your place at the table (and miss out on profits). But what is most annoying of all - then you have to painfully search for a suitable table again ... In a zoom, such a problem cannot exist by definition.

The fourth and controversial reason, table-selectable: In PokerStars Zoom, no one can "hunt" you

From the previous paragraph on table search, we smoothly move on to one of the most vital aspects of online poker (and of all poker in general) - the choice of a game. As already mentioned, in the zoom there is no such possibility by design, however, in addition to the obvious disadvantage, which is the impossibility of deliberately getting into a pose with the fish, there is also a not so obvious, but no less positive side of coinflip: more sophisticated and advanced ® sharks of your limit will not be able to sit down with you! That is, the absence of bumhunt in the zoom works in both directions (and you should not deceive yourself with the thought that only the eggs of the regular nl100500k are cooler than you).

As for the rest of the tableselect criteria, you still have notes, zoom, and dynamics at your disposal. Yes, the dynamics. Don't be fooled by those recreational gamers who say it's missing from the zoom. It is there, just in a slightly different form. To feel it, you need to play a more or less sane distance there (at least 100k hands), so here, guys, don't blame me without examples.

Plus, save on specialized software like TableScanTurbo, which a player needs to zoom like a trout with an eighth fin.

Reason 5 and underestimated, winrate: At Zoom Poker, a lot of people play too straightforward.

Despite the fact that the zoom has already been a hundred years old at lunchtime (not to mention its older brother c), people at low stakes still have not adapted to a new format for themselves, playing exclusively on the card and not really thinking about the opponent's ranges. In general, a looser zoom game is our everything. Even in their VODs on the zoom poker strategy, that some of their ranges can only benefit from the zoom, especially at small limits, where the rake charged is higher and, accordingly, the money won by aggressive 3-bets and 4-bets is an additional increase to the win rate. Because pots are rake-free preflop. So that.

In addition, experience shows that such a fast poker format, which is zoom, today is an excellent option for idle pastime for your favorite office workers from the European region. In other words, it is much more fun for the average fish to fold and immediately start playing the next hand, drinking the whole thing with Friday beer, than to sit and wait for the remaining five avatars at the table to figure out which of them is more skillful postflop. And if we add to this the fact that you can play zoom today even from a mobile phone ...

In general, I hope that you get my idea and you will no longer be afraid of sinister stories from familiar nit, they say, there is no one to profit from in the zoom, the fish / reg ratio is worse than usual, and in general, they say, online poker is dead. Now I will prove to you the opposite by my own example.

The sixth and unexpected reason, Sandrix's: 6bb / 100 is the real win rate at NL25 at Zoom Poker 6-max for 100k hands

In preparation for this article, I as an experiment Zoomed over 100,000 hands over the past month at NL25 at 6-max on PokerStars. The limit was chosen from the position of bankroll management, as well as from the fact that it is with NL25, in my opinion, that in today's reality you can start earning more or less adequate money "for a living" (although jedem das seine, of course). I played 4 tables, about 2-5k hands per day (not on all days of the month, I missed it). The results, as they say, are "on the scoreboard" in front of you (clickable):

From about a third of the cut, he significantly changed the game, starting to experiment much more aggressively with constant 3bet / 4bet / 5bet wars preflop against most regs, finding himself in many ambiguous situations postflop with marginal hands. Closer to the end of the segment, I went deeper into this matter (the red one began to slowly rise from the bottom of the chart). However, as one of the locals accurately noted at Pokeroff, playing is the best training for playing. ©

Let's move on to statistics. Here is a set of my main indicators for the specified period:

Well, for positions also:

In general, ask your questions in the comments to this post if you have any. Finally, if all my attempts to convince you of the cumulative pluses of the zoom turned out to be in vain, I suggest that you familiarize yourself with the opinions of those who are able to earn their bread with sprats on an ongoing basis, and not just as an experiment like all sorts of upstroke sandrixes.

So, below you will find professional opinions on the Zoom format.

shatkhi (low limit plus regular):
The advantages of zoom are obvious - no need to waste time on select, many hands per hour. But this is balanced by the main disadvantage - the compositions are very tight, the average level is higher than at ordinary tables of the corresponding limits ("however, from the fact that the fish are tighter, it does not follow that the winrate ceiling is low - you just need to play loose and steal small and medium pots" - note from jjjean).

Ivan Demidov (runner-up WSOP 2008):
Zoom is ideal for training. A high level of play, many hands per hour, plus it is very convenient that you can sit down at the table within a second and leave just as quickly if necessary.

PekarStas (trainer, regular):
Zoom poker is interesting to me only from the point of view of playing from the iPad. It so happened that I do not share the policy of stars in many matters, but I cannot deny myself the pleasure of playing with my iPad in my free time. It's great to kill time on the road or lying on the couch by playing for yourself 4 zoom tables or even a zoom tournament.

Here are a couple more reviews from foreign colleagues about zoom:

Pavel "Verneer" Nazarevich (famous trainer, regular, author of books):
Zoom tables: Much easier to start / end games and thus a superior option for people without a lot of time. Some fish might like it less since they don "t have time to develop reads and establish dynamics with their opponents. Regular tables: If you find a fish at one of your tables, you don" t get moved the next hand. On the other hand, if you are multi-tabling, starting / ending sessions takes significantly longer.

Time-tell software developer TimeMojo (regular NL200):
Zoom is a great platform for players who are looking to improve their games and move up in stakes. While playing fewer tables, the player can focus more on each hand without being distracted by others. The dynamic of being with different players in different positions in every hand is good for mental development as well. Timing tells tend to be more reliable in zoom games because your average user is playing fewer tables. Players tend to perform all of their 'standard' actions quickly, while non-standard actions like bluffs or strong hands are more likely to be deviated from their normal quick timing range.

OK it's all over Now. I hope that now I have managed to convince at least someone who mastered this wall of text, if not go, then at least try Zoom. And if so, then, as a postscript, I will put you the right music, to which you need to roll in the zoom. The composition, by the way, is called that, Zoom - My Soul:

Poker room Poker stars introduced a new kind of poker, which definitely won the hearts of some players. In other words, it is the new kind 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 did before your move. 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.

The 6-max format is by far the most popular format online. Games at 6-max tables are so popular that they have almost completely supplanted the full ring (or 9-max) format on most poker sites.

If you want to become a successful online player, then having high skills in playing at 6-max tables is a prerequisite. If you prefer tournaments or specialize in live play, then a deeper understanding of short-handed play will have a positive impact on your winrate.

In this article, we will cover the following topics:

• What is 6-Max Poker?
• Open-raising ranges
• Adjusting Open Raising Ranges
• Sizing open raises
• Calls raises and 3-bets
• How to play from the blinds?
• How do you deal with the most common postflop situations?
• Flop continuation bets
• Double-barreling the turn
• Playing against the flop and turn continuation bet
• Probe-bets on the turn
• Tips for Dominating Weaker Short-handed Players

Well, to work!

What is 6-Max Poker?

6-handed is a format where only 6 players can sit at the table. Classic full-ring games can be played by 9 people. This means that the positions where we play the tightest in 9-max are absent in 6-max: UTG, UTG + 1, UTG + 2. Thus, in 6-max, there are the following positions:

• Lowjack (LJ or EP)
• Hijack (HJ or MP)
• Cut-off (CO)
• Button (BU)
• Small Blind (SB)
• Big Blind (BB)

Since 6-max has 3 fewer players than 9-max, the game is looser. As a result, at 6-max tables, bigger average pots are played, the percentage of players who see the flop increases, and the number of hands per hour increases. It is for these reasons that recreational players and pros alike prefer 6-handed - they spend less time folding and more playing their starters.

Despite the fact that tournaments are held in 6-max format today, for the purpose of this article we will focus on short-handed cash games.

Open-raising ranges

A solid poker strategy starts with pre-flop. Well-designed open-raise ranges will lead to fewer tricky decisions postflop.

Sizing open raises

When you open-raise, you should use a sizing of 2.25 to 3 big blinds. Less sizing will give your opponents excellent pot odds to call, which will lead to multilateral banks, and as more players are distributed our equity in our hands decreases. On the other hand, it would be a mistake to raise more because we will already be giving ourselves bad odds, which in turn will force us to narrow our ranges.

The exception to this rule is when we are on SB. In the small blind, we should open-raise 3 to 4 big blinds. This is due to the fact that the player on the BB has a position, as well as a mandatory investment in the form of 1bb, which will give him the opportunity to defend more loosely. There is nothing you can do about your positional disadvantage, but you can make the pot's odds of calling BB worse by increasing your size.

3-betting as the key to success at 6-max tables

3-betting is a very powerful and profitable weapon if you use it correctly. There are three reasons for 3-betting preflop:

• In order to get value

3-betting the top of our range allows us to increase the pot already preflop, which will give us the opportunity to extract more profit from weaker hands that our opponent will call with. Many novice players play their strong starters too passively, while playing aggressively with them is more profitable.

• To bluff

When we 3-bet bluff, we are balancing our 3-betting range for value and not letting our opponents have equity in their hands. In other words, if you only 3-bet with very strong hands, your opponents can easily exploit you by folding their cards every time you re-raise them. Balancing the ranges avoids this problem.

As for the second goal of 3-betting bluffing (preventing our opponents from realizing their equity), here's a simple example. Let's say we 3-bet with a hand that has 60% equity against our opponent's winning range, and our opponent folds. In this situation, we take the entire pot preflop and deprive our opponent of 40% of his "legal" equity.

• As insulation

When you 3-bet, you reduce the likelihood of a multilateral bank being formed. As you can imagine, it is in your best interest to prevent the creation of a multi-way pot, since each additional player in the pot will lower your equity. For example, AAs win against a random hand 85% of the time, but against four players our rockets are only a small favorite:

When we 3-bet to isolate, it usually ends up with only one player facing us. Against weak players who open (or limp), you can use isolation 3-bets (or raises) to stay in the pot with them one-on-one and then exploit their leaks.

Calling and 3-betting ranges

Calling and 3-betting ranges in 6-max are even more subject to different changes under the pressure of various factors than open-raising ranges. This is because calling and 3-betting ranges are highly dependent on the position and playing tendencies of the original raiser.

In general, the tighter our opponent's open-raising range, the tighter our calling and 3-betting range should be, and vice versa. Let's compare tight and loose ranges to highlight this difference.

Below you can see the tight range of MP versus EP:

• Red - 3-bet
  
• Orange - 3-bet or call
  
• Green - call
  
• Blue - fold

Now take a look at the loose range of BU versus CO:

As you can see, BU's value range is much wider than MP's value range. It is this wider value range that allows the BU to 3-bet more bluffing hands (the BU maintains the balance of its ranges).

• If your hand is too weak to 3-bet but too strong to fold, then you should call;
• Consider 3-betting hands that seem slightly weak to play (breakeven or slightly negative hands are usually good candidates for 3-betting);
• Hands that have a high level of playability when called through usually work well for 3-bet bluffing. Here we are talking about suited connectors. These hands increase our frequency of flop texture coverage after 3-betting (a somewhat overrated concept, but still relevant).

These tips apply to all positions, but there is something else to consider when faced with an open raise from the blinds.

Playing the SB versus an open raise

When you are in the small blind and are faced with a raise, you should tend to 3-bet with your full continuation range as long as the open raise is not too small. Against a small opening sizing on the part of a loose player, your pot odds and your hand may justify calling.

The reason why we should mostly 3-bet the SB is because by 3-betting we can mitigate our positional disadvantage. If our opponent only calls 3-bet, then we will flop with an advantage in range and initiative, which will make it easier to play out of position.

BB play versus open raise

The BB position is unique in that the player on it puts 1bb into the pot without ever getting his cards. This gives the BB a "discount" on a potential call after facing an open raise. This is why on the BB we can call on the widest range compared to other positions.

You can be especially loose against SB open raises as you have a positional advantage on your side. Given the fact that many players will try to steal (or limp) at a high frequency with the SB, after calling you will be able to play against a wide range in position. This is a recipe for high win rates.

Now that we've covered the basics of non-preflop play, let's move on to postflop.

Postflop play at 6-max tables

This area of ​​short-handed strategy includes tons of theoretical material, so you can always find something to improve your game. In fact, playing competently postflop is so difficult that even the world's best supercomputers have failed to come up with an ideal optimal game strategy (GTO).

Continuous betting

A continuation bet is a bet coming from a player who was the aggressor on the previous street. This section is about c-betting strategy and how we should react to our opponents c-bets.

We'll start by talking about c-betting the flop in and out of position, as there is a huge difference between these two strategic aspects.

Flop continuation bets in position

Having position gives you a huge advantage over your opponent, as on every street you will be able to act last. Therefore, you can bluff and bet for value more effectively.

There are several strategies that, when executed correctly, work great in position:

• You will be able to use small sizing with high frequency;

This c-betting strategy works best on dry and uncoordinated textures (eg: A ♣ ️9 ♠ 5 ♣ ️, Q ♦ ️Q 6 ♣ ️, J ♦ ️6 ♠ 2). On such boards, we can bet with small sizes at a high frequency because it will be quite difficult for a player out of position to continue with the required frequency. It follows that the average player will often make mistakes by passing their hands too often. This will allow you to increase the profitability of your bluffs.

• You will be able to place larger bets at a lower frequency and with a more polarized range.

This c-betting strategy is generally best for wet and coordinated textures (eg: Q ♠ J ♠ 8 ♣ ️, 9 ♦ ️8 ♣ ️7). Why? The point is that these textures have a lot of combinations in your opponent's range to continue playing, and you want to give him the worst pot odds to call while at the same time forcing him to continue with these hands (otherwise he will overfold, allowing us to extract value with our bluffs).

You can be more liberal with your value bets in position. Top pair hands with a good kicker should be bet for value on wet textures. On dry boards, where you wish to use less c-bet sizing, you can bet all your pairs on

You should still continue to bluff with hands that have a chance to improve on the turn or river (draws and backdoor draws).

Flop continuation bets out of position

Typically, you want to implement a defense strategy by betting less frequently than in position when out of position. This is because you will be stuck in an informational predicament throughout the entire distribution.

Basically, you should c-bet the flop with hands that can comfortably bet for value on all three streets (on most runs), as well as some bluffs that can improve to a strong hand on future streets. In situations where you are out of position, you should have a relatively narrow betting range, and it is generally best to follow a mixed strategy with strong hands - that is, sometimes bet and sometimes check.

Why is defensive play so important when we are out of position? Because your opponent preflop will often call your open raise on a fairly tight range. Therefore, you must carefully choose situations to bet against such a spectrum.

For example, on a flop K ♠ 9 ♦ ️6 ♣ ️, your cbetting strategy should look something like this:

• Value Range: 66, 99, K9
• Mixed strategy: AK
• Bluff Range: QJ, QT, JT, 87s

Hands that look like confident value hands like KQ should be checked to protect your checking range.

On low flops like T ♣ ️5 ♦ ️3 ♣ ️ your c-betting strategy should look like this:

• Value Range: 55, 33, TT
• Mixed strategy: AT, JJ, QQ, KK, AA
• Bluff Range: 76s, J9s, QJ

Continuous bets on the turn (double barreling)

After our flop c-bet gets called, we should bet the turn on a polarized range: value and bluff.

Choosing hands for value betting on blank turns (see article: "") is a pretty straightforward task: just bet with the same strong hands that you bet on the flop with. However, if the turn card is not blank, then you will have to reevaluate your value range and then continue betting with your new strongest hands (for example, you should not bet the turn with K 9 on the board 9 ♠ 8 ♠ 4 Q ♠).

As a rule, as a bluff on the turn, we should bet gutshots, OECD, flush draws, refusing to bet with unprepared hands (such as backdoors missed on the turn from the flop). However, when the board is dry, you need to be more creative in shaping your bluffing range. For example, on a T334 board, you can continue to bluff with QJ / J9 (you have blockers on QT, JT, and T9).

Flop versus cbetting

How you should play the flop against a continuation bet is highly dependent on both players' ranges, the size of the bet, and whether you are in or out of position.

• You should play looser when in position and tighter when out of position;
• Out of position, you should check-raise with a range of very strong hands and some draws (gutshots, OECD, etc.), unless the flop is great for your opponent's range;
• Continue against cbetting with hands that have a good level of playability on the turn. Think in advance on which cards you can call another bet with your hand. If there are few such cards, then consider folding on the flop. For example, while 33 will often be the best hand on a J94 flop against your opponent's c-betting range, you should be inclined to fold since you only have 2 outs to improve.

Playing against a continuation bet on the turn

Most of the concepts of good flop play apply to the turn as well, but this street gives you a few more opportunities to exploit.

First of all, you can make big folds or light calls depending on how much semi-bluff is in your opponent's range. For instance:

• On wood boards, for example J 9 5 ♠ 4, you can expect your opponent to bluff at high frequency with one of the many possible draws, so you can make more light calls against his second barrel.
• On dry boards, for example, K ♠ 8 ♦ ️2 ♣ ️2 your opponent will have to get creative with his bluffing range, and since most players are not very creative, you might fold more often against second barrels.

You can also call more loosely on the turn if your opponent is not particularly aggressive on the river (which is common for most players). Unless your opponent is going to put you in a tricky situation on the river with your middle hands, you can comfortably call them on the turn and expect to get to showdown relatively often.

Probe-bets on the turn

A prob-bet is an out-of-position bet on a player who had the opportunity to continually bet on the previous street, but did not. As you can imagine, we can only sample-bet on the turn and river.

Typically, you want to try-bet bluffing hands that don't have showdown value (gutshots, OECD, flush draws). If your draw has showdown value, such as A-high or a pair, then it's usually best to check-call (or even check-raise). Having multiple draws in your checking range will allow you to have hands on the river that are surprisingly strong for your opponent, which will benefit your overall strategy.

Where few draws are possible on the board, you can expand your bluffing range by adding some weak hands. For example, on T722, you could bet with QJ, which has outs to improve often to the best hand.

Of course, you need to balance your bluffing range with the appropriate number of value combinations that you can often bet with on the river as well. However, when choosing value hands, don't go below second pair with a top kicker, or your range will become too weak to bet for value on the river.

Delayed continuation bets

A delayed continuation bet is a bet from the preflop aggressor after all players check on the last street (s). Delayed cbetting is used by most players with insufficient frequency, although this concept allows you to win more pots and avoid some difficult spots.

The exact strategy for pending continuation bets will depend on your flop strategy. General rule would be to make pending c-bets with a range that has some equity (just like you do with a prob-bet), that is, gutshots, OECD, and flush draws. Again, avoid betting with these hands if they have showdown value.

As with probes, you want your pending cbetting range to be polarized. So to balance your bluffing range, you want to bet with the strongest middle pairs and stronger hands so that you can bet with them on the river as well.

Please note that pending c-bets are - powerful weapon against most players, since by checking twice they show a lot of weakness. Few players are smart enough to include strong hands in their double-checking range, so you can exploit them mercilessly (sometimes you don't even need equity to make a profitable pending continuation bet).

It goes without saying that creating a solid postflop 6-max strategy takes years of practice and work in theory learning outside the tables, but the following 4 tips will help you set the right direction for your game now. These tips primarily focus on exploiting leaks, which are common among low-stakes 6-max players:

• Value bet often and subtly

The best way Winning 6-max is betting big with your best value hands, as many low-limit players have too high calling frequencies. It follows that any low-limit slowplay is less effective than straight-line value betting. Don't be afraid to lean towards big bets, as many players will make their calling decisions long before they see your beta size. If in more complex lineups you have to pay attention to your sizing tells, then at lower limits you do not have to worry about this.

• Be careful with bluffs when your opponent has invested significant money in the pot

Since low-limit players tend to call loose, frequent big bluffs are not a good idea. Of course, this does not mean that you should never bluff - you should still continue to attack weak ranges and / or weak players. But be careful when choosing spots to bluff against most low-limit players.

• Take notes and categorize your opponents

In order to achieve a good win rate, it is extremely important to collect and record all available information on your opponents. This will allow you to more quickly profile your opponents and pick operational strategies against them. For example, if your opponent is the phone, then you should bluff less, since he is unlikely to fold his cards. Or, if you are faced with a nit that is sending too many hands into folding range, you can broaden your bluffing range.

• Don't make a lot of big calls on the river

Another common tendency in low-stakes 6-max games is that aggression on the river tends to be accompanied by a heavily biased value range. Low-limit players rarely bluff three barrels, so a good adaptation strategy is to increase your river folding frequency against third barrels. Likewise, a raise from your opponent on the river will almost always mean the nut hand. Avoid a calldown in these situations unless your opponent has a lot of missed draws in his range.

6-max poker (or 6-max tables) is the most popular cash game format in online poker today. Full ring (9-max) tables are either completely absent in some poker rooms, or rarely fill up, because 6-max has come in their place! Experienced regulars prefer 6-handed because more hands can be played in an hour here, and because of the lack of three early positions (UTG, UTG1 and UTG2) more pots can be played with weak passive opponents (fish).

The smaller number of players and the faster pace of the game also attract recreational players, who usually do not like to fold and wait a long time for a new hand. Thus, if you want to become a successful online cash game player, you have to master 6-handed.

So, here are the topics we will cover today:

• What is 6-Max Poker?
• Opening ranges and strategy
• Call and 3-bet ranges
• How to play from the blinds
• Postflop Tips

Well, let's go!

What is 6-Max Poker?

6-max Is a game format that allows a maximum of 6 players to sit at one table.

This means that there will no longer be three early positions in 6-max. There will only be:

• Early Position (EP)
• Middle position (MP)
• Cut-off (CO)
• Button (BU)
• Small Blind (SB)
• Big Blind (BB)

With fewer players, it immediately feels like 6-max is looser than a full ring. As a result, in 6-max: the average sweat size is larger; higher percentage of players entering the flop; and above the rate of hands / hour.

6-max starting hand charts

Any solid poker strategy is based on choosing the right starting hands preflop. Well-built preflop ranges will create fewer difficult (negative) spots postflop and more positive ones.

Here are the starting hand charts we offer our players:

EP MP

CO BU

SB

You can see that the opening ranges are widening as you get closer to the button. This is because with fewer players behind us, we will have a higher chance of stealing the blinds and not hitting a strong hand.

The widest RFI range will be on the SB, as only 1 player will separate us from the dead 1.5bb in the pot.

When to Adjust Preflop Ranges

Starting hand charts like the ones above are good guidelines to use, but don't have to be rigidly adhered to. Successful poker players constantly adjust their ranges based on a number of factors, and here are the 3 most significant ones:

• Opponent type and inclinations

The type of opponent and his playing style is the main factor that will determine the width of our ranges. We have to exploit our opponents every time we get the opportunity, and adjusting our starting ranges is a great way to do this. For example, at a table where everyone is playing tight, we should open up looser in order to pick up a lot of unnecessary pots. On the other hand, if behind us sits aggressive player who is 3-betting us all the time, we should play tighter than the charts suggest. This will give us a generally stronger range that makes it easier for us to 3-bet.

• Your skill level

You can play looser if you feel like you have a good edge over your opponents. Playing more hands means you have more opportunities to hit your edge postflop. If strong competent opponents play against you, then it makes sense, on the contrary, to narrow your ranges. In general, the main idea is to play more hands against bad opponents and less against good.

• Rake

In games with a relatively high rake, it makes sense to play tighter. Rake is usually charged when it comes to the flop, so you can avoid paying rake by playing fewer hands preflop. You need to cut back near-zero marginal hands, which, taking into account the rake, turn into negative hands.

Bet-sizing open-raises at 6-max tables

When we open, we have to do it by bet-sizing from 2.25 bb to 3 bb... A smaller size will give opponents good pot odds to call, which should be avoided as multi-pot winnings are much more difficult. On the other hand, open-raises that are too large (over 3bb) worsen our own pot odds, forcing us to narrow our opening range (at least in theory).

The exception to this rule is when we are on SB, here we have to use a larger size (3-4 bb). This is because the opponent on the BB will have a position on us, and he will also be a little tied to the pot, since he has already invested 1 big blind in the pot. Both of these factors motivate him to defend himself more liberally, and we want to stop that. Without a position, of course, we cannot do anything, but to worsen his pot odds by large sizing - please!

3-betting is a must for success at 6-max

3-betting is a powerful and extremely lucrative poker weapon when used correctly. There are several reasons to 3-bet preflop:

For value. 3-betting with strong hands will allow us to build big pots and extract more value from weaker hands that our opponent will call. Many inexperienced players slow play strong hands too often, but for the most part aggressive play will be optimal.

V bluff. Adding bluffs to our 3-betting range will keep it balanced (less obvious) and also prevent our opponent's hands from realizing their equity. If we only 3-bet with the nut hands, opponents can easily exploit us by falling to our 3-bets every time.

For isolate. When we 3-bet, we significantly reduce the likelihood of multi-pot formation. This is in our best interest, as our hand equity will decrease with each additional player entering the pot. For example, in AA there will be 85% equity against one random hand, and against 4 random hands they will be only small favorites:

3-betting more often than not will either make everyone fall or create a heads-up pot. You can isolate a fish who open-raise (or open-limp) by 3-bet (or raise), so that later on alone on the post-flop you can realize your edge in the skill above him.

Calling and 3-betting ranges

In 6-max, calling and 3-betting ranges will be even more volatile than open raises. This is because they are almost 100% dependent on the position and inclinations of the open raiser.

In general, the tighter the open-raising range, the tighter the calling and 3-betting ranges should be, and vice versa. Let's compare two ranges against an open raise: tight and loose. Tight first (MP vs EP):

Now let's look at the loose range (BU vs CO):

In the MP vs EP range, we have only 34 combinations, which we will always raise for value (QQ +, AKs, AKo). In the second case, we will have twice as many combinations on BU that will 3-bet for value (TT +, AJs +, KQs, AQo +). Wider value range onBUwill allow us to 3-bet wider and bluff.

Here are some rules to follow when playing against open raises:

• If your hand is too weak to raise, but obviously too good to fold, then you should probably call it.
• For 3-bet bluffs, choose marginal hands that look too weak to play (these are near zero or slightly negative calling hands).
• Hands with good postflop playability, such as suited connectors and gappers, are great for 3-bet bluffing. (It will also be very good in terms of improving "board coverage").

These rules apply to all positions, but there are also blinds (SB and BB) that need to be discussed separately.

Small Blind (SB) vs. Open Raise

When you are on the SB and there is an open raise in front of you, you should lean more towards 3-betting with your entire continuation range (unless the open raise is too small or there is no fish behind you). Against a small size, especially a loose range, or with a fish behind you, calls on the SB can be appropriate.

The reason why you should 3-bet almost all of your SB hands is to make up for your lack of position and initiative. If your opponent does call, you will flop with both initiative and range strength, which will make your OOP play much easier.

Big blind (BB) versus open raise

The BB player is in a unique position, having already deposited 1 big blind into the pot. This gives him a "discount" on calling against an open raise. That is why, compared to the rest of the positions.

You can especially loosely play against SB steals, since you will also have position and your opponent on SB will have a very wide range. Broad Defense BB vs SB is a proven recipe for high win rates!

It takes years for players to master a successful postflop strategy at 6-max tables, but I still singled out 4 simple advice that will quickly help you get on the right track.

Value bet more often and thinner. The best way to win at 6-max tables is to value bet well with your strong hands, as the love of calling is the most common leak among low-limit players. This is why slow play will be less effective in most cases. Don't be afraid to bet big, especially against weak (inelastic) opponents who usually don't pay attention to sizing tells.

Bluff carefully. Since weak players tend to "phone", frequent bluffs against them will not be a good idea. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't bluff at all. On a small flop flop on dry boards - bluff, but don't try to bluff big against the fish as it usually ends up very sad.

Write informative notes and tag opponents. If the poker room allows you to write notes and make color marks on the players, then this should definitely be used. It is very important to collect new information on your opponents, especially on regs that you have to play with every day. Notes will allow you not to keep everything in your head and will help you quickly adjust your strategy for each specific opponent. And color coding will help you find fish in the lobby faster.

Try not to hero-call on the river. Another common low-limit trend is that river aggression most often means strength... Players at these limits rarely bluff 3 barrels, so a reasonable adjustment would be to fold the river a little more often than usual. And river raises almost always mean monster, so be prepared to fold your top pair, over pair, and even 2 pair. Avoid calling the stack on the river unless you have a very strong hand.

The dynamics of poker continues to accelerate every year. More and more modern MTTs are carried out in turbo and hyper turbo formats, and very fast ones have replaced long Sit & Go. The trend does not differ from the mainstream: more and more regular and hobby players prefer fast poker to ordinary tables. The reason for this choice lies on the surface: no one likes to waste time waiting the right hand... The zoom poker strategy allows you to get a new hand immediately after pressing the "fold" button, so you will definitely not be bored at these tables.

What is Zoom poker and in which online rooms is this cash game played?

For the first time fast poker appeared in the room Full tilt... The format was named Rush-poker and quickly gained popularity among players. Following Full Tilt, other poker rooms were quickly added to their assortment, among which the experience turned out to be the most successful. The Zoom Poker format has organically merged into the list of offered disciplines. Recreational gamblers loved it for being able to wait faster for an interesting hand, while pros got the option to build up the distance faster and stop fiddling with tiles from 16 open tables.

Fast poker is now offered by all the leading poker networks. It can be found at PartyPoker, 888poker, Ipoker, Red Star, PokerStars. From site to site, only the name changes, while the essence of fast poker remains the same.

Many novice players call the whole fast poker Zoom’Oh, since this name of the format from PokerStars has become a household name for the entire discipline. Today, this particular room is the main abode of fast poker: you can play here both in and in. Tables are offered in 6-max and 9-max formats, the game is played around the clock at all limits from $ 0.01 / $ 0.02 to $ 2.50 / $ 5.00. In addition to cash games, you can also play tournament Zoom Poker on PokerStars: after each fold, the player is transferred to a new table with other participants, and with the last three tables the game goes into standard mode.

There is no shortage of the game: the rules and the idea of ​​fast poker are very simple, so there are plenty of people who want to spend time at the zoom tables. Fast poker can be played on all popular networks, but the most successful format is implemented on PokerStars.

What is the best strategy for playing zoom poker?

The optimal strategy for playing zoom poker is almost the same as the big stack strategy (BSS). You need to sit down at the table with a stack of 100 big blinds, and then take an active part in the fight for the initial bets. In fast poker competent game through the style has more greater importance than at standard tables: many opponents rarely defend the blinds, preferring to fold and move quickly to a new hand.

The two most popular Zoom poker formats are the 6-max and 9-max No Limit Texas Hold'em tables. It is much easier for beginners to master the 9-handed tables, as they are followed by a softer play and a smaller range can be played. The main obstacle is that there is much less play at the long tables: during the daytime there can be problems with landing even at the NL5 limit. In order not to complicate your life and be able to ride Zoom at any time of the day or night, to master the game, it is better to immediately choose the 6-max format.

The strategy for playing zoom poker 6 max begins with determining the positions. At a table with six players, there are six of them: early (EP), middle (MP,) cut-off (CO), button (BTN), small blind (SB) and big blind (BB). Each of them has a unique specifics that determines the further strategy of the game.

Early Position (EP)

The EP player has to speak the first word in the hand without having any information about the strength of the opponents' hands. Under these conditions, open-raising too often can be fraught with serious chip losses: opponents can easily 3-bet our wide range with both bluffs and value hands. It is worth raising to EP from about 20% of the range, for this purpose pocket pairs, strong aces, margins, suited connectors, small suited aces A2s-A5s are suitable. The main threat to an early open raise is posed by opponents on CO and BTN: having a position, they can profitably squeeze and. You can only 4-bet all your chips with AK QQ + hands, and some of them should be added to the calling range. 4-betting on EP is a rather extreme action, it is worth resorting to it quite rarely and only as an exploit. Ace blocker hands are best suited for this purpose, as they reduce the likelihood of Villain having an A-A.

Middle position (MP)

The middle position zoom poker strategy is almost no different from the early one. There are still a lot of opponents in front of us, nothing is known about the strength of their hands. It makes no sense to open in such conditions with a wide range: for a raise you only need to choose best hands that can successfully hook onto the board. The most "acute" situation is when the player in the EP position has raised, and you have a good strong hand. If you are not going to fold, you need to understand how to form a calling and 3-betting range.

It is worth moving your opponent no more than 3% of the range: half of all combinations QQ + AK, several suited aces A2s-A5s, hands like KQs, AJs are suitable for this purpose. The remaining half of the premium range will go to the calling range, this will help protect against. Hands like pocket tens, jacks, A-Q can also be added to the calling range.

The suggested ranges are not the only correct and obligatory for use in the strategy, they just give a rough idea of ​​how you can form the range of hands played at the fast poker tables.

Cut-off (CO)

Starting from the CO position, the playable ranges expand rapidly. The only thing that separates us from successful stealing of the blinds is BTN, which is the main threat. On the cut-off, you need to open about 30% of the range, to the already mentioned categories of hands are added Broadway, suited connectors with one space, all suited aces.

There shouldn't be any big difficulties in playing with opponents in the blinds: they play out of position postflop, so we have the opportunity to control the size of the pot and successfully realize the playing advantage.

If there is a strong player on the button, he can 3-bet about 10% of all hands, which means that we have to defend a lot both by calling and 4-betting. In comparison to this really difficult challenge, playing against early and middle position seems to be: premium hands are played on, while strong hands are called and trying to take advantage of position postflop.

Button (BTN)

Best position for poker table... The player who is sitting in the dealer's position, regardless of the course of the hand, will be the last to speak his word postflop. This allows you to play more aggressively preflop and add averages and to the range. The most profitable in poker is when all the players have pressed the "fold" button before you, and in BTN position you have the opportunity to steal the blinds with a very wide range.

You can open from the button around 50% of your hands, and against especially tight opponents, you can do this with any two cards. The second direction of increasing the winrate in the BTN position is 3-betting and squeezing against EP, MP, CO players. The pressure on opponents must be enormous, as their hands are bound by the obligation to play postflop out of position.

The strategy of playing in Zoom poker allows you to have in the range of 3betting from 5 to 10 percent of hands, because many poker players prefer not to hack to death, but go straight to a new hand. For those who do decide to resist, you need to prepare a 5-bet pushing range for value and bluff. Hands in the premium range are fine for value, while small pocket pairs and low suited aces can be used for bluffing.

Small Blind (SB)

The worst position at the 6-max table. Each round of betting postflop begins with the small blind. The obligation to play out of position is detrimental to your ability to win hands, so only about 40% of your hands should be opened with a raise, which is less than the BTN steal range.

The main difficulty in defending the small blind is that it is very difficult to call on it. It is very difficult to realize the hand equity without fold equity and position, and the opponent in the big blind can comfortably play through squeezing up to 15% of the range.

The optimal strategy for defending the small blind is a linear 3-bet with premium and strong starting hands... The 3-bet size should be increased by 1-2 big bets to slightly offset the prospect of playing out of position postflop and give your opponent worse odds to call.

Of particular interest is the game against the position of the big blind. If Villain folds more than 67% of his range to a raise, he can steal with any two cards. Unfortunately, in many popular rooms such characters are rare, much more often you have to play against strong regulars. To minimize the loosing rate in SB vs BB situations, the modern zoom poker strategy 6 max suggests limping some of the range. In such situations, the main thing is to be able to defend against BB's aggression: limping range should be balanced with hands for limp-fold, limp-call and limp-3-bet. It makes sense to learn such a strategy at the limits NL25-NL50, since at the micro-stakes it is much more important to master other elements of Texas Hold'em.

Big Blind (BB)

The most unprofitable position at the poker table. The player on it is obliged to put a “blind” bet into the pot, not knowing at all the strength of his hand. Good luzrate on BB in 6-max format is considered to be about -30 bb / 100 hands. To compensate for such losses, it is necessary to show high win rates in late positions. The only advantage of playing the big blind is that you can often defend your blind by calling, because against a 2-3 big blind open raise you get great pot odds. All hands that do not get hooked postflop can be check-folded without remorse, since losses from such a line are compensated by situations when you get into a combination and take a large pot. The most favorable spot to defend BB is against the SB raise: strong pros defend over 60% of the range in this situation. Some of the hands go to 3-bet, while the majority defend through a call: having a position allows you to exploit your opponent's leaks postflop.

In addition to being able to intelligently use the advantages and disadvantages of each position at the poker table, the professional player must be able to act in frequently repeated situations. The main ones are hands against recreational players who constantly limp into the game. Most of these opponents can be classified as "phones" - players who constantly bring very weak hands to showdown. The optimal strategy for playing zoom poker against such opponents is an isolating raise of 4bb + 1bb for each limper in the hand. This action will increase your chances of being heads-up in the pot with a weak player and getting the most out of him with a strong made hand.

In Zoom poker, opponents change every hand, so when playing against them it is important to be guided by at least some information. In this case, the best friend of every professional player is the poker converters Holdem Manager 2 and Poker Tracker 4. The capabilities of these programs allow you to collect, convert and display statistics based on the collected database of hands. According to the rules of the room, you can only use those hands in which the player accepted direct participation, however, many players break the ban and buy ready-made databases on the Internet. Until recently, it was possible to do this with Zoom poker, but one of the software patches on PokerStars removed the technical ability to aggregate hands. As a result, Zoom has become a space free of foul play - another reason it attracts new players so much.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of fast poker?

The zoom poker strategy involves not only the ability to play well at the table, but also the need to invest wisely cash... To understand whether you should play fast poker, you need to familiarize yourself with the main advantages and disadvantages that lie behind the Zoom window.

Advantages:

• High speed of the game... Fast poker is much easier to play long distances: at four Zoom tables, you will be playing about 840 hands per hour. Excellent performance that is difficult to match in a regular cash game: 12 tables of intense regular action will be played at around 500 hands / hour.
• Easier to concentrate... Regular players, who have 12-16 tables open, have to constantly face a string of difficult game situations in a row. There is no technical possibility for this in Zoom poker: with four open tables, you do not have to make more than four simultaneous decisions.
• Fast startup time... Regulators of a regular cash game are forced to go through a long sequence of actions each time before opening the required number of tables. Sometimes the full launch of a session can take up to half an hour, and for a convenient table select, you have to buy expensive licenses for additional software. In Zoom poker, it only takes a few clicks to launch four tables, and it will take you less than a minute to complete these steps.
• Constant play... The 6-max Zoom poker tables on PokerStars are active at any time of the day or night, so you don't have to adjust to the prime time of recreational players. Some high stakes pros play Zoom early in the morning and then spend the afternoon and evening with their families.
• Easier to get rakeback... Fast poker allows you to play 1.5 - 2 times more hands per hour than at regular tables. If it matters to your stable poker earnings, in fast poker you will be able to generate rake faster and get a return from the poker rooms at a higher rate.

Flaws:

• Lack of table select... The zoom poker strategy does not provide for the possibility of bum hunting weak players, while a huge part of the profit from cash games lies in this approach. Zoom poker puts regulars and hobby players on the same level: the table composition is randomly generated and does not give an advantage to anyone.
• Less information about opponents... At regular tables, you can not only comfortably collect hand databases for opponents, but also write notes about their most serious gaps in the game. In Zoom poker, you are deprived of the opportunity to observe the hands without your participation, which means that it will be much more difficult to collect information.
• High variance... Due to the random generation of opponents, the degree of mathematical deviation from the real win rate increases. One month you may find yourself more likely to have lineups with weak opponents, while in the next you will have to spend more time playing with regulars. On the other hand, the amount hands played compensates for this disadvantage, so this disadvantage is not as serious as the previous two.

Before you start learning how to play fast poker in practice, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with five tips to help you avoid common annoying mistakes. Especially useful

oh, this information will be for those players who do not have long-term poker experience behind their backs.

Make flexible bets against fish

With regard to earnings real money Zoom poker strategy is no different from any other discipline: the main profit is made in the game against very weak opponents. When playing with such poker players, it is important to remember that the size of the bet has almost no effect on the likelihood of a fold on their part. Therefore, with strong combinations, you need to bet a lot, and bluffing is worth small bets. Do not try this trick against regular players: your plan will be quickly revealed and the professional will make the necessary adjustments.

Don't play while on tilt

It is because of playing in a sub-optimal emotional state that many professionals fall into a downstream and lose large sums of money. Zoom poker is much more dynamic than regular cash games, and drawdowns are more frequent and deeper. Do not be led by emotions and try to always be in a state of A-play. If on your own, use a special poker software like Tilt Breaker.

Careful in deep stacks

The strategy of playing with 150 bb + stacks is somewhat different from the standard BSS. Monetary risks increase and you definitely don't want to end up in a big pot with a marginal hand often. If you feel insecure and uncomfortable with a deep effective stack, leave the table immediately at 140-150 bb. Zoom poker will allow you to immediately open a new one with a purchase of 100 bb, and you will continue to play according to your optimal strategy.

Turn on automatic timebank

At zoom tables, it can lead you to quickly make several costly decisions in a row. In such a situation, you definitely do not want to automatically send cards to pass after the main time for a move. You can enable automatic time bank launch in the settings of any popular poker room. You shouldn't sit at a table without some time to think: if the time bank has come to an end, just close this table and start a new one in a minute.

Observe bankroll management

In Zoom poker, the variance is as high as in regular cash games, and due to the intense dynamics, drawdowns of a couple of dozen buy-ins can happen even more often. For confident play at low and medium limits, it is worth having a reserve of 70-100 full buy-ins, for micro-limits 50 BI will be enough. In the event of a long losing streak, it would be wise to go down the limit and play a difficult stretch for a less expensive game.

Fast poker is the leading trend in cash games today. Many popular rooms are striving to ensure that the pool of regular tables gradually spills over into Zoom poker: this has a positive effect on the poker ecology and prevents strong players from bumping recreational ones. The strategy of playing Zoom poker 6 max is of great value, since it allows you to comfortably earn real money in a free work schedule.

It is not easy to fully master such skills of the game, for this you will need to watch dozens of training videos and disassemble hundreds of examples of real hands. If a poker player can go all this way and not wind up on the wheels of the RNG, they will most likely be able to become a winning Zoom poker pro.