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Testing Zoom Poker

Usually all PokerStars novelties are first fully tested on the PokerStars test client, before entering the main client room. The same happened to "Blitz". By the way, ironically, the word «blitz» was already engaged in the client software code, so, it was decided to change the name of a newly born to Zoom Poker. Many players did not like the new name at all, but in the end no one could offer a better alternative. Plus, who really cares about the name. What everyone was really bothered about was the answer to the following question — Does Zoom Poker play well?

And the answer is – yes! It works like a dream. In addition, a few days ago representatives of the room had promised that the stage of closed beta testing will end by mid-March, when Zoom Poker will be added to the main client with the possibility of playing for real money.


 

What is Zoom Poker?

PokerStars describes Zoom as "a new fast-paced way to play poker. You’re always at the center of the action and can play more hands per hour than ever before," which sounds quite nicely, doesn’t it? Those, who are familiar with Rush Poker, will not experience any difficulties adapting to Zoom, since it had not undergone serious changes, except minor tweaks in animations and a couple new options. But, if you have never played Rush Poker before, then this short overview is devoted especially for you.

Zoom Poker plays exactly the same way as any other online cash game in that the card rankings are the same, the rules for betting are the same, and everything is the same except one detail. As soon as you fold, you are removed from the table you were seated at and placed at a new table with different players! Your old opponents simply fade away and are replaced by new ones.

Moreover, you do not need to wait until all opponents before you say their word. For example, you are holding 7c-2h in the middle position. Just click the "Fast Fold" button and the invisible force will immediately take you to a new table, providing new cards. Moreover, your opponents will not know you have folded until the action gets to you, by which time you could potentially have played two or three more hands. Thus, Zoom Poker will allow players to play hundreds of hands per hour, potentially massively increase profits, and make climbing up the superb VIP scheme much easier than ever.


 

What Does Zoom Poker Look Like?

Zoom poker looks exactly the same as the standard PokerStars games. Shown below is a screenshot of the "Black" theme, fold, call and raise buttons, and me picking up a nice pair of sevens in the cutoff! The Fast-fold button is just as clear as the rest, and it is highly unlikely you will be misclick-folding your pocket aces once you start playing Zoom.


 

New Options

As we have already mentioned, Zoom Poker has some innovations. Briefly about them. Based on processing of customer feedback, PokerStars added two options to the test version. First - the button "Sit out next BB", which you all must know from the regular cash games, the second - "Fold & Watch" button, which provides an opportunity to watch the hand until very end before moving to a different table. However, the latter function still requires some graphical improvements, but it can already be used, when simultaneously pressing the keys Ctrl + Shift while clicking on the "Fold" button.


 
 
What Disciplines Does Zoom Poker Support?

In the test client, there are only no-limit hold'em and pot-limit Omaha cash games available, but there are tabs for fixed-limit hold'em, Omaha hi/lo and one entitled "Other." This seems to imply that once PokerStars has Zoom Poker running perfectly in real-money games, it will be adding the full repertoire of games that are currently spread.


Conclusion

We hope that very soon PokerStars will be able to please all poker fans with the “real” version of Rush Poker. It seems that his successor, Zoom Poker is a perfect solution for players who experience lack of time and dream of paving their way to PlatinumStar or even Supernova. Zoom Poker - play faster, win more!