PokerStars Nick:

"On January 1st, we will be removing all $50/$100 NLHE & PLO Ring Game tables and Table Starters and replacing them with Zoom Pools. This change will occur during off-peak hours.

This is intended as a trial. No decision has yet been made as to whether this change will be permanent or temporary.

After the change has been implemented, we will look at how it affects the games and make further decisions regarding either rolling back or expanding the change at that time."

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/153/high-stakes-pl-omaha/attn-50-100-nlhe-plo-zoom-only-january-1st-2014-a-1397947/

I don't play in those games, but I think this is a decision that will impact the mid stakes as well. Zoom games play tighter (the loose recreationals might find the auto-fold button useful), and there will probably be less action at high stakes because of it. Regs might move down to play and the mid stakes toughen up. Stars might also decide later to inflict Zoom-only on mid/low stakes as well, who knows.

Now, this does address some problems that have been addressed lately (seating wars and scripts for that), but pushing Zoom as the cure for these high-stakes ills is like amputating the head to cure headache. There are other solutions. More hands, more rake, less loose action. This seems to be what Stars wants. What do we want?

I would like to hear the opinion of people playing these stakes, and their response (if any) to this policy change by PokerStars. We should be on it right away and voice our opinion.  If this is the first step in a process to gradually enforce Zoom everywhere (which it may or may not be), we need to make it clear early to Stars what we want. I, for one, don't want Zoom to become the standard format for online poker.