Zoom or Normal Tables?
Posted by midori
Posted by
midori
posted in
Low Stakes
Zoom or Normal Tables?
I'm thinking this question might have been asked a few times already, but I couldn't really find it, so here I go again.
I recently transitioned into PLO from HUSNG, and have been playing both Zoom and Normal tables. Seems like I can play about 2.5x more hands per table in Zoom, and the winrate doesn't seem all that different, so at first I thought 4 tabling Zoom is obv better than <10 tabling because of the hourly. However, I still have tons of things to learn in this game, for example taking notes and exploiting fish based on reads, which is not really possible in Zoom.
My goal in this game is to keep learning the game and move up ASAP, and right now my grinds are either 4 tabling Zoom or 4-8 tabling normal tables at $50.
That said, which one would you recommend? One thing that occurred to me is I can start with normal tables and move to Zoom for more action, when I become comfortable with lots of spots? Also, is it safe to say that the winrate at these games are about similar?
Thanks a lot!
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Combining Zoom tables and cherrypicked regular tables is a good way to get both high volume and good win rate. For example, start out with two Zoom tables and put yourself on waiting lists for good regular tables. Once you get a seat in them, drop to one Zoom table to get more time for reads and notes on the regular ones.
Or you can play more tables, but I think it's a good idea to not go overboard with the multitabling if you're in a very active learning phase.
Thanks for your prompt reply ZF, and let me ask you a few more questions if you wouldn't mind.. although I think the answer can be just "it depends."
1) How many tables do you think is okay for someone like me? I used to 4-8 table HUSNG's all the time and that's something I was extremely comfortable with, but when doing that in PLO I kind of find myself autopiloting a lot, especially at Zoom tables where timebank is like 3 sec. Maybe 6 tabling reg table is a bit too much?
2) Also, what would be the # of tables that average regs play at this limit ($50-200 PLO)? And is it reasonable to shoot for >7-8bb/100 while > 6 tabling, for example?
3) Is there any software that helps me table select, or do I have to go pick the cheery with my own hands? :)
4) Aside from watching vids and reading the forum, I was thinking of reviewing my session every day, but am not quite sure what to look at. Right now I'm mostly focusing on big pots with some equity calc, and also on the decision of c-bet or check back on flop/turn, but could you suggest some more?
1) Three things to consider are a) hourly and b) win rate/variance ratio (which determines your swings), c) learning
If you decrease volume and spend more time on each decision, you might end up with the same hourly (volume drops, but win rate goes up), but significantly smaller swings. If you don't care about swings at all (say, playing over-rolled), then this consideration might not apply. Then again, making more thought-through decisions will be better for your learning process.
So there are pros and cons. Playing 4-6 regular tables sounds good to me. More than that is probably not optimal if you still have fundamentals to figure out. One Zoom table and 3 regular ones sounds like a good mix, if you want to play both.
2) Anything is doable with good game selection and a strong game.
3) Color-coding is your friend. Mark weak players continuously and you'll quickly find good tables. HEM and PT have add-on's that let you scan tables according to various criteria, if you want a more automated procedure. Color-coding will get you far, though.
No matter how you do it, the trick is to keep playing once you have gotten a seat in a very good game. If you have two VP$IP 50+ guys to your right, you don't leave. Maximize the EV of your table selection efforts and don't waste it, once you have struck gold, that's a good mindset.
4) The biggest pots of the day is a good place to start, as are OOP spots, and 3B pots in general.
whales are kinda rare at zoom. I have a lot of trouble winning at zoom without rakeback. I breakeven constantly. Must be I suck but regular tables are far more soft and its eazy spoting the weaker player and exploing their tendencies.
Imo you wont lear much playing at zoom.
Phil has released two small stakes Zoom vids. Some good discussion there about how to play against the Zoom population.
http://www.runitonce.com/pro-training/videos/phil60/
http://www.runitonce.com/pro-training/videos/phil76/
A well-rounded overall game plan + some simple exploitative tweaks vs the pretty tight field (open loosely, bluff aggressively early in hands, but not so much once people continue with strong ranges) is a good starting point.
Seems natural to grind these games some % the time for a solid small stakes player, while waiting for good regular games to open up. The high volume compensates nicely for reduced win rate (the hands/table could be as much as 3x, and the drop in win rate should be nowhere near that if you play well).
But I think it would be wise to define an overall Zoom game plan first. Know the biggest population leaks and adjust to exploit those from the get-go.
Thanks a lot again, guys!
I play 2table Zoom or 4table regular. I play PLO10. Be careful that you have to adjust. At my stakes regular tables see alot more flops multiway so fold equity is less over there. In Zoom you can steal more pots with cbets. And also bluff more turns and rivers as far as I think.
If I'm ready for shots I think I'm gonna 2table regular en realy focus on note taking.
Btw, as for the hourly - is it reasonable to shoot for ~0.5 BI/hr by playing ~6 tables? I know the answer might vary, but I'm just doing some quick calc on this as I just transitioned from another game and need to convince myself.
btw just because we can auto fold and keep playing hands it never hurts to pause and make a few notes. When I was playing zoom I would make an effort to just pause every thirty minuets to an hour and make some notes over some key pots that I missed. The player pool at the zoom games is not so huge and you will benefit from making these kinds of notes and developing reads.
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