- PokerStars has introduced Heads UP (HU) Zoom tables.
- Omaha, No Limit and Fixed Limit Hold’em tables are available at stakes from $0.25/$0.50 to $25/$50—$15/$30 for Fixed Limit.
- Cap tables are also available for No Limit Hold’em.
- PokerStars believes that the player ecology at HU Zoom will be a healthier game environment for both recreational and professional players.
As promised a week ago, PokerStars has introduced Heads Up Zoom tables.
Omaha, No Limit and Fixed Limit Hold’em tables are available at stakes from $0.25/$0.50 to $25/$50—$15/$30 for Fixed Limit. Cap tables are also available for No Limit Hold’em.
The addition of the games is part of a strategy to solve a common issue that many operators see as plaguing HU online poker—players refusing to play opponents unless they are known to be weak.
With Zoom, the players have to play against whoever is randomly selected as their opponent for each hand, removing the skill of table selection but also resolving the so-called “bum hunting” issue.
PokerStars has stated repeatedly in the past that it was looking to improve the ecology of heads up cash games. Heads up Zoom can be seen as an intermediary step before a more comprehensive solution is introduced in 2014, with potentially a form of “forced play” at all heads up tables.
Similar measures have been taken by its competitors over the last year. When PartyPoker introduced its “Fast Forward” tables, it rolled out heads up tables, although the tables are spread alongside standard and anonymous cash tables. Microgaming went a step further by removing all standard cash tables in exchange for 8-man heads up fast-fold “pools.”
