PokerStars Zoom comes out of beta
Android app launched to complement the operator's desktop version.
PokerStars has announced the full release of its fast-paced ‘Zoom’ poker offering following a real-money beta-testing period which began in mid-March.
A desktop version has been released for several poker variants including No Limit Texas Hold’Em, Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo and Five Card Draw, while an Android app has been launched for players on the operator’s dot.com, dot.eu and freeplay dot.net sites.
PokerStars director of new platforms Jeffrey Haas had revealed last month that a mobile version of Zoom was being worked on, although the operator is yet to launch a version for Apple devices. PokerStars already has real-money apps for iPhone and iPad across multiple markets, but none of these offer Zoom.
Haas explained to eGaming Review that “We do have plans for launching Zoom for Mobile on iOS devices, and expect to start releasing it this summer.
“Zoom for Mobile will be available in all markets where Zoom for Desktop is available,” he added, while also confirming that the stakes for the game have not changed from the existing $0.01/0.02 to $2.50/5 parameters.
Zoom first went live on the PokerStars test site at the end of February, at which point InstaDeal and the now-inactive Full Tilt’s Rush Poker the only comparable products to have launched, both doing so on mobile and desktop devices.
However since then Relax Gaming has launched a fast-paced variant of its own, Fast Poker, with partners Unibet and iGame, while bwin.party has announced that it is developing its own version.
Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu said of the launch: “Zoom Poker offers people a different way to play poker. Recreational players, who want more constant action, will be able to fold instantly and wait for better hands, while pro grinders will be able to get in hundreds of more hands an hour and win more.”