Hello everyone,

I have recently decided that I want to make the switch from NLH to PLO, and I was wondering what the best course of action would be.

I deposited $100 yesterday on Pokerstars and played around 2k hands on 2PLO zoom. This went really well and the field seemed pretty soft, but after having done some reading most people believe that the rake at these stakes is unbeatable at Stars, and if I want to steadily move up it would be better to go somewhere else.

I also recently found a PLO zoom challenge by apo5tol who absolutely crushed it, so it does not seem impossible to build up a bankroll and improve as a player. Granted, he is one of the best players so he might just be the exeption to the rule.

I know that the rake at the Microgaming network is much lower, but I really enjoy the fact that I'm able to get a lot of volume in on the Zoom tables without having to open 8 tables on my small laptop screen.

Do you guys have any recommendations for me? Are there any other lower-rake sites which offer a similar type of Zoom format that allows me to get in good volume, or should I just stick to Stars and accept the fact that the rake is high.

Thanks!

There are no lower rake sites,but every other sites offer bigger rakeback.Party and Microgaming are much better options.

As you noted, apo5tol crushed because of the fact that he was very experienced and was able to play at a level of intelligence that much higher than his competition, as well as the fact that he learned and adapted to the level of thinking of his opponents at each level.

From a volume perspective, you are going to be hard pressed to find a better site than stars. There are just too many players.

Playing any site for rakeback purposes in this day is almost a waste of time. There are just not enough sites with enough tables going to make playing for rakeback a viable option in the way that it use to be. There are certainly still sites that offer rakeback and you can make a few bucks off it, but if you play the type of game that relies on rakeback to profit, you're probably not going to do well long term.

There are no other sites that have a player pool the size of the zoom pool for your limits at stars. In fact there really are no other sites that have a zoom option consistently running for omaha other than stars, that I am aware of.

If you like that format, stick to stars and accept the fact that you will pay higher rake and that will slow your progress through the stakes a bit. This doesn't make it impossible, just makes it take a bit longer.

I would focus on your play, learning, getting better and not worry so much about rake. It will impact you and your winnings, but don't make it the focus. It is merely an annoyance on your climb out of the micros, and not an insurmountable one by any means.

I've played long enough to remember the days when rakeback wasn't even a thing. People didn't really complain about it, because it wasn't an option. It came about as a way to get players to a site, not as a way to make poker profitable. Somehow people were still making money back then, and you can still make money now without it.

Keep in mind, Stars does still offer a bit of rakeback, it just only accounts to something like 5% back, that's still better than 0 % I guess lol.