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Visit
Ultimate Bet
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Overall:
4/5
Bonus and Promotions:
4/5
Fish Rating:
 
1.5/5
(tight bass)
Tournaments:
4.5/5
Software:
5/5
Payouts:
5/5
Customer Service:
4/5
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The easiest method for US players is ePassporte, which allows for
instant deposits via credit card or check accounts. I was glad to
see this site stick with ePassporte as I have personally used this
service without any problems.
Ultimate Bet
has also begun offering Add-Funds, which is an e-wallet that works
through your US credit card.
Other ways to deposit include
electronic cash transfer, which is available at branches across the
country. One outlet that has cash transfer machines is a majority of
its stores is 7-11. Cash transfers can be completed within a few
minute. Finally, more alternatives
include money orders and cashier's checks. If you have any questions
about deposits, please don't hesitate to contact us or the
poker room directly.
Overall:
4/5
Ultimate Bet
has been one of the major players in online poker since the
beginning and has
built a loyal player base with their ring game selection, tournament
schedule, and great software.
Ultimate Bet
was the first online poker room that I
went with and they continue to be a strong site because of their customer service, tournament selection, and game consistency. The games play fairly tight, which
can be good if you play an aggressive game or are just sick of some
of the crazier sites.
The software is excellent and they offer an
enormous range in terms of game selection. While newer sites have
come and gone,
Ultimate Bet remains a
high-stakes favorite and still boasts a large selection of regular
tournaments. I'm also improving their score for allowing US citizens
at the tables.
Bonus (111%
up to $1,100) and Promotions:
4/5
Ultimate Bet offers a lot of regular promotions, and their
latest
deposit bonus is pretty generous at 111% up to $1,100. Note that
you'll need to use
one of our links to get the full 111%. Your bonus is
given in UltimatePoints, which can be converted into real money via
their ring games. Points are based on rake so generally the higher
the table stakes, the higher amount of points you'll earn.
I like
the fact that
Ultimate Bet
allows you work off your bonus by the cent, which
is credited to your account right after you leave the table. Many sites
require that you earn at least $10 or more from your bonus account
before they release it to you. Even playing at the micro-limits
(they offer games as low as 1c/2c), you can still earn your bonus
after time.
Ultimate Bet also hosts a plethora of satellites for some of
their massive live events like their annual Aruba Classic. Also, they've started making bounty tournaments available
with some of their professional team participating. Usually, the
bounty includes a free entry into their $200,000 Sunday event so these are usually enjoyable to play
in. They actually have a big sponsored team with Antonio Esfandiari,
Phil Hellmuth, Scotty Nguyen, and others.
Fish:
1.5/5
The gameplay at
Ultimate Bet is pretty tight.
This tends to be the case for many online poker sites that have been
successful and have been around since the beginning. The players generally aren't
that much better
than your average online opponents, just tighter. Use it to your advantage and play an
aggressive game, especially from late position.
The tournaments at
Ultimate Bet also
play pretty tight so you might want to increase your bluff attempts
and continuation bets. This is especially true in Sit 'n Go
tournaments, where many opponents on this site will play extremely
timidly until they're close to the payout places.
Finally, what can be refreshing about
the gameplay is the fact
that it plays more consistently and closer to actual cardroom gameplay.
Ultimate Bet
is certainly not the poker room for wild action or calimari buffs.
However, this poker site can be a welcome treat to those who are
looking for a change of pace from wilder sites.
Tournaments:
4.5/5
In my opinion,
Ultimate Bet has
excellent tournament action. They host a weekly $200,000 guaranteed
tournament, which is one of the largest weekly online events. There
are tens of satellites for $10 or less throughout the day. Guaranteed tourneys seem to be the specialty here with
numerous daily guarantees between $1,000 and $20,000.
Another
tournament style that I enjoy is the bounty tournament, which is
hosted here several time per day. Buy-ins can range from about $5 to
$30 with a portion of the buy-in being the bounty on each player. For
players with limited bankrolls, they also host a good number of $10
or less buy-in events. The tournaments are run very smoothly and
they upgraded their tournament lobbies a few months ago to make them
more user-friendly.
Ultimate Bet also
hosts occasional promotions that allow you to win free entries into
large live tournaments. Another big tournament is the $1,000,000
prize pool events that are run occasionally on the site. They have a
lot of opportunities to win a seat into the main event, which
includes a handful of WSOP Main Event packages as well. Overall,
you'll find at least 8-10 tournaments per hour and an excellent
range of buy-ins and games.
Software:
5/5
One of my favorite aspects of
Ultimate Bet is their software. The games run at a fast pace, and
the software is very easy to use. Even though the avatars at the
table are just blank chairs, it's sort of refreshing in comparison
to the ever-present fake humanoids at other online poker sites. The hand history feature is extensive,
and you're able to see anyone's hole cards at the showdown if you
use it.
The
Ultimate Bet lobby organizes games pretty well, and a neat feature in
tournaments is the ability to see your place, the average stack, and
the chip leaders from any table window. Another little quirk that I
like is the ability to change the background to images of the
Southwest, Vegas, Aruba, or other locales. It has no consequence to
the playability, but I like the extra visual dynamic.
US Payouts:
5/5
UltimateBet
has traditionally been one of the top sites in terms of payouts. Using ePassporte, I
will typically only wait 12 hours or so for withdrawals and
sometimes they're approved within a half hour or so during daytime
hours. They also offer free check withdrawals via standard mail or
Fedex courier checks for a fee.
Customer Service:
4/5
Unfortunately, customer service is only
done via e-mail. While they can sometimes respond in only a few
minutes, other times you may wait several hours for a response. Once
you do get in touch, the representatives seem to do a thorough job.
Player Traffic
Ultimate Bet
isn't a new player to online poker, so they've had time to build
their traffic. During primetime, active players usually reach over
20,000. A lot of high-stakes players are on this site, so that is an
advantage if you play larger games. Tournament traffic is also
pretty good, with the most showing up for guaranteed events.
Best Features
 Realistic deposit bonus. I don't think
that low limit player will completely miss out on this bonus, since
it's dispersed to the cent.
Great software. Very easy to use
interface with high game speed.
Consistent games. The tables,
especially no-limit, are usually weak-tight so you can have a chance
to settle in to your seat. You should play more aggressively but
also consider slowplaying tight opponents to get some sort of action
on your good hands.
Game Selection: Hold 'em,
Omaha, Stud, Pineapple, Triple Draw
Limits: Limit: 1c/2c up
to $80/$60 No-Limit: 1c/2c up to $25/$50
Deposit Methods:
ePassporte, Firepay,
Citadel, SFPay, cash transfer, major credit cards, cashier's check, wire
transfer.
Tips: It is unusual
to find a relatively tight online poker room, but
Ultimate Bet is
just that. They have been around for years and have a large loyal
player base. Use this to your advantage, especially at the lower
limits. Tend to bluff more if you've picked up on a tight player's
habits, and throw it away if he plays back at you. Also, I like to
mix up my play by making the occasional raise with suited connectors
from late position.
As
Ultimate Bet has a lower percentage of
players seeing the flop, big cards go up in value and drawing hands
like suited connectors go down in value. Keep an eye on the pot and
see what sort of odds you are getting before you play your 7-8
suited. Tournament play is also similar at
Ultimate Bet, and I have had great
results with continuation bets after the flop. For example, if
you're holding A-K and you're last to act, raise the pot. Even if
you don't hit anything on the flop, I would bet at least 2/3 of the
pot if you're facing one or two opponents. With 3 or more opponents,
this play becomes riskier and less successful.
Visit
Ultimate Bet
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