Ultimate Bet - Best Sign-up Bonus and Review

Ultimate Bet Bonus

Ultimate Bet Review

UltimateBet.com opened in 2001 with it's own poker network and privately developed software. From the very beginning, UB is endorsed by Phil Hellmuth, a 11 WSOP winner that represents UB at major offline events. Besides it's online presence, UB is trying to attract poker players into the offline poker life. They have it's own televised tournament, it's called Best Damn Poker Show: Phil and Annie Duke choose 9 poker players to start the battle at poker reality series.

The massive sign-up bonus is an uncommon feature in poker industry. It will take a lot of time to clear the bonus, but since it's a non-expiring bonus and you can play calmly.

Most of the action is concentrated at Texas Hold'em tables, but UB offers poker games that can't be found in any poker rooms: Triple Draw and Pineapple. Triple Draw is a poker variant where players are dealt complete hands in the first round with the option to replace the cards (draw the cards) during play. Pineapple is something between Texas Hold'em and Omaha. Players are dealt three hole cards instead of two and they have to discard one card after the flop. These poker variations can be found in the "Other Games" tabsheet in the lobby.

UltimatePoints earned in real money games can be converted back to cash. You earn money at a rate of $0.007 per UB point. A maximum of $1,000 can be earned per month. The points can also be used in special freerolls and tournaments. But it's just one piece of cake called RAI$E: the UB rewards programs. Ultimate loyalty programs are unique because they are incremental: the more UltimatePoints you get, the more opportunities are opened to you. There are 5 levels in RAI$E program: Member, Player, Contender, Legend and Icon. Legends and Icons will receive discounts at UltimatePoints Store (branded clothes and accessories). Only Icons will get a 9% interest in account ballance.

A unique feature at UB is the intermediary level between RealMoney at PlayMoney games: the UltimateMoney level. It means that you can play for UltimatePoints. Afterwards you can use UB points as buy-ins for tournaments or convert them directly into cash.

Ohter feature at UB is a "software addon" called UltimateBuddy that will notify you when previously selected UB players get online (i.e. when they enter the poker room). More details in the Software section below.

For poker beginners there are Play Money tournaments, where they can practice before playing for money. Beginners can also benefit by learning for free from UB pros articles. In addition to Phil and Annie, UB is helped by other poker pros: Antonio Esfandiari, Dave Ulliott, John Vorhaus, Russ Hamilton, Jack McClelland.

Playing at UltimateBet you can qualify for Aruba Poker Classic tournament that will take place at the luxurious Radisson Aruba Resort and Casino in september 2008. Aruba means head-to-head with poker professionals like Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke and exclusive parties with Hollywood celebrities.

Software and Playability

Table

Lobby

Download (8.21 Mb)

The overall look&feel are mediocre. You'll have to get used to small bet/call/raise buttons, tight placements of controls in lobby and table, black color scheme, an inconvenient hand history facility and the lack of "Seat Here" feature. Although crisp and clear, UB doesn't have outstanding graphics.

UB is well known for it's fastest software, it's definetely a positive aspect if you play poker a couple of hours per day. We also advise to turn off "Full Animation" in options.

UltimateBet is well suited for multi table play. The mini table view is comfortable with a 800x200 pixels window. MiniTable becomes a standard feature today, and UB implementation is a handy one.

When you see UB table for the first time, you may be disoriented a bit. After you'll take your seat, the software will automatically place you in front of the screen (at the bottom-center of the table). Such behaviour may be unusual for players that prefer other placements.

Players that often consult hand histories may be disapointed, game history is displayed as a simple text file that is not pleasant to digest. You'll also need to open a table to see a plaer's stack. "Player Note" function is not handy: the right-click + finding the menu item each time is frustrating. Other poker rooms will display a hint when you move the mouse over a player.

UB have a nice software addon called UltimateBuddy. It allows you to select a list of players and monitor when they appear online at the tables. It also manages your waiting lists for Sit n’ Gos and Tournament registrations.

Game Variety & Limits

Most of the action is concentrated at Hold'em (Limit and NL) tables. For Limit Hold'em the limits varies from $0.01/$0.02 up to $300/$600 with tables of 6 or 10 seats plus heads up. Most Limit Hold'em traffic is seen in the range of $0.25/$0.50 to $5/$10 stakes. No Limit Hold'em is available up to $50/$100 stakes but most of the players will play at $5/$10 tables or below.

Omaha Hi and Hi-Lo, Seven-Card Stud Hi and Hi-Lo has low traffic

UltimateBet offers some poker variations not found in other rooms, these are Pineapple, 2-7 Triple Draw and A-5 Triple Draw.

Deposit Methods

Withdrawal Methods