Ultimate Bet Review from Actionflop Poker

ULTIMATE BET REVIEW

SCREEN SHOTS

UltimateBet lobby

UltimateBet ring game

UltimateBet Miniview

OVERVIEW

UltimateBet is one of the most established online poker sites and offers innovations to online poker that other sites cannot match. It is the fourth most popular online poker site.

UltimateBet continues to serve all real-money players, including those from the U.S.

BONUSES

Initial deposit:

100% up to $650

Difficulty to clear:

Difficult

Expiration:

None

Method of tabulation:

Ultimate Points

Details:

Your deposit bonus begins as "Bonus Dollars." These Bonus Dollars are converted to real money at the rate of $1 for every 10 Ultimate Points earned. You earn

0.50 U.P. for each hand that is raked between $0.50-$3;
0.25 U.P. for each hand that is raked between $0.25-$0.45;
0.10 U.P. for each hand that is raked between $0.05-$0.20.

Opinion:

This is one of the most difficult deposit bonuses to clear, particularly at very low levels ($1/$2 and lower). In 2006, Ultimate Bet cut in half the number of U.P. it awarded for hands raked between $1-$3. As a result, the clearance rate for this bonus as low levels is about half that of industry rivals. If you have other bonus options, they are probably more lucrative than the Ultimate Bet bonus.

On the bright side, no bonus expiration date means that you can take as long as you like to clear the bonus. Many low-limit online players seem to have a large reserve of Bonus Dollars at UB. Plus, Bonus Dollars are converted to real money as soon as you leave a table, so you do not need to clear all of your bonus at once (e.g., earning 7 Ultimate Points will get you $0.70 in real money immediately after you leave the table).

Reload bonuses:

UB offers some of the most generous reload bonuses in the industry. A recent promotion offered a 100% bonus up to 500 Bonus Dollars. Most reloads max out at $200, still twice as large as the reloads at most other sites. UB has been known to offer two reload bonuses in a single month, which is unheard of among the top-tier established sites.

GAME SELECTION/COMMENTS

Very good. UB usually trails only Party Poker, Poker Stars, and Paradise Poker for number of games and players. They offer some hard-to-find games such as "Pineapple." Some tables feature "Kill" games; in these, if a player wins two hands in a row, the stakes double for the next hand. UB may offer the most freeroll tournaments of any of the top sites. UB's sponsors also play at the cash tables, so if you're lucky you can play against Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke, Devilfish Ulliott, or Antonio Esfandiari for limits as low as $3/$6. You can play microlimit hold'em down to $.01/$.02, but I don't really see the point in doing so. UB recently implemented $1 Sit 'n' Go single-table tournaments for those who want to get their feet wet in NLHE action.

RAKE

UltimateBet's rake trends a little higher than average at low limits. The rake is capped at $3 maximum per hand, per industry standard. See UltimateBet's rake structure.

PLAYER REWARDS

UB offers the Ultimate Point system. You receive Ultimate Points by playing raked cash games or tournaments, even for every minute you play at a table! You can spend Ultimate Points on merchandise such as ball caps or poker books, or use them to enter tournaments with cash prizes. You accrue UPs slowly, but they are a nice perk that can add up with regular play.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

Excellent. In my experience, Ultimate Bet has some of the best response times in the industry. While I have never had a funds-related problem, I have had more mundane queries (such as hand history requests) answered in hours, which is light years faster than the response time of other sites. The courteous replies are written in plain, easy to understand English. UB sets itself apart from the rest of the pack in this regard.

MISCELLANEOUS

UB has a unique "mini" view that takes up much less monitor real estate. Those who like to play two, three, or even more tables at once can benefit from using the mini-view. I love the "Bet Pot" button for NLHE play; other sites need to implement this feature.

Most serious players recognize that the UB software client is among the best in the industry. It is extremely fast and not resource intensive, making it easier to open and play multiple tables simultaneously.

DOWNLOAD SOFTWARE

Click here Ultimate Bet to be taken to the UltimateBet site where you will be able to download the client.

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