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Thursday, 27 January 2011

Ultimate Bet Review

Ultimate Bet for Mac, currently known as UB, is the crown jewel of the new CEREUS Poker Network. Online home of poker legends Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke, UB is home to a large number of players including Americans. UltimateBet has been criticized in recent years for inadequate security and customer support but has vowed to improve all aspects of the site since their merger with the CEREUS network.

Being associated with Hellmuth and Duke was quite helpful when legislation driven to close American Poker Online was passed in 2006. Having two of the most admired American poker players on their side definitely affected UB’s choice to keep their doors open to American poker players. You can also make use of them by checking out some of UB’s poker video content.

Remaining open for US business was a very good choice as their traffic has been increasing in recent years along with their sister-skin, Absolute Poker, thanks to being one of the few US friendly poker sites. US-based players have been lucky that online poker sites like UB, AP, PokerStars, and FullTilt Poker have remained faithful to American Poker Online.

The UltimateBet.com 111% up to $1,100 initial deposit bonus is one of the largest promotions found at money poker sites today. Simply by entering the bonus code FTRBONUS when registering at UltimateBet, you will receive the maximum possible bonus in addition to entry into monthly freerolls and money-added events. The $5 buy-in FTR5 is a money-added tourney with $300 added to the prize pool. This large a bonus comes with a few catches. In order to clear this bonus, players must participate in real money cash games, multi-table tourneys, and SNG’s. Paying rake in cash games and fees in tournaments/SNGs will generate Status Points that are necessary to clear your bonus. For every 20 Status Points a player is awarded he/she will clear $1 of their bonus. The bonus is earned in multiples of $5 which means the entire bonus does not need to be cleared to gain any money, just earn 100 Status Points and your real money account will be credited with $5. This bonus is difficult to clear and players only have 60 days from the date of their initial deposit to do so.

Players visiting UltimateBet will undoubtedly take in their wide variety of stakes and games. A selection comparable with other top texas holdem sites. Ring game stakes start as low as $0.01/$0.02 blinds and go all the way up to $200/$400 with antes. Players can choose from Hold ‘Em, Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, Stud, Stud Hi/Lo, Razz, and HORSE. From the micros to the midstakes, the games get plenty of action up to $5/$10 blinds. Those looking for higher stakes games will most likely need to search elsewhere as the heads-up games are typically regulars waiting for weaker opponents.

UB’s tournament schedule is flagshipped by the weekly $200K Guarantee which is played every Sunday. The $215 buy-in event normally fills the 1,000 players necessary to reach its guarantee. The UBOC (Ultimate Bet Online Poker Championship) is a multi-million dollar series with several million-dollar events including the $1,000 buy-in Main Event. Grinders with less money will find many tournaments from as little as $0.25 to choose from throughout the day. Their SNGs come in a wide selection of games, stakes, and formats. From $0.10 all the way up to $5,000, players of all levels are certainly covered. The more frequented games tend to be their heads-up format of all buy-in levels and 1-table SNG’s from $5 to $20. UltimateBet.com also has Stud and Omaha SNGs but neither gets a lot of traffic.

UB has always been known for having the best Mac poker sites software around. They have recently updated their lobby and tables to make the games run much faster. The lobby features tabs at the top of the window to assist players when they try to find their way between games, stakes, and formats. Those seeking a more personalized navigation can utilize the lobby filter to focus on your games/stakes even more. For a long time players were unable to resize or “tile” tables; however, UB has recently updated their software to allow tables to be sized small enough to fit 9 on a screen without any overlap.

Thursday, 13 January 2011

UB Bonus Clearing

With a huge 111% return on all first-time deposits for a maximum of $1100 additional dollars (with a deposit of $1000), Ultimate Bet for Mac clearly offers a very worthwhile bonus opportunity for new customers. Really, all you need to do is type in the UB referral code of FTR111 when you make your beginning deposit. It's valuable to grasp the procedures behind how you're going to obtain your UB bonus.

You have to be aware of how much you have to play to get that bonus, what levels you receive the money in, and the time there is before the bonus offer is over, so you can compare it against the other top texas holdem sites out there.

Here's the basic info. When you make your beginning real-money deposit, UBPoker gives you bonus dollars equal to 111% of the currency you deposited, up to $1100. But these extra dollars are not yet "released." In order to use your bonus dollars, you need to get Status Points. This can only be done playing poker hands in real money poker games and tournaments, just like at all of the other US friendly poker sites.

For any 20 Status Points you obtain, $1 of your extra cash is "let go." Each time $5 of your additional cash is given out, so each time you get 100 status points, you get a deposit of $5 put into your bank. If you make an beginning deposit of $1000 (and thus $1100 of extra dollars), you need to acquire 22,000 status points to free the full $1100. Here's the kicker – you only get 60 days to clear all of your extra dollars before you lose the ones that stay unreleased.

You might be asking how Status Points are accumulated? In comparison to some online poker sites, the algorithm UBPoker uses is quite straightforward. For tournaments, you win one status point for each $0.30 of entry fee (so in a $30+3 tournament, you'd win 10 status points). For cash games, you obtain Status Points according to how high stakes it is. Ultimate Bet shows you a chart for your use at http://www.ultimatebet.com/raise-loyalty/earn-climb/status-points, or you can just take advantage of this one:

No Limit

$0.01/0.02 - 1 point per 15 hands

$0.02/0.04 - 1 point for each 10 hands

$0.05/0.10 - 1 point for each 10 hands

$0.10/0.25 - 1 point for each 5 hands

$0.25/0.50 - 1 point apiece per 3 hands

$0.50/1.00 - 1 point per 2 hands

$1.00/2.00 - 1 point for each hand

$2.00/4.00 through $5.00/10.00 - 1.5 points for every hand

$10.00/20.00 and higher - 2 points for each hand

Limit

$0.01/0.02 - 1 point for every 20 hands

$0.02/0.04 - 1 point for every 20 hands

$0.05/0.10 - 1 point for every 15 hands

$0.10/0.20 - 1 point for each 15 hands

$0.25/0.50 - 1 point for every 10 hands

$0.50/1.00 - 1 point apiece per 5 hands

$1.00/2.00 - 1 point for each 2 hands

$2.00/4.00 - 1 point apiece per hand

$3.00/6.00 - 1.5 points apiece per hand

$4.00/8.00 and up - 2 points for each hand

So, for instance, you'd have to participate in 22,000 hands of $1.00/2.00 no-limit poker within 60 days to clear the total $1100 UB bonus. If you're playing for lower stakes like $0.10/0.25, you'd have to participate in 110,000 hands. If you think that this is something for you, then UB clearly proposes the best bonus arrangement for you. If you can only participate in, say 4,000 hands of $1.00/2.00 during that time, you'll should consider that you will only receive closer to $200 of extra cas - which is still great. The really good news is, because you get the cash in $5 increments, you can cash in as much as you want and not have to worry about losing it. You just won't get as much free money as you could have otherwise made, but it's still a good option.

UltimateBet also frequently presents bonus dollars for other occasions, to keep you depositing cash into your real-money account. As far as bonus programs go, theirs is one of the most comprehensive of all the best mac poker sites.