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Ultimate Bet, currently known as UB, is the flagship skin of the new CEREUS Poker Network. Sponsored by poker greats Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke, UltimateBet is played by a large number of players including those in the United States. UB has been criticized in recent years for poor security and customer support but has vowed to improve all aspects of the site since their union with the CEREUS poker network.

Being affiliated with Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke proved quite useful when legislation driven to shut down American Poker Online was passed in 2006. Having two of the most admired American poker players on their side surely swayed UltimateBet’s choice to carry on with open doors to American poker players. This was a very good choice as their traffic has seen an increase recently along with UltimateBet’s partner on CEREUS, Absolute Poker. American players have been fortunate that online poker sites like UltimateBet.com, AP, PokerStars.com, and FullTilt Poker have remained true to American Poker Online.

UB Bonus and Promotions

The UltimateBet initial deposit bonus of 111% for up to $1,100 is one of the biggest promotions found online today. Simply by entering the UB bonus code FTRBONUS when registering at UB, you will receive the maximum possible bonus as well as 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. A bonus this size comes with a few catches. To clear the UB bonus, players must play in real money cash games, multi-table tourneys, and SNGs. Paying rake in cash games and fees in tournaments/SNGs will earn Status Points which are necessary to clear your bonus. Every 20 Status Points a player gains he/she will release $1 of their bonus. The bonus is earned in increments of $5 which means the entire bonus does not need to be cleared to gain any money, just earn 100 Status Points and your account will be credited with $5. This bonus is hard to clear and players must clear the bonus within 60 days from the time of their deposit to do so.

UB Games and Traffic

Players grinding at UB will undoubtedly notice their wide variety of games and limits. 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. The micro, small, and midstakes games get plenty of action up to $5/$10 blinds. Players looking for higher stakes games will probably need to search somewhere else as the heads-up games are typically regulars waiting for weaker opponents.

UltimateBet’s tourney schedule is flagshipped by the weekly $200,000 Guarantee which is played every Sunday. The $215 buy-in tourney generally fills the 1,000 players necessary to reach its guarantee. The UBOC (Ultimate Bet Online Poker Championship) is a huge series with many million-dollar prizes including the $1,000 buy-in Main Event. Players with less money will find many tournaments from as small as $0.25 to choose from throughout the day. UB’s SNGs offer a wide array of games, stakes, and formats. From a dime all the way up to $5,000, all players 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. UB also has Stud and Omaha SNG’S but neither gets a lot of traffic.

UB Software

UltimateBet has been known for having the smoothest software of all the online poker sites. They have recently updated their lobby and tables to make the games run much faster. The lobby uses tabs at the top of the window to help players navigate between games, stakes, and formats. Those seeking a more personalized navigation can use the lobby filter to narrow down your games/stakes even more. For the longest 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 nine on a screen without any overlap. Also, the UB download is fully compatible with Mac computers.