Ultimate Bet review

Ultimate Bet is one of the founding fathers of Online Poker. Now the sole Legal Property of Tokwiro Enterprises Enrg, UltimateBet is the room endorsed by Phil Hellmuth, Devilfish, Annie Duke, Antonio Esfandiari and Tiffany Michelle.

Having recently endured perhaps the worst scandal in poker history, UB is working hard to regain its place in the marketplace. It is doing this through greater promotions, competitions and increased guaranteed tournaments.

Since the 'super-user' scandal erupted on UB and Absolute Poker (both owned by Tokwiro), the company has made all efforts to ensure that exploits and cheating be rendered impossible. One could assume it is now one of the safest sites out there.

Recently Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker have merged their respective player bases to form up the third biggest online poker network out there. The new network goes by the name "CEREUS" and has been in the works for over a year, with both brands now using it.

UB has long been known for the Aruba Classic, which has been a WPT stop for years. The site runs many qualifiers for this tournament around the year. This is one of the many great reasons for PokerNews players to give UB a shot. Also having a sweet first deposit bonus helps!

Using the RAI$E System, it is easier for players to clear this bonus. This is a tier based system, and needs mentioning so here are the tiers and what they mean to bonus clearing:

Member - $1 Bonus Dollar for every 20 Ultimate Points (multiplier = 1x)
Player - $1 Bonus Dollar for every 40 Ultimate Points (multiplier = 2x)
Contender - $1 Bonus Dollar for every 60 Ultimate Points (multiplier = 3x)
Legend - $1 Bonus Dollar for every 70 Ultimate Points (multiplier = 4x)
Icon - $1 Bonus Dollar for every 90 Ultimate Points (multiplier = 5x)

For continued play, this system comes in great for the accumulation of loads of UB points which can be used for several great things.

The cash games on Ultimate Bet are better nowadays since lots of money has recently gone into the site. The limits get pretty high and usually Phil Hellmuth is at the tables tilting. The limits go from 2c-4c up to high games like the $300-$600 nosebleeds. Most of the action is concentrated at the lower limits, with NL Holdem being the most popular.

The software at Ultimate Bet is solid. It is one of the fastest sites around for actual playing. Overall the poker playing experience is a pleasant one. There is a mini-view option available for people who are multi-tasking. UltimateBet has all the normal options one would expect to find such as usability options, hand histories and chat.

It is easy to navigate around the site and find whatever games/limits/tables one may be looking for. The simplistic design is intended to provide a user-friendly poker playing experience, and Ultimate Bet definitely accomplishes this.

Mini-View : Make the table tiny

Hand History : Keep track of what is going on

Ultimate Buddy : Keep track of friends

Central Seating Enjoy the best seat in the house at every table.

Player Stats : Keep track of all your stats!

The level of play is so-so. The higher limits are generally populated by good and great players. The low levels, like most sites, have the typical grinding type intertwined with the loose aggressive types. Due to the huge amount of advertising UltimateBet new players are popping up all the time. The tank should get even more chummy as the CEREUS network hit full stride in coming months.

Ultimate Bet has about 2000 players during peak periods. Now that UB and Absolute are sharing the same user base, traffic is much improved. UltimateBet seems committed to doing whatever it takes to bring players back to the site, so expect to see some pretty wild promotions. Making a comeback from the sullied reputation will take some work. Expect to see a huge player base again in the next year.

Support is available through email via the website. There is also a live chat option through the poker client. Responses are courteous, although sometimes take a bit of time to get out.

The cashier is easy to use. It takes some time when cashing out for the amount to be approved, but once it is approved getting the money is not a problem.