Ultimate Texas Hold’em Payouts. The payouts, and exact amounts of the payouts, in a hand of Ultimate Texas Hold’em depend upon who won the hand as well as how they won. If the player has the superior hand and the dealer had at least a pair that was defeated, the player will win their blind, ante, and play bets. Finally, you can now play Ultimate Texas Hold’Em online with my new practice game. The main purpose of this game is to allow people to practice different betting strategies, and to learn for free. Learning UTH in the casino can be very costly, since most people don’t bet their hands like they should.

Table Of Contents

Ultimate Texas Hold’em is one of the most popular live and online casino games for poker players.

One big reason is that if you know what you are doing, the game will feature one of the lowest house edges of any casino game.

Half the battle is just knowing the basic rules of Texas Hold’em, particularly the hand rankings which are common in most poker games.

Head to this online casino for an exciting session of Ultimate Texas Hold'em Poker. Massive welcome bonus available!

About Ultimate Texas Hold’em

Ultimate Texas Hold’em was developed by Roger Stone of Shuffle Master and similar formats are also known under other names including Heads Up Hold’em distributed by Galaxy Gaming.

If you have learned the basic rules of Texas Hold’em, you will quickly pick up on how to play Ultimate Texas Hold’em with the hand rankings and each player holding two hole cards being the same in both games.

As this is a casino, the house will have an edge. Players should experience plenty of winning sessions, but unlike regular Texas Hold’em, players are competing against the house and not a player.

What you might not know about Ultimate Texas Hold’em is that if it is played correctly it has one of the lowest house edges among any casino game at around 2%.

Reasons to play Unlimited Texas Hold’em

• Low house edge of around 2% when following basic strategy
• Fun to play alone or with friends
• Similar to Texas Hold’em
• Can play for just a few minutes
• Potential to win big

Read on to learn more about the rules of Ultimate Texas Hold’em and how to optimize your play to reduce the house edge to almost nothing.

How to Play Ultimate Texas Hold’em

Usually, you can play Ultimate Texas Hold’em at a casino with up to six players and a dealer (also known as the house).

The game utilizes a standard 52 card deck. Although online, you will find many heads-up games where you will compete one-on-one against the house.

Each player must post an ante and a blind before each hand begins. You will see posted minimums and maximums. Keep in mind that your bet must be the same for both of these and that it will also serve as a base for other bets as the hand progresses.

Therefore, we recommend when first getting your feet wet to bet as small as possible to further the power of your bankroll. You can always adjust with higher bets once you feel comfortable that you have optimized your game.

There are also optional side bets which can vary from casino to casino including the Trips bet you can place before the hand is dealt which we will get into later.

Two cards are dealt to each player and the dealer after the initial Ante and Blind bets are placed.

Remember, hand rankings are the exact same as Texas Hold’em.

Check out our detailed description of how to play Texas Hold’em to brush up on Hold’em hand rankings.

You can decide to bet three times or four times the Ante and place the bet into the Play box or check before the flop comes.

A flop is then dealt and you will have an option whether to bet two times the Ante bet or check once again.

The turn and river are dealt one after the other and you will have one last option on whether to place a bet equal to the Ante in the Play box or to fold the hand.

There is a bit of basic strategy that you should either memorize or have a chart with you while playing to best optimize when to bet in the Play box, when to check, and when to fold.

Players that folded after the river was dealt will automatically lose their Ante and Blind bet.

Those remaining in the hand will turn over their cards as will the dealer. If you have a better Texas Hold’em hand than the dealer you win the Play bet for the same amount as bet.

The Blind bet can also only be won if you have won the hand. Assuming this is the case, it is paid out on a sliding scale and can be worth as much as 50 to 1 for a straight flush. However, if you don’t have a straight or better, you will simply just get your bet back as a push.

Here is a look at the potential different payouts of the Blind bet which can vary slightly from casino to casino.

The Ante bet is a bit trickier. If the dealer doesn’t qualify with at least a pair, you will get your Ante refunded as a push. This is the case whether you had a better hand or not, as long as you didn’t fold your hand.

If the dealer qualified with a pair or better, you will need to beat the dealer in order to win this even money bet.

Head to this online casino for an exciting session of Ultimate Texas Hold'em Poker. Massive welcome bonus available!

Best Ultimate Texas Hold’em Strategy

You should quickly get the hang of the rules of Ultimate Texas Hold’em by reading the rules above and potentially watching a few hands being played.

However, we don’t recommend that you hop right into Ultimate Texas Hold’em until you learn some basic strategy as it could turn out to be a nightmare to play based on gut feeling.

For example, if you decide to blindly bet four times your bet in the Play box every hand, you will be subject to a house edge of around 14%. Likewise, if you aren’t betting at the right times, you will also increase the house edge.

You should always bet the maximum allowed in the Play box before the flop when you bet. The following chart should serve as a guide to when you should place a bet in the Play box and when you should fold preflop.

• B = Bet four times in Play box
• C = Check
• S = Bet four time in Play box if suited, otherwise check

The strategy gets a little easier if you didn’t bet preflop. You should bet two times on the flop in the Play box if you have two pair or better, a hidden pair, or a flush draw with a hidden ten or better. A hidden pair means that there isn’t a pair on the board and you are using one or more of your hole cards to create that pair.

River strategy can be particularly tricky. It is easy to memorize what to do but not always easy to make the optimal play in real-time.

Place a bet of equal to your Ante bet if you have a hidden pair or better or the dealer has less than 21 outs to beat you. After some practice, determining how many outs the dealer has to beat you will become more second nature but take your time at first as it’s your money and the game typically doesn’t have a time limit with the exception of some multiplayer online games.

Side Bets

Side bets are usually a way for online and live casinos to extract a little extra money per hand, spin, or dice roll at extremely bad odds.

This isn’t necessarily the case in Ultimate Texas Hold’em with its optional Trips bets that you will see on just about every table.

It all comes down to the odds that they are paying on the Trips bet as it could be an under 1% advantage for the house under optimal conditions if you can find them.

Your Trips bet can be a different amount than your Ante and Blind bets and is only paid if you wound up with trips or better. In just about every case you are paid 3 to 1 for trips or a set and 50 to 1 if you nail down the elusive Royal Flush.

What you should be looking for if considering to place a Trips bet is a bet table similar to below which gives the house less than a 1% advantage.

Other payout tables might look similar with a Royal Flush paying 50 to 1 and trips paying 3 to 1. However, some smaller differences in the middle of the pay table can make a big difference.

For example, the pay table below would give the house a more than 6% advantage and should be avoided at all costs.

There are other side bets that online and live casinos make available including hole card bonuses and bad beat jackpots.

In general, any side bet that isn’t the Trips bet gives the house a huge house edge and therefore should be avoided.

One exception might be in the case of progressive jackpots where the jackpot is high enough to make the house edge low and, in some cases, even give the player an advantage. One pitfall even here is that the jackpots are few and far between and thus will likely cause you money unless you hit at least one jackpot in your lifetime.

Conclusion

Ultimate Texas Hold’em is a fun online and live casino game that can be played whether you have a few spare minutes or want to grind a long session.

The rules are easy to learn and before long it is possible to master the strategy of the game to reduce the house edge to approximately 2% in the base game.

While it isn’t likely you will become a long-term winner in this game without a bit of luck, it is more likely than many other games to have winning sessions and go on runs to win a chunk of change.

Enjoy Live Dealer Ultimate Texas Holdem Poker at 888 Casino

There are several casino table games which use elements of Texas Holdem poker. Ultimate Texas Holdem has become one of the most popular – thanks to fast game-play and the opportunity to win big. If you have enjoyed games like Casino Holdem in the past, then UTH or Ultimate Texas Holdem is a must-play.

This guide to playing Ultimate Texas Holdem online starts with an outline of the rules – and then covers the pros and cons compared to the other poker themed casino table games on offer.

You can now enjoy this game via a live dealer (streamed) casino setup at the (non-US) 888 Casino. You’ll play with a real dealer, betting using your computer. 888 are currently allowing new players at their casino to spin a wheel for up to $888 in bonus play. See www.888casino.com for more!

How to Play Ultimate Texas Holdem Online

The game starts with the requirement of making two equal bets – the ante and the blind. Both of these bets are compulsory and they have to be for the same stake. You can also add an optional 'trips' side-bet, this does not have to be the same size as your blind / ante.

Next, both the dealer and the player will be dealt two cards, while five community cards will be placed between the players and the dealer. Once the player has seen the two cards, they’ll have two options – whether to check or bet (play).

Before seeing the flop, you can bet either 3x or 4x the size of your ante bet – or check. If the player makes a bet, their decisions are now over as they cannot place any more bets.

The first three community cards will then be turned over. If the player hasn’t bet already, they can now make a bet of 2x the ante, or they can check again. Finally, the last two community cards will be turned over and the player will have the option of betting again, this time only 1x the size of the ante. If the player decides not to bet now, it will be considered a ‘fold’ and both the ante and the blind will be lost.

Once all the betting decisions have been finalised, the dealer will now turn over their two cards and the hands will be assessed. In this game (as in all versions of Texas Holdem) a hand is made up of the best five cards made from a combination of the player’s 2 cards and the 5 community cards. If the dealer has the better hand, the ante, the blind and the additional bets will all be lost.

UTH Payouts

If the player’s hand is better, then the ante and the blind are assessed differently according to the pay table in use. The ante and any played bets will simply be paid out at even money, although the dealer will need to have a hand of a pair or better to qualify, otherwise this will be considered a push.

The blind bet plays out a little differently, with a larger pay out based on the strength of the hand. A royal flush pays out at a generous 500/1, while a straight flush has a pay-out of 50/1. Four of a kind, a full house and a flush pay out at odds of 10/1, 3/1 and 3/2 respectively, while the lowest pay-out is even money for a straight. Any hands worse than a straight will be considered a push, meaning that the player will simply receive their blind bet back

Basic Strategy for Ultimate Texas Holdem

For a detailed look at the math behind UTG Strategy, I recommend the excellent Wizard of Odds.

Here are the basics:

Before the Flop: Bet with any ace, any suited king, king six off+, queen 9 off+, Jack-ten and pairs 33 and up. Always bet 4x, there is no situation where a 3x bet is better.

On the Flop: Bet with any hidden pair or better, or 4-card flush draw or open ended straight draw.

On the River: Bet when the dealer has fewer than 21 outs to beat your hand.

Play Ultimate Hold'em online, free

Trips Side Bet

When you play Ultimate Texas Holdem you can also place an optional ‘Trips’ side-bet. This bet pays out on the strength of your hand (just like the blind bet) but this will pay out regardless of whether the hand beats the dealer or not.

Texas Holdem Practice Play

For many people (myself included), this is an entertaining extra – UTH would feel kind of flat without it. Do keep in mind that it does have a bigger house edge than the main game vs. the dealer.

Where to Play Ultimate Texas Holdem?

UTH has yet to make it into ‘virtual’ form – though can be enjoyed online at the 888 Live dealer casino. Here you’ll be playing in a live casino setting streamed directly to your device, so you’ll be placing your bets based on the turn of real cards. This version of the game uses the ‘one to many’ format, where all of the players at the table will be making betting decisions based on the same hand. These games have a social aspect, as you can chat to both the dealer and the other players through a chatbox and the dealer will normally chat throughout play too.

New players get up to $888 (wheel spin promo) to play with before even making a deposit at 888 Casino - check out www.888casino.com now for details!

Advantages and Disadvantages of Playing Ultimate Texas Holdem

For me the biggest advantage of UTG is that you stay around to the end with your bad hands as well as good ones. In some games, you fold out early if you do not want to play. This means you have to wait for everyone else to complete their action before the next hand. In Ultimate Texas Holdem you can check to the end – and sometimes you’ll make a pair by the river and end up with a win.

In Ultimate Texas Holdem you have the opportunity of winning a big prize when you have a big hand. A royal flush pays out at odds of 500/1 which is sure to give a player an amazing session.

Keep in mind that this game does have a higher volatility. While you can go on streaks where you win several hands that you bet 4x with – there are also times when the dealer makes some unlikely hand to take those chips away.

As long as you play a solid strategy and have the chips to ride out the variance, the house edge for this game is a low 2.6% over time.

Overall, having access to Ultimate Texas Holdem online is a big positive, check out the live dealer game at www.888casino.com for yourself soon.

More Casino Table Games Guides:

- Live Dealer 3 Card Poker

- Casino Holdem Guide

- 888 Casino Review

- Casino Bonuses Guide (includes table game bonus info!)