Ultimate Texas Hold'em – Guide, Strategy, Odds & Payouts (2024)

Ultimate Texas Hold'em, by Scientific Games, is a video poker game injected with the fun and exciting elements of Hold'em. Through its game mechanic and plethora of betting options, this single-player Hold'em game offers several chances to double your chip stack. It is a popular single-player poker variant!

To know if this game is worth your money, below is our complete guide on Ultimate Texas Hold'em.

What Is Ultimate Texas Hold'Em

Ultimate Texas Hold'em is a single-player casino game that simulates the experience of a traditional Hold'em poker game. You can also find a table version of this game in certain casinos where you share a single session with one or more players.

Developed by Roger Stone from Shuffle Master, Ultimate Texas Hold'em uses the card ranking mechanic and player showdown element of a regular Hold'em game. While the goal may seem to be having the best possible hand against your opponent, your actual goal is to bet on a winning hand. Unlike video poker, you cannot exchange cards to form a winning hand. Instead, you decide on whether to check or raise on each betting round.

Bets in Ultimate Texas Hold'em is where the action takes place. Is your hole card sufficient for a 4x raise on the first betting round or do you avoid the risk by waiting until the river to make your bet? This type of gameplay is similar to a usual round of Texas Hold'em where you decide on increasing the stakes and profit from your hand or simply pass to prevent any losses. In Ultimate Texas Hold'em your opponent will never fold and they will call all of your bets.

Regular Bets

In every online ultimate Texas Hold'em game, there are three common bets.

Ante Bet

Your ante bet is required to start a game of Ultimate Texas Hold'em. In regular Hold'em, the ante is required bets for every player to post even if they are within the BB or SB position.

Ante pays out 1:1 to the amount you bet if you and beats the dealer during the showdown. Should the dealer fail to open, you take back only your ante. This situation occurs when the dealer does not form a qualifying hand. A 2 pair is the minimum requirement for the dealer to form a qualifying hand.

Dealers who fail to open simulates an opponent who is likely to fold or will keep checking through the betting street when they have the worst possible hand. In this situation, you take back your ante. Even if the dealer has a higher valued hand such as an ace-high card, you still get your ante back. This aims to give you an experience of opponents folding without increasing the pot value.

Blind Bet

Another required bet to start a round of Ultimate Texas Hold'em is the blind bet. Blinds bets have the same amount as the ante bet. If you placed $10 on the ante, you need to post $10 on the blinds as well.

What makes the blind bet interesting is its payout rate, which is based on what type of hand you get during the showdown phase. Nearly every Ultimate Texas Hold'em blind bet has a common payout as illustrated below:

Take note that winning against the dealer with any hand less than a straight results in a push of your blind bet.

Should you win against the dealer and they failed to open it, you also win your blind bet. Blinds are only pushed or returned to you in case of a tie.

Play Bet

While the value of your cards does not affect the payout rate of your ante, the wager on the ante and blinds influence the play bet that occurs throughout the later betting rounds.

Throughout the betting rounds, you are presented with various play bet amounts. You have the option of making a large wager on the earlier betting rounds with little knowledge of your hand value. Your play bet option gets smaller as you make it to the river where more information about your hand's value is presented to you.

Play bets provide the same experience as raising or betting throughout the game to make the opponent increase the stake. Your chances of raising the pot value decrease as you allow your opponent to reach the river without making a wager. On the other hand, you increase the risk of losing your bankroll when you have no info on the final hand you are forming and making a wager on the post-flop round.

Side Bets

There are numerous Ultimate Texas Hold'em in online and physical casinos. To make themselves unique, these games offer interesting side bets. Here are three of the most common ones.

Trips

Like the blind bet, trips bet have multi-tiered payouts based on the strength of your hand during the showdown. While various Ultimate Texas Hold'em have different payout rates for their trips bet, here are the common ones you can expect:

As the name indicates, Ultimate Texas Hold'em trips bet allows you to get a payout on a three-of-a-kind hand instead of just a straight one. Unlike the blinds bet, you get a better payout on low-tiered hands such as the three-of-a-kind, straight, and flush.

Take note that the trips bet pays out when you manage to form a three-of-a-kind or better even if the dealers fail to open or beats your hand.

Progressive Jackpot

To take home the massive jackpot payout, you need to form a royal flush on the post-flop.

Backdoor draws for your royal flush will only entitle you to the blinds' payout of 500:1. Considering the slimmest odds of drawing the rarest possible hand in poker on the post-flop, progressive bets strongly favor the house.

Among online casinos or Ultimate Texas Hold'em machines are progressive jackpot side bets. Costs for this bet are around $1 and never more than $5. As the name indicates, every money spent on this spent is added to a growing jackpot prize.

There is a consolation prize for progressive jackpot bets when you form a straight flush. This hand entitles you to 10% of the total progressive amount. However, you also need to form this post-flop and not with a backdoor draw.

Hole Card Bonus

One of the common Ultimate Texas Hold'em side bets you can find in Las Vegas casino tables is the hole card. As you can tell by the name, this wager's payout is based on the hole cards. These are the common payout rates:

Ace cards are your target for the hole card bonuses. This wager's payout is the most generous of other side bets where the lowest possible payout you can get is 20 times your wager when you get at least ace and queens.

The odds of getting the highest possible payout here are nearly as slim as getting a royal flush since it requires pocket aces from both you and the dealers. Your chance of getting a pocket pair is 1 out of 221 while the likely hood for the dealer to also have the same card is less than 0.5%.

Betting Rounds: Flow of the Game

To illustrate the rules and bets in Ultimate Texas Hold'em below are the options available to you in each betting round.

First Betting Round

This is the pre-flop where you and the dealer receive the hole cards. Much of the action happens since the hole card side bet determines if you get its payout.

In the first betting round, you are presented with three options, raising your ante bet by 4x or 3x and checking. Any raise you make will be your play bet. Raising will skip the rest of the betting rounds up to the showdown to determine if you or the dealer has the best possible hand.

Second Betting Round

Post-flop round is where the three community cards are dealt with the center. You have a choice of raising, which is 2x your ante bet, or checking. Raises will also skip the third betting round.

Progressive jackpot bets are rewarded here if you manage to get a royal flush or a straight flush.

Third Betting Round

On the last betting round, the turn and river cards are dealt. Raises are now limited to the same amount as the ante bet. Your only choice here is to place a play bet by raising or folding to avoid staking more of your bankroll.

Ultimate Texas Hold'em Odds

When considering the ante and blind bets only, the house has the edge over the players here. However, adding the play bet into the equation can shift the table to your side. If you make raises on appropriate scenarios, Ultimate Texas Hold'em house edge is around 2.19% only. This makes the game favor the player more than stud poker or war on any casino floor.

Take note that you only have the best odds against the house as long as you are making profitable actions for each betting round. Constantly raising during the first betting round without considering your outs or probability of forming a winning hand can grant the house an additional 5% edge.

Ultimate Texas Hold'em Strategy

To keep the odds in your favor, you need to consider certain Ultimate Texas Hold'em strategies and tips.

Pre-flop

Opportunities to profit are within the first round of betting. If there is one thing to avoid here, it is the 3x bet. Unless you are down to your last few chips, the 3x bet is not a feasible wager if you have a strong or mid-high range.

Pocket hands that are above 10 are worth the 4x play bet wager. Chances are high for a three-of-a-kind or two-pair hand when you reach the showdown phase. Even if the dealer has a pair, your range should give you an advantage over your opponent's hand.

Suited connectors are your friends during this betting round. Your bare minimum would be jacks with 8, 9, and 10's. This includes J♠9♠ or 8♣J♣. Even if you are unable to form a straight or flush, you can still achieve a jack or mid-range pair to win against the dealer.

For other hands that do not have an ace, check the pre-flop and move on to the second betting round.

Post-Flop

During this betting round, you have most of the available information that can help you determine your final hand outcome since the flop is on the table. If you happen to have a three-of-a-kind or a top two pair card, such as a K♥7♣ 7♠8♦K♦, wagering 2x your ante is feasible with these ranges.

Be wary of pairs when this is the only hand you have on the post-flop. Chances are high for the dealer to have a top-ranking pair or even a two-pair when you reach the showdown phase. Only raise when you have at least pocket aces or kings.

Choose the 2x bet when you already have a flush or straight on the post-flop. Raising is also a profitable move if you are missing one out to form an open-ended straight or a backdoor flush. If you are missing one out for a gutshot straight, check this round and move on to the last betting round.

Turn and River

With the turn and river card dealt on the table, you have every information you need to know your current standing. Raise if you have a mid-to-high range straight or flush such as a 7♥9♠ 10♦2♥J♦8♣A♥.

Always consider what your opponent might have based on the community cards to know if you should raise your pair. If you have a jack pair, are their queens, kings, or aces on the board that allow the dealer to form a better pair? Is there a possible straight or flush hand on the board that requires only one out? Knowing the odds of the dealer forming a certain hand lets you raise a winning pair.

Ultimate Texas Hold'em: FAQ

Answers to the most common questions about Ultimate Texas Hold'em poker.