Taking inspiration from poker’s most popular variant, Ultimate Texas Hold’em pits you one on one against the dealer as you both try to make the best possible five card poker hand from your two hole cards and five community cards.
Ultimate Texas Hold’em Online Casinos USA
Initially developed by Shuffle Master — Ultimate Texas Hold’em was an instant hit. The reason for this was simple. It’s easy to play — borrowing many of the rules from Texas Hold’em, though with none of the mind games that typically forces players to fold their hands prematurely. Betting is 100% in the player’s control. Plus, if you can master the strategy, you’ll be rewarded with a mouthwatering RTP of 99.27% for your total bet.
Developed with electronic gaming in mind, the simple interface of Ultimate Texas Hold’em means that you can play it at any online casino via your computer or mobile device.
Best US Online Casinos & Apps to Play Ultimate Texas Hold’em
Because of its popularity, you can play Ultimate Texas Hold’em at just about any online casino in any of the legal states of New Jersey, West Virginia, Michigan, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Delaware. Of course, just because all online casinos offer Ultimate Texas Hold’em doesn’t mean you should select a casino at random. Ultimate Texas Hold’em is a game of skill. And skillful players know that choosing the right casino is crucial.
Are their bonuses top-notch? Are they mobile compatible? Are they licensed? These are all important questions that need to be asked when deciding what online casino to play at. And in asking those questions, we’ve found that these six casinos stand above the pack.
Each of the above provides a selection of live dealer games by Evolution Gaming, including the live version of Ultimate Texas Hold’em. For exclusive poker bonuses, though, you might want to consider the following NJ online poker platforms:
What is Ultimate Texas Hold’em?
Ultimate Texas Hold’em is like normal Texas Hold’em, minus the mind games. You’re not playing against another player — instead, you’re up against the dealer who must follow a set of rules. Bluffing won’t work because the dealer calls 100% of bets. Likewise, the dealer won’t attempt to force you off your hand until the river, when all cards have been dealt. If you don’t fold, you’ll go down to showdown, and the better hand will win — with the added incentive that the better your hand is, the more you’ll get paid.
The main downside about Ultimate Texas Hold’em when compared to normal Texas Hold’em used to be the human element. But thanks to Ultimate Texas Hold’em’s surge in popularity — this is no longer the case, with most online casinos offering live Ultimate Texas Hold’em where you play against a real dealer.
How to Play Ultimate Texas Hold’em at Online Casinos
If you’ve played Texas Hold’em before, it’ll be pretty easy to get the hang of things. Though if not, don’t sweat it — because in this section, we’ll show you step-by-step how to play Ultimate Texas Hold’em.
- First up, you’ll need to decide how much you’re betting and whether or not you’re taking part in the Trips bonus bet. An important thing to remember at this step is that you must make equal bets on both your blind and your ante. We’ll get into the difference between these two bets later on.
- Once you’ve made your blind and ante bet, both you and the dealer will be dealt two cards, and you’ll have your first chance to make a play bet of either x4 or x3. If you choose to bet, all community cards will be dealt, and you’ll go to showdown (step 5). Otherwise, you’ll need to “check”.
- Three community cards will now be dealt face up, and you’ll be given another chance to make a play bet (x2). Similar to the last step, if you choose to bet, all community cards will be dealt and you’ll go to showdown (step 5). Otherwise, you’ll need to “check”.
- The final two community cards will be dealt, and you’ll be given a final chance to make an x1 play bet or fold. If you fold, your ante and blind are forfeit. Though otherwise, you’ll go to showdown.
- The dealer will reveal their hand, and whoever has the better hand will win. Three types of bets are paid in Ultimate Texas Hold’Em. The play bets, which is the extra bet you make after seeing your cards — the ante bets, which is only paid out if you win and the dealer has at least a pair (otherwise it’s a push) — and the blind bets, which requires the player to win and have at least a straight (otherwise it’s a push), and pays higher odds the better the player’s hand is.
Ultimate Texas Hold’em Paytable and Casino Game Payouts
Both the ante and play bet payout 1:1. The blind bet however pays out according to the following table:
Blind Payout | |
---|---|
Straight | 1:1 |
Flush | 3:2 |
Full House | 3:1 |
Four of a Kind | 10:1 |
Straight Flush | 50:1 |
Royal Flush | 500:1 |
The only other bet that pays out differently is the optional trips bets which we’ll cover in the next section.
Ultimate Texas Hold’em Trips Bonus Bet
The trips optional bet is generally not recommended as it carries a lower RTP of 96.5%. However if you do play it, there are a couple of things you need to keep in mind.
First, the dealer does not need to qualify for the trips bet to be paid out. Secondly, even if you fold — if your trips hand qualifies for the trips bonus bet, you’ll be paid out. Other than that though, it works pretty similar to the blind bet, but with different payouts. You can check out the trips bonus pays odds below:
Ultimate Texas Hold’em House Edge & RTP
One of the biggest appeals of Ultimate Texas Hold’em is its optimal RTP of 99.27% — leaving the house the minuscule edge of 0.73%. For reference, three card poker has an RTP of 96.63% — and even four card poker falls shy with its RTP of 98.68%. This makes Ultimate Texas Hold’em the king of poker table games.
Though it is important to know that Ultimate Texas Hold’em has a much higher skill element than other poker table games — and the only way to achieve the 99.27% is to use optimal poker strategy. In the next section, we’ll give you some tips to maximize your RTP.
Ultimate Texas Hold’em Strategy & Tips to Play
While Ultimate Texas Hold’em is a gambling game at the end of the day — there’s still a significant skill element that will influence your online casino profitability. To become a master, you’d need to dedicate at least a couple of hours to studying and playing. Though if you’re new to Ultimate Texas Hold’em, the following tips will get you off to a good start.
- Don’t Bet x3 — Preflop you’ll be given three options. Bet x4, bet x3, or check. Whether you check or bet will depend on what hand you’re given — but if you’re going to bet, it’s mathematically always a better idea to bet x4.
- Ignore the Trips Side Bet — The trips side bet can be fun, but at the end of the day — you’ll be reducing your RTP by playing it. If you do want to play it, try minimizing it to less than 10% of your total bet.
- Play Aggressively — While in normal Texas Hold’em it can pay to use mind games like trapping, in Ultimate Texas Hold’em — mind games don’t work, and so if you get a good starting hand like pocket pairs (not including deuces), or any hand with an ace in it, you should always play it aggressively.
Is Ultimate Texas Hold’em Rigged?
No.
The RNG of Ultimate Texas Hold’em is very simple to understand as it’s based on a single 52 card deck where each card is weighted the same. How do we know this? Well, if you’re playing at any licensed online casino, that casino will be subject to random checks by outside testers to ensure that the RTP is fair and that all results are random. However, there were some keywords in that sentence. Licensed online casino.
Because the above is only true of online casinos that have been licensed at the state level, and the reality is, if you’re playing at offshore sites, the game may be rigged as these casinos are not subject to random RNG testing. As such, there’s nothing stopping them from rigging the game.
Play Ultimate Texas Hold’em Online Today!
Despite being a relatively new table game, Ultimate Texas Hold’em has already made its mark. With a 99.27% RTP, it’s everything great about Texas Hold’em — minus the mind games. Even better though, by signing up to any of our recommended online casinos via our exclusive links — you’ll get access to welcome bonuses that’ll double your first deposit. Or if you’d rather judge it for yourself, you can play Ultimate Texas Hold’em for free here.