Ultimate Bet for Mac, currently known as UB, is the crown jewel of the new CEREUS Poker Network. Home of poker greats Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke, UltimateBet is played by a large number of players including those in the United States. UB has come under scrutiny in recent years for poor security and customer support but has promised to upgrade all components of their poker room since their merger with the CEREUS poker network.
Being associated with Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke proved quite helpful when legislation hoping to shut down American Poker Online was passed in 2006. Having two of the most popular American poker players on their side definitely affected UltimateBet’s business decision to keep open doors to American poker players. You can also make use of them by checking out some of UB’s poker video content.
Allowing US players was a smart business decision as their traffic has been increasing recently along with UltimateBet’s sister-skin, Absolute Poker, thanks to being one of the few US friendly poker sites. American players have been lucky that poker sites like UltimateBet, Absolute, PokerStars, and FullTilt Poker have stayed committed to American Poker Online.
The UB 111% up to $1,100 initial deposit bonus is one of the biggest promotions found at money poker sites today. By using the bonus code FTRBONUS when signing up at UB, you will receive the maximum possible bonus in addition to entry into monthly freerolls and money-added tourneys. 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 stipulations. In order to clear this bonus, players must take part in real money ring games, multi-table tourneys, and SNG’s. Generating rake in ring games and fees in tournaments/SNGs will generate Status Points that are necessary to clear your bonus. Every 20 Status Points a player earns he/she will release $1 of their bonus. The bonus is earned in multiples of $5 which means the full bonus amount need not be cleared to receive any money, simply earn 100 Status Points and your real money account will be credited with $5. This bonus is difficult to clear and players must clear the bonus within 60 days from the date of their initial deposit to do so.
Players visiting UB will immediately take in their wide variety of games and limits. A selection comparable with other top texas holdem sites. Cash 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. From the micros to the midstakes, the games get plenty of action up to $5/$10 blinds. Those looking for even higher stakes games will probably need to search at another poker site as the heads-up games are typically regulars waiting for fish.
UB’s tourney schedule is flagshipped by the weekly $200K Guarantee which runs every Sunday. The $215 buy-in tourney typically fills the 1,000 players needed to reach its guarantee. The UBOC (Ultimate Bet Online Poker Championship) is a multi-million dollar series with multiple million-dollar events such as the $1,000 buy-in Main Event. Players with less money will find many tournaments from as little as $0.25 to play throughout the day. UltimateBet’s sit & go’s offer a wide selection of games, stakes, and formats. From a dime up to $5,000, players of all levels 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 SNGs but neither gets a lot of traffic.
UltimateBet has the reputation for having the best Mac poker sites software of all the poker sites. Recently they’ve upgraded their lobby and tables to make the games run much smoother. The lobby uses tabs at the top of the window to help players trying to find their way between games, stakes, and formats. Those seeking a more personalized navigation can use the lobby filter to focus on your games/stakes even more. For the longest time players could not resize or “tile” tables; however, UltimateBet.com has recently upgraded their software to allow tables to be sized small enough to fit 9 on a screen without any overlap.
01/27/2011
Ultimate Bet Review
01/13/2011
UB Bonus Clearing
With a monster 111% return on all first-time deposits for a maximum of $1100 additional dollars (with a deposit of $1000), Ultimate Bet for Mac clearly offers a great bonus opportunity for new players. Really, all you need to do is type in the UB bonus code of FTR111 when you make your beginning deposit. It's valuable to grasp the technicalities behind how you're going to acquire your UB bonus.
You have to be aware of how much you have to play to get that cash, what amounts you get the money in, and how long you have before the additional offer goes away, so you can evaluate it against the other online poker rooms out there.
Here's the basic info. When you make your first ever real-currency deposit, UB Poker gives you bonus dollars equal to 111% of the cash you deposited, up to $1100. But these extra dollars are not yet "yours to use." In order to release additional dollars, you need to get Status Points. This can only be done playing poker hands in real currency poker games and tournaments, just like at all of the other us poker sites.
For every 20 Status Points you acquire, $1 of your bonus currency is "let go." Any time $5 of your extra currency is let go, so every time you get 100 status points, you get a deposit of $5 into your account. If you make an initial deposit of $1000 (and thus $1100 of extra dollars), you need to acquire 22,000 status points to release the full $1100. Here's the kicker – there are only 60 days to clear all of your additional dollars before you lose the ones that remain unreleased.
The next question is how do you obtain these Status Points? In association to some online poker sites, the algorithm UB uses is quite simple. For tournaments, you win one status point for every $0.30 of entry fee (so in a $30+3 tournament, you'd receive 10 status points). For cash games, you get Status Points according to how high stakes it is. UBPoker provides a chart for your use at http://www.ultimatebet.com/raise-loyalty/earn-climb/status-points, or you can just take advantage of this one:
No Limit
$0.01/0.02 - 1 point apiece per 15 hands
$0.02/0.04 - 1 point apiece per 10 hands
$0.05/0.10 - 1 point per 10 hands
$0.10/0.25 - 1 point for every 5 hands
$0.25/0.50 - 1 point for each 3 hands
$0.50/1.00 - 1 point per 2 hands
$1.00/2.00 - 1 point apiece per hand
$2.00/4.00 through $5.00/10.00 - 1.5 points apiece per hand
$10.00/20.00 and higher - 2 points apiece per hand
Limit
$0.01/0.02 - 1 point apiece per 20 hands
$0.02/0.04 - 1 point for each 20 hands
$0.05/0.10 - 1 point for each 15 hands
$0.10/0.20 - 1 point per 15 hands
$0.25/0.50 - 1 point for every 10 hands
$0.50/1.00 - 1 point for each 5 hands
$1.00/2.00 - 1 point apiece per 2 hands
$2.00/4.00 - 1 point per hand
$3.00/6.00 - 1.5 points for every hand
$4.00/8.00 and up - 2 points per hand
So, in essence, you'd have to participate in 22,000 hands of $1.00/2.00 no-limit poker within 60 days in order to clear the full $1100 UB bonus. If you're playing for lower stakes like $0.10/0.25, you'd need to participate in 110,000 hands. If you think that this is something for you, then UB.com clearly presents the best bonus arrangement for you. If you can only play, say 4,000 hands of $1.00/2.00 during that time, you'll probably only receive closer to $200 of additional money - which is still awesome. The really good news is, because you get the cash in $5 allowances, you can put in as much as you have to and not have to worry about losing it. You just won't get as much free cash as you could have otherwise made, but it's still a great option.
UB also commonly presents bonus dollars for other happenings, to keep you depositing money into your real-money account. As far as bonus programs go, theirs is one of the most comprehensive of all the best mac poker sites.
