Ultimate Bet Review / UB Review
Ultimate Bet is a large poker site that accepts players from the USA as well as from the rest of the world. Out of all the online poker sites out there, this one is one of the largest. A couple years ago, Ultimate Bet teamed up with Absolute Poker to create the Cereus Poker Network. The sites now play on the same networks and the player base has basically doubled since the merger.
One key factor to Ultimate Bet’s success over the past few years has been its constant endorsement by big name poker players. Most notably, Phil Hellmuth has acted as the site spokesman in recent years. Despite his reputation as a loudmouth and tilt-prone poker player, Phil Hellmuth remains one of the most successful tournament players in the world. With 11 WSOP bracelets to his name, Phil Hellmuth knows poker.
Sign Up Bonus
Out of the list of US-friendly poker sites, Ultimate Bet has the largest deposit bonus. All new players who sign up with the Ultimate Bet referral code through UBRakeback.net qualify for a 111% deposit bonus. This bonus is worth a maximum of $1100, so it’s worth checking out. Clearing the bonus is fairly easy thanks to a rewarding VIP program. As you play in real money games at Ultimate Bet, you automatically earn UltimatePoints, which are UB’s version of frequent player points. These points automatically unlock the bonus money and release it to your real money account in $5.00 increments.
Software
The UB software has always been one of the fastest packages in the industry. The software is simple, straight to the point and very fast. Other sites like PokerStars feel extremely slow and clunky after using the UB software for a while. The main attraction here is that the cards are dealt and collected very quickly. Other than that, the software doesn’t really stand out, but that’s fine. All the usual options are available, such as 4-color decks, player notes and multiple tables. Players who download the software can play at up to 20 tables at a time. Players who use either the instant player version or the Mac version can play up to 5 tables at a time.
Tournaments & SNGs
Ultimate Bet has a healthy tournament lineup but it’s not as impressive as some of the other bigger poker sites. Even so, that’s not a reason to skip out on the tournaments here. Every week, you’ll find plenty of tournaments at all buyin levels. One of the most popular tournaments is the weekly $200K Guarantee. In addition to MTTs, Ultimate Bet also hosts round-the-clock sit and go (SNG) tournaments. These SNGs range in size from just a few pennies all the way up to a thousand dollars or more. Overall, tournament players will find that Ultimate Bet’s tournament lineup is worthy of signing up and making a deposit.
Ring Games
Cash games have always been one of the UB’s strong points. For some reason, poker players have always flocked to the cash games at Ultimate Bet. Most likely, the combination of fast software and wide selection of table types has done the most to attract cash game players. The cash games at Ultimate Bet tend to be a little tougher than average but they aren’t too tough. Small stakes cash games are as fishy as anywhere else but as you move up in stakes, the games get harder than at most sites. You’ll definitely want to take it slow when moving up in stakes.
Player Support
The support system at Ultimate Bet is solid but the means of contact are limited. Ultimate Bet only accepts e-mail requests for help (they don’t have a support number) but they respond quickly when you send your help request. To be fair, that’s about par for the course in the poker industry. The good news is that when you request help, Ultimate Bet responds quickly. They know that players value customer support and they make sure to provide solid support. Hopefully they’ll decide to be an industry leader and be one of the first large poker sites to offer phone support.
Deposits and Withdrawals
Depositing at UB is about the same as at any other large poker site. Players from the US have several deposit options and players from the rest of the world have a larger variety of deposit methods.
USA Deposit Methods: Visa, MasterCard, eCheck, Wire Transfer, eWalletXpress, Western Union, Moneygram and check by mail.
Non USA Deposit Methods: All the above plus Ukash, Neteller, Click2Pay, ClickandBuy, Moneybookers, Paysafecard.
Most withdrawals are processed via the same method that was used to deposit. Players who deposit with a credit card will sometimes have to withdraw via a different method because of the difficulties in adding funds to credit cards. In that case, any of the other deposit methods can be used to process a withdrawal.
