Ultimate Texas Hold’em Online

Ultimate Texas Hold’em takes the popular poker format and moves it into the casino. Instead of playing against other players at a poker table, this version of the game is strictly you against the house. The unique betting system means you get to choose when to bet during each hand. This adds some strategy to ‘UTH’ that other casino poker table games lack.

There is plenty of big win potential with Ultimate Texas Hold’em. Hit a Royal Flush and you can win 500x your bet. As well as the main game you can also opt to enjoy the ‘Trips’ side bet. Ultimate Texas Hold’em can be enjoyed at many larger brick and mortar casinos in Michigan – as well as online at BetMGM casino in Michigan and Caesars Casino.

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The Rules of Ultimate Texas Hold’em

Ultimate Texas Hold’em is played with a single deck of cards. You start by posting both an ante and a blind that are of equal amounts. This is typically $5 in live casinos, with smaller amounts possible online. At this point, both you and the dealer will be dealt your two hole-cards, with your cards face up and the dealer’s cards face down.

You now choose whether to bet or check (move to the next step without betting). At this stage, the betting options are to bet 4x the ante/blind, 3x the ante/blind. If you decide to bet either 3x or 4x the betting action is now over – and the hand will play out to a conclusion. This bet is based on the strength of your own cards.

If you checked at this point, the first three community cards are dealt. After seeing the ‘flop’, you have the option to either bet 2x the ante/blind or once again to check. If you bet, the hand will play out to the end.

If you checked twice, the final two community cards are then revealed. Now you have the option to either bet 1x the ante/blind or to simply fold.

Pay Table for UTH Poker

The payouts at the end of the hand can seem complicated – with the ante, blind and raise bets all having their own system. If you win the hand, any of your bets after the ante/blind are posted will pay at 1-to-1, doubling your money on those raises. This means that the earlier in the hand you committed, the more bet units get the double-up.

The initial ante bet will pay 1:1 if the dealer has a hand with at least a pair in it. This bet will be a push if the dealer’s hand has a value that is lower than a pair.

blind bet pay outs are based on the strength your hand. If you win with lower than a straight, then this bet is considered a push. However, the pay outs quickly increase the higher the quality of your hand. Here is the blind bet pay table:

Straight 1:1
Flush 3:2
Full House 3:1
Four of a Kind 10:1
Straight Flush 50:1
Royal Flush 500:1

Ultimate Texas Hold’em Strategy

With your first two cards, you should be raising 4x with any pair, any hand with an ace, a king with a five or higher, a queen with an eight or higher and ten-jack. You should also raise the following suited cards – K2, K3, K4, Q6, Q7, J8 and J9. While 3x raises are possible, there is no card combination where it is mathematically better to raise 3x compared to 4x.

The 2x raise after the three community cards have been dealt should be made with two pairs or better, when one of your cards pairs with the board – or with four to a flush.

Make the 1x raise at the end if you have a card that pairs with the board, or a lot of high cards. If there are fewer than 21 ‘outs’ in the dealer’s hand (which will be revealed after you bet) that would combine with the board to beat you, then placing that final bet has a positive expectation. In practice this can be hard to judge. Folding missed hands with low cards, and betting when you have higher cards is a reasonable strategy.

UTH: The Trips Side Bet

This is an optional side bet that pays out the following based on the strength of your final poker hand. This is independent of the hand against the dealer:

Three of a Kind 3:1
Straight 4:1
Flush 7:1
Full House 8:1
Four of a Kind 30:1
Straight Flush 40:1
Royal Flush 50:1

You can opt to bet the trips wager for a higher or a lower amount than your initial ante/blind. At live casinos this is subject to a $5 minimum.

Where Can You Play Ultimate Texas Hold’em in Michigan

Ultimate Texas Hold’em can be enjoyed at a number of live casinos across Michigan, with a variety of different limits available from casino to casino. The game can also be played at real money online casinos. The SG Digital version of the game one of the most popular.

You can also enjoy Ultimate Texas Hold’em at live dealer casinos in Michigan. These games bring the casino action to your desktop or mobile device. The action is streamed from studios, featuring real dealers handling the cards in real time. Live dealer UTH is played one-to-many – with all players betting remotely on the outcome of a single hand.

Wrapping Up: Ultimate Texas Hold’em

Texas Hold’em is a hugely popular poker format – and Ultimate Texas Hold’em is one of several casino table games to ‘borrow’ from it. While the strategy can become complex, most hands involve a simple choice of when to bet. You bet more early in the hand, with only a single unit of your stake possible after the river.