Ultimate Poker Overview
Ultimate Poker officially launched real money play on April 30, 2013, effectively becoming the first online poker room to operate legally within the United States. At this time, only individuals in Nevada can deposit and play. Despite a few kinks here and there, Ultimate Poker should be commended for breaking into the US market and offering American players the first online poker software since “Black Friday”.
Fertita Entertainment, the name behind Ultimate Fighting Championship and Station Casinos, owns Ultimate Poker. Poker professional Antonio Esfandiari and UFC star Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell serve as “brand ambassadors” to the company.
Head over to Ultimate Poker and download the program to start playing!
Ultimate Poker Software and Interface
Compared to other poker clients, Ultimate Poker is definitely near the bottom of the list. Gameplay is slow and many standard features are lacking, including the following:
- No hand histories or way to review previous hands played
- No table or lobby resizing
- Player is unable to take notes
- No games are offered aside from Texas Hold’em
The only customizable options currently available to players are avatar selection and the choice of a standard or 4-color deck. Players can expect to see a major upgrade in the future.
Unfortunately, at this time Ultimate Poker is incompatible with Mac computers, although a Mac download and a mobile app are pending. Poker veterans using HUDs are also out of luck, but Ultimate Poker has stated that this may change in the future.
How to Get Verified in Nevada
In order to use the software and register for an account, Ultimate Poker requires players to provide their name, date of birth, address, mobile phone number, social security number, e-mail address, and payment. Ultimate Poker is an intrastate online poker room, which means that all players must be located with the borders of Nevada in order to play. In the words of Ultimate Poker Product Manager Chris Danek, Ultimate Poker “triangulates the cell phone every time you log in and periodically while you play.” In other words, anyone who visits Nevada can play as long as they have a cell phone, but Verizon is not allowing Ultimate Poker to triangulate their customers.
Deposits can be made either by e-check, regular check, bank wire transfer, or credit card. Players can also deposit and cash out at any Station casino, including Red Rock, Palace Station, Green Valley Ranch, and Boulder Station. Although there is no report on the speed of online deposits/withdrawals, the opportunity to go to a physical location and deposit/withdraws funds points to a quick and easy process.
• Cash deposit at any Station Casino cage – $10 minimum
• Electronic check/ACH – $10-$300
• Check by mail – $10-$500
• Bank wire – $500 minimum
Ultimate Poker Action
At this time, Ultimate Poker only offers Texas Hold’em games. Both No-Limit Hold’em and Fixed-Limit Hold’em are available to play in cash games, Sit & Go’s, and tournaments. For cash games, stakes start as low as $0.01/$0.02 and go as high as $10/$20, and games are available in either 6-max or full ring games. No heads-up tables are offered in cash games, however players can compete in heads-up Sit & Go’s. The maximum buy-in for NL Hold’em cash games is 50 big blinds, and 50 big bets for Limit Hold’em. The rake on all games is < 4.5%, which is still significantly lower than the rake in real life, “brick and mortar” casinos.
In terms of action, Ultimate Poker has a low but steady traffic, consistent with a brand new poker launch. According to stats from PokerScout, peak traffic is approximately 200 players, but expect that number to increase exponentially as the months go on.
Ultimate Poker Fish Rating
As a brand new site, Ultimate Poker is full of new players, new money, and ultimately, new fish. While it’s too early to have any definitive information on Ultimate Poker’s player base, rest assured that there is easy money to be made, as long as you are in Nevada, that is.
Ultimate Poker Bonus & Promotions
Unlike most poker promotions, Ultimate Poker does not offer a deposit bonus or a VIP program, although this may change in the future. Ultimate Poker currently offers the following promotions, all of which come in the form of tournaments:
Daily $100 Freeroll
The Daily $100 Freeroll runs everyday at 7:30pm PST and is free to enter.
$1,000 Nightly Tournament
Players will buy-in for $50 to receive 3,000 chips. Satellites run every 10 minutes pass the hour, and can be bought into for $1-$10.
$10k Sundays
This is the biggest weekly tournament on the site. $91+$9 buy-in, $10,000 guaranteed prize pool, Sundays at 6:00 pm PST. Satellites run every day at 6:40 pm.
Staycation Freeroll
Sundays at 4 pm PST, starting May 12th and running each week at the same time for 7 additional weeks. Players can win a “Staycation” (stay + vacation) at your choice of Station Casinos. Ultimate Poker runs daily satellites to win entry to this tournament.
1M Boarding Pass Points
Starting May 12th, 1,000,000 Boarding Pass Points are given away in a tournament every Sunday at 9:30 pm PST. Players can gain entry by winning one of two daily satellites.
There is currently no Ultimate Poker bonus code available.
Ultimate Poker Support
Support at Ultimate Poker can be reached by email, but while they do try to respond to inquiries quickly (estimated within 24 hours) at this early stage they are currently dealing with hundreds of inquiries and are considerably backed up.
Email: support@ultimatepoker.com
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