UB

UB Overview

UltimateBet.com, now known as UB, is the flagship skin of the new CEREUS Poker Network and one of the best legal US poker sites. Online home of poker greats Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke, UB is home to a large number of players including those in the United States. UB has been criticized recently for poor security and customer support but has promised to improve all aspects of their poker room since their merger with the CEREUS poker network.

Being associated with Duke and Hellmuth 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 influenced UltimateBet’s business decision to keep their open doors to American poker players. This was a smart business decision as their traffic has seen an increase in recent years along with UltimateBet’s sister-skin, Absolute Poker. US-based players have been fortunate that legal US poker sites like UB, Absolute, PokerStars.com, and FullTilt have remained true to American Poker Online.

UB Bonus and Promotions

The initial deposit UB bonus of 111% for up to $1,100 is one of the biggest promotions found on online poker sites today. By entering the UB Referral Code FTR111 when registering at UB, you will receive the maximum possible bonus in addition to entry into exclusive monthly freerolls and money-added tourneys. The $5 buy-in FTR5 is a money-added tournament with $300 added to the prize pool. Of course, a bonus this size comes with a few catches. To clear this UB bonus, poker players must play in real money ring games, tourneys, and sit & go’s. Paying rake in cash games and fees in tournaments/SNGs will generate Status Points that are necessary to clear your bonus. For every 20 Status Points a player earns he/she will release $1 of their bonus. The bonus is earned in increments of $5 which means the full bonus amount need not be cleared to receive any money. Simply earn 100 Status Points and your account will be credited with $5. This bonus is pretty difficult to clear in its entirety and players must clear the bonus within 60 days from the date of their initial deposit.

UB Games and Traffic

Those visiting UB will first notice their wide variety of stakes and games. 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 most likely need to search at another poker site as the heads-up games are usually regulars waiting for fish.

UltimateBet’s tourney schedule is led by the weekly $200,000 Guarantee which runs every Sunday. The $215 buy-in tourney generally fills the 1,000 players needed to reach its guarantee. The UBOC (Ultimate Bet Online Poker Championship) is a multi-million dollar series with several million-dollar events such as the $1,000 buy-in Main Event. Players with less money will find many tournaments from as little as a quarter to choose from throughout the day. UltimateBet’s sit & go’s come in a wide assortment of games, stakes, and formats. From a dime up to $5,000, all players are certainly covered. The more popular games tend to be their heads-up format of all buy-in levels and 1-table sit & go’s from $5 to $20. UB also has Stud and Omaha SNGs, but neither gets a lot of traffic.

UB Software

UB has been known for having the quickest software around. Recently they’ve upgraded their lobby and tables to make the games run much smoother and the UB download even faster. The lobby uses tabs at the top of the window to help players navigate between games, stakes, and formats. Those looking for a more personalized experience can use the lobby filter to narrow down their games/stakes even more. For the longest time players could not resize or “tile” tables; however, UB has recently updated their software to allow tables to be sized small enough to fit 9 on a screen without any overlap. Also, UB is one of the legal US poker sites to be fully compatible with Mac computers.