The Basics of Ultimate Texas Hold’em

The basic premise and set up is the same as any other game of Texas Hold’em

• Two cards are dealt to each player (hole cards) and five community cards (cards which can be used by all players in the hand) are dealt across the middle of the table.
• Players then have 7 cards (their 2 individual hole cards + the 5 community cards) with which to construct the highest ranking 5 card Texas Hold’em hand. The highest hand is the winning hand.

How to Play Ultimate Texas Hold’em

Before we get into the betting rules there are a few things worth noting. Firstly, players at the table are only competing against the dealer – not each other.

Also, there is no bluffing in Ultimate Texas Hold’em – your only decision is whether and when to bet, check or (at the end of the betting rounds) fold.

All other decisions are made for you depending on your dealt hand vs. the dealer’s hand and. This is one of the reasons for the popularity of the game – it requires relatively little skill and anyone can play with as good a chance of winning as anyone else.

As such things like table position, table image, bluffing tendencies, pot odds etc. become irrelevant.

Base Game Procedure

• At the start of each game a player must place 2 bets of equal value; an ‘ante’ bet and a ‘blind’ bet. After laying their initial bets there are three further stages at which a player can bet or ‘raise’ their hand – these are known as ‘play bets’. However, players can only bet once during play – so choosing when to bet is probably the biggest skill in Ultimate Texas Hold’em.
• Players and the dealer are each dealt two cards face down after which the first betting round commences.
• Players choosing to bet must at this stage must wager an amount totalling either 3 or 4 times the size of their ante bet.
• Before the next round of betting the first three community cards are dealt, face up.
• Players choosing to bet at this stage must wager an amount totalling 2 times the size of their ante bet.
• The final round of betting takes place after the final 2 community cards are dealt, face up.
• At this stage all players yet to bet must bet the same amount as their ante bet or fold their hand thus forfeiting their chance of winning the hand.

Trips Bonus Bet

As well as bets made in the base game described above, players have the opportunity to place a ‘Trips Bonus Bet’ at the start of each game.

As the title of the bet suggests, in order to receive a payout the player MUST make a hand ranking higher than or equal to trips. Trips Bonus Bets are paid out even if the player loses the hand at final showdown.

Qualifying Hands & Winning Hands

To make a ‘qualifying hand’ the dealer must make at least one pair. In reality the consequences of the dealer failing to qualify are not too severe.

If the player’s hand beats the dealers then all bets will still be paid out other than ante bet which will be returned to the player. If the dealer qualifies then the ante bet will also be paid out.