Ultimate Texas Holdem Basic Strategy

1. Texas Ultimate Holdem
2. Ultimate Texas Hold'em Basic Strategy Rules
3. Ultimate Texas Holdem Practice
4. Ultimate Texas Hold'em Basic Strategy

Ultimate Texas Hold'em - Basic Strategy While players who have a lot of experience playing Texas Holdem will immediately feel comfortable playing Ultimate Texas Hold'em as a casino game, the optimal strategy is slightly different given a few obvious factors: You are only playing against the dealer, not any other players. Usually, ultimate Texas Hold’em is played with up to 6 players and the dealer in a casino, the dealer is also known as the house. This Texas Hold’em utilises a standard 52 card deck. However, when you play ultimate Texas Hold’em online, you will find many heads up games where you compete one-on-one against the house. Texas Hold’em poker is everywhere these days — on TV, online, and in clubs and casinos. Before you sit down to a game of Texas Hold ’em, make sure you’re in good shape to be successful — take care of non-poker issues and check your physical, mental, and financial status. During the game, you need.

Ultimate Texas Hold'em (UTH) is one of the most popular novelty games in the U.S. For example, only Three Card Poker and Let it Ride have more placements in Nevada. What makes UTH so successful is its similarity to Hold'em poker together with the chance for a huge payday if the player makes a top hand. There are a number of advantage play opportunities against UTH, foremost of which is hole-card play. With the dealer receiving two hidden cards, and with five hidden Flop and Turn/River cards, the astute AP may acquire significant information in advance of making his betting decisions. Edges over 20% are possible. In my opinion, UTH is second only to Mississippi Stud (see this post and this post) in its overall vulnerability.

As a reminder, here are the rules for UTH (taken from this document):

1. The player makes equal bets on the Ante and Blind.

2. Five community cards are dealt face down in the middle of the table.

3. The dealer gives each player and herself a set of two starting cards, face down.

4. Players now have a choice:

   1. Check (do nothing); or

   2. Make a Play bet of 3x or 4x their Ante.

5. The dealer then reveals the first three community cards (the 'Flop' cards).

6. Players who have not yet made a Play bet have a choice:

   1. Check; or

   2. Make a Play bet of 2x their Ante.

7. The dealer then reveals the final two community cards (the 'Turn/River' cards).

8. Player who have not yet made a Play bet have a choice:

   1. Fold and forfeit their Ante and Blind bets; or

   2. Make a Play bet of 1x their Ante.

9. The dealer the reveals her two starting cards and announces her best five-card hand. The dealer needs a pair or better to 'qualify.'

Now what? Well, either the dealer qualifies or she doesn't. The player beats, ties or loses to the dealer. Either the player's hand is good enough to qualify for a 'Blind' bonus payout, or it isn't. The following table hopefully clarifies all of these possibilities and gives the payouts in every case:

The final piece of the puzzle is the Blind bet. As the payout schedule above shows, if the player wins the hand, regardless if the dealer qualifies, then the player's Blind bet is paid according to the following pay table:

• Royal Flush pays 500-to-1.

• Straight Flush pays 50-to-1.

• Four of a Kind pays 10-to-1.

• Full House pays 3-to-1.

• Flush pays 3-to-2.

• Straight pays 1-to-1.

• All others push.

In preparing for my hole-card computer analysis, I wrote a program to analyze the basic game as described above. I computed that a full cycle would require analyzing 10,634,692,068,000 (10.6 Trillion) unique hands. This computation would require about 4 days to complete on my four core i-7 Ubuntu computer.

Here is a summary of the statistical results for UTH, assuming perfect strategy:

• The house edge is 2.18497%

• The standard deviation is 4.93931

• The hit frequency (winning 1 or more units) is 46.5699%

• The modal (most common) result is to Fold and lose 2 units. This happens on 19.1816% of the hands.

Here is Michael's simplified basic strategy (s = suited)

Pre-Flop Strategy (Check or Raise 4x):

• Check every non-paired hand with a high card of 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, T.

• Check all J2 through J7. Raise J8s and J9s. Raise all JT.

• Check Q2 through Q5. Raise Q6s and Q7s. Raise all Q8, Q9, QT and QJ.

• Raise K2s, K3s, K4s. Raise all K5, K6, K7, K8, K9, KT, KJ, KQ.

• Raise every hand containing an Ace.

• Check 22. Raise every pair 33 through AA.

Flop Strategy (Check or Raise 2x):

• Raise with two pairs or better.

• Raise every pair 33 through AA.

• Raise with four to a flush when the player's cards include a T or better of the flush suit.

• Otherwise, check.

Turn/River Strategy (Raise 1x or Fold):

• Raise with any pair.

• Raise when there are 20 or fewer dealer hole cards that will cause you to lose the hand based on your hand and the community cards.

Following the strategy outlined above, Michael states that the house edge is 2.43%.

In Exhibit CAA, James Grosjean has some very interesting things to say about computing basic strategy and hole-card strategies for UTH. Grosjean wrote (pages 358 and 359),

There are three approaches to devising a strategy for a game such as UTH. The first approach, preferred by the AT (advantage theoretician) is to let a computer cycle through every combination of cards, making the perfect decision as each possible card is dealt. The 'optimal edge' calculated using this combinatorial analysis will be reported with many digits and great fanfare, sometimes accompanied by a boast about how many days it took the computer to accomplish the Herculean feat of calculating the gazillion possibilities ...

Unfortunately for those of us who actually wish to win a few bucks playing these games, we do not have the computational abilities of the computer, nor will we be using a computer in a casino. For a real player, the 'optimal edge' provided by the AT is worthless. The only value of this 'optimal edge' is that it gives us an upper bound on what a human-feasible strategy could deliver, indicates whether further research is likely to be fruitful, and provides a debugging tool for other researchers to verify that their own computer programs do indeed replicate the result.

The second approach, really an extension of the first, is to derive a human-feasible strategy by grouping the gazillion possibilities into a manageable number of categories, along with rules on what the player should do in each situation ...

Facing the uselessness of the computer's 'optimal strategy,' and the complications of the case-oriented strategy, we turn to a third hybrid approach. We will provide certain descriptive categories with rules that can be pre-memorized, but for other areas that get messier, particularly when the player has nothing but kickers on the river, we will incorporate the method of counting outs ... The method of counting outs is quite accurate if applied to the river decision.

It is clear that Shackleford's basic strategy follows Grosjean's third 'hybrid' approach, by giving exact Pre-Flop and Flop strategies, while counting 'outs' for the Turn/River decision.

What is curious about Grosjean's comments, however, is that they are in the chapter on UTH. Throughout Exhibit CAA and Beyond Counting, Grosjean publishes pages of computer-perfect strategies for dozens of games. One has to look no further than his presentation of the strategy for play against Texas Hold'em Bonus Poker to see the lengths he will go to write out computer-perfect strategy. Indeed, on page 371 of Exhibit CAA, Grosjean wrote,

Admittedly, the strategy charts are messy. THB has the most complicated basic strategy of any casino game. Many players will not have the willingness, need, or ability to learn the complete set of rules, though a printed BS card count possibly include them all. The more rules we apply, the closer we get to computer-optimal strategy.

For UTH, Grosjean did not compute the 'gazillion possibilities.' It appears that based on some limited computational results, Grosjean created human-feasible hole-card strategies for UTH. With his strategies in hand, Grosjean then let a computer program determine the approximate edges by means of simulations. In particular, Grosjean gives the following information in Exhibit CAA:

• Knowing both of the dealer's hole cards, the AP gets an edge of 'about' 35.00%.

• In the case when the AP knows one dealer hole-card, Grosjean gives a hybrid strategy, but declines to give the edge the AP gains from using that strategy. I was told it is in the 12% to 13% range.

• Knowing one of the dealer's hole cards and one Flop card, Grosjean reported that his strategy yields an approximate player edge of 20.74%, but no exact information is given.

• Knowing one of the dealer's hole cards and one Flop/River card, Grosjean stated that his strategy gives an approximate edge of 24.10%, but no exact information is given.

James, it's okay that you didn't run complete cycles. You are both an extraordinarily gifted 'AT' and 'AP.' Just because the 'AT' part of you didn't feel like doing the work, doesn't mean that the 'AP' had to make excuses. UTH is big.

Personally, I love the smell of a hot computer in the morning, as it burns through tera-cycles computing optimal strategies. As an 'AT,' all I care about are exact results and I am happy to let my computer run for days to get these results. I have often posted log files from my computations and advised the curious reader to devise his own strategies based on that information. Knowing the exact answer to a question is never the wrong approach.

Texas Ultimate Holdem

As of this writing, I have a computer program running the case where the player knows one dealer hole-card prior to his pre-Flop decision to check, raise 3x or raise 4x. The program has been running for about 68 hours on four cores, and it has about another day to go until it completes. Here is a screen shot, using the 'top' command, somewhere in the middle of computing the gazillion possibilities:

UTH has been on my 'to do' list for almost three years. I'm finally doing it! Over the next few weeks, I hope to write a series of posts where I explore various combinations of initial information that might be available to the AP. Each computation will take about 5 to 7 days to complete (current estimate). My goal in each case will be to determine precise player advantages and to give computer-perfect pre-Flop (check, raise 3x, raise 4x) strategy in each case. I will present the strategies in the form of downloadable spread sheets that the AP can cull if he wants to create his own simplified strategy.

No excuses.

Casinos are always looking for new games to offer bored gamblers. Over the last decade or 2, these games are more commonly related to poker than anything else. But games like these—including Scientific Gaming’s Ultimate Texas Holdem—are more akin to blackjack than to poker. In fact, dealing Ultimate Texas Holdem is considered dealing a novelty casino game. The College of Southern Nevada covers how to deal Ultimate Texas Holdem in their blackjack class.

What’s the big difference between Ultimate Texas Holdem (and games like it) and “real” poker games? The main difference is who you’re competing with. In a so-called real poker game, you’re competing with the other players at the table. If you win money, you’re winning it from them. If you lose money, you’re losing it to your competitors at the table.

This isn’t a value judgment. It’s perfectly all right to play house-banked casino games. Gamblers do it every day. I’m pointing out the distinction because it’s important to know what you’re getting into when you play a casino game.

With that as a premise—understanding in detail what you’re getting into when you’re playing a casino game—I offer you this post: “The Definitive Guide to Ultimate Texas Holdem.” The idea is to share everything you would ever need or want to know about Ultimate Texas Holdem. Luckily, it’s not that complicated a game. There’s no need to write an entire book about it, like you would do with blackjack or poker.

Ultimate Texas Holdem is a card game where you play heads-up against a casino dealer. Other players at the table are also playing heads-up against the dealer. It features a progressive jackpot, among other payouts.

You start by making 2 equal-sized bets:

• The Ante Bet
• The Blind Bet

At most casinos, the minimum bet is either $5 or $10. The maximum bet is usually between $50 an $500.

You also have 2 optional bets you can make:

• The Trips Bonus Bet
• The Progressive Bet

You start by getting 2 hole cards from the dealer—these are 2 cards that are dealt to you face-down, just like in regular Texas holdem.

Ultimate Texas Hold'em Basic Strategy Rules

When you get those cards, you can choose from the following actions:

• Check
• Bet 3X the Ante (A “Play” Bet.)
• Bet 4X the Ante (Also a “Play” Bet.)

After you’ve made your decision, the dealer reveals 3 face-up cards—the “flop.” (This is also how regular Texas holdem works.)

If you checked when you got your hole cards, you have the option now to place a bet of 2X the Ante (another example of a “Play Bet.”) After that decision is made, the dealer turns over 2 more face-up cards—the turn and the river, in Texas holdem terms. Note that the action here is different than in traditional Texas holdem. Normally you’d have a turn, followed by a betting round, then the river, followed by another betting round.

Once you’ve made your decision, the dealer reveals her hole cards and announces the final hand. If your hand beats the dealer’s hand (using the standard poker hand rankings), you win even money on your Ante bets and the Play bets. On the other hand, if the dealer’s hand beats yours, you lose your Ante, Blind, and Play Bets. If you tie, then these bets are all treated as a “push.” (A push is when your original bet is returned to you, but without any winnings. You have neither a net win nor a net loss.)

The Blind Bet is handled differently. It pays off if you win AND if you have a straight or better. If you have less than a straight but still beat the dealer, the Blind Bet is treated as a push. The Blind Bet is paid off based on a pay table. The better your hand, the more it pays off. (It’s like video poker in this respect.)

Casinos generally use a shuffling machine called an “i-Deal single deck specialty shuffler.” That’s because this game was created by Shufflemaster, which is now a division of Scientific Games. Shufflemaster’s reason for existence is to sell shuffling machines to casinos, so creating new cards is something they do in service to this goal.

The Blind Bet and the Trips Bonus Bet have 2 different pay tables.

Here’s a common pay table for the Blind Bet:

Keep in mind that the Blind Bet pays off regardless of whether the dealer qualifies. Also, notice that 3 of a kind doesn’t pay off for the Blind Bet, which is an interesting quirk of the game. The pay tables can vary—the casino gets to choose from multiple options. For example, some casinos pay off 40 to 1 instead of 50 to 1 for a straight flush. This changes the house edge for the game, of course.

Here’s a common pay table for the Trips Bonus Bet:

Here are a couple of facts to keep in mind about the Trips Bonus Bet:

• Your hand doesn’t have to win. It pays off regardless of whether you or the dealer wins.
• It wins even if you don’t have to use your hole cards. You can just play the board (the flop, turn, and river.)
• It wins even if you fold.

How the Progressive Bet and Jackpot Works

The progressive bet in Ultimate Texas Holdem is also an optional side bet. At most casinos, this bet is a flat $1 bet. But at some casinos, the Progressive Bet is $5. You can win 1 of 2 progressive jackpots in this game—the smaller jackpot, or the larger jackpot. To win the smaller progressive jackpot, you must use at least 1 of your hole cards. The smaller progressive pays off for hands that are a full house or better.

To win the bigger progressive jackpot—which is 100% of the jackpot—you must use both your hole cards and the flop to form a royal flush. If you hit the royal flush on the turn or the river, you don’t win the bigger progressive. You can also win a percentage of the full big progressive jackpot

Casinos also feature something called an “Envy Bonus.” This is a bonus paid to any player at the table when one of the other players wins the progressive jackpot.

Casino games where you make decisions usually have a house edge that varies based on how well you make those decisions. In other words, your strategy matters. There’s always a mathematically correct play in every situation. In Ultimate Texas Holdem, your strategy is limited to whether you make Play Bets during the various stages of the game. For me, this isn’t an intuitive decision. You can find various websites offering strategies for this, but I have another recommendation:

The house edge is the amount of each bet that the casino projects you’ll lose on average based on the probabilities behind the game. Obviously, the lower the house edge, the better for the player. You should do everything you can to minimize the house edge on any casino game you play.

If you use perfect basic strategy on Ultimate Texas Holdem, the house expects to win a little over 2%. Let’s assume that the house edge is 10% if you don’t know basic strategy. What does that do to the cost of playing the game in the long run?

There’s an interesting post at Two Plus Two from a gambler describing his basic strategy for Ultimate Texas Holdem. I don’t know how close it mirrors a mathematically perfect strategy, but here’s what “nonprofitgambler” says is the correct way to play:

Preflop, he suggests raising with any of the following hands:

Ultimate Texas Holdem Practice

• Any ace
• Any k5+, and any king suited
• Q5s+, Q8+
• J8s+, JT+
• 33+ for pocket pairs

That small “s” after the number means that the cards are of the same suit (they’re “suited.”) On the flop, he says most people play the same, and that it’s correct—if you pair anything, you raise. But those obviously aren’t the only hands you should raise with here. You should also bet flush draws, straight draws, and combination draws. This means you have 4 cards to a big hand. On the river, you should bet any kind of made hand, but some boards are scarier than others.

Finally, I’d like to point out that the house edge on Ultimate Texas Holdem isn’t outrageous, but blackjack is still almost always a better deal. With perfect basic strategy, many blackjack games have a house edge of just 0.5%. This means you get the same kind of entertainment for closer to $2/hour instead of $8/hour.

You can play a nice, free version of Ultimate Texas Holdem at this site. It has a place where you can toggle the sound on and off. You can also toggle the “give advice” button off an on. If you’ve never played Ultimate Texas Holdem before, this page is a great way to practice. It’s refreshingly free of advertising, too, which is rare and unusual in this industry.

Also, if you like Ultimate Texas Holdem, I suggest you give multiplayer Texas holdem in the poker room a try—if you haven’t already. It’s a lot more fun, and you have more of an opportunity to get an edge, since you’re competing against other players.

That’s it for my “Definitive Guide to Ultimate Texas Holdem.” I can’t imagine any information you could want about the game that I’ve left out. But if I did miss something, or if you have questions about Ultimate Texas Holdem that remain unanswered, please put a note in the comments.

Ultimate Texas Hold'em Basic Strategy