Ultimate Texas Hold’em
Ultimate Texas Hold’em is a ShuffleMaster table game based on the popular poker game. The description and rules of the game are found online. I didn’t find a basic strategy anywhere for the game, so I devised one myself using my own analysis program.
The game is very popular, because the house edge is reasonable, and because of the trips bet pay table. Most of the post-flop decisions are fairly normal (bet when you have something, otherwise check). However, there are some situations on the flop where you need to check bottom or small pocket pairs. Conversely, there are times when you bet a draw, or a good kicker. On the river, my strategy table tells you when to call 1x with good kickers.
Basic Strategy Card for Ultimate Texas Hold'em.
Ultimate Texas Hold’em Basic Strategy
I find that people play quite differently from basic strategy. Granted, my site is the first to publish strategy for post-flop play, but I thought that people would instinctively figure it out. From what I’ve seen, people are very reluctant to raise pre-flop (4x) without a big pocket pair, or at least Ace + face. They’re very surprised to see me raise with J8s, or K5o. On the flop, people check pairs, waiting to just call on the river. Conversely, on the river, people frequently call with a bad kicker. Many of these mistakes cost 20% or more of the ante, or $1 of $5. So, to help out the fans of this game, I’m writing this basic strategy tutorial. Near-optimal play is very simple, and easy to master. With a little experience, you’ll play faster than the dealer. At a 2.2% (of the ante) house edge, the game is very cheap, since your average 4.2 unit bet reduces the house take to 0.5% of your action. It’s better than most blackjack games.
Preflop (4x)
It’s very simple to make the optimal pre-flop decision. If your starting hand is equal to, or better than the hands listed in the above table, you raise 4x, and you wait to see if you win. If your starting hand isn’t good enough to raise, then just check, and wait for the flop.
The hands that are good enough to raise 4x:
- pair of 3’s or higher
- Ace + anything
- any suited King, or King and 5 or higher
- Queen and 6 suited, or Queen and 8 or higher
- Jack and 8 suited, or Jack and Ten
It’s really important to raise your 4x preflop opportunities. The “play” bet is where you make all your money
| Bet | Required | Amount | Return | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ante | yes | 1x | -16.6% | dealer must qualify for player to win push if dealer doesn’t qualify (and player didn’t fold) |
| Blind | yes | 1x | -31.5% | pays winning hand on straight or better a.k.a. the “Rake” bet built-in “bonus” bet pays 500x for a Royal Flush, etc. |
| Play | player decision |
4x@preflop 2x@flop 1x@river |
+45.9% of ante | This is the player advantage bet, you should always bet when indicated, to overcome the Rake |
| Trips | optional | table limits | -1.904% for standard paytable | Not bad as far as “bonus” (“sucker”) bets go. |
The table below shows a few pre-flop decision points, and the difference between raising 4x and just checking. My program comes up with the exact same EVs as The Wizard of Odds, as we’re probably doing the exact same recursive calculations. It takes me about 16 hours to calculate each of these preflop points, and it took the Wizard 2 months of compute time to calculate the EV over each of the possible starting hands (pairs, suited & offsuit combinations).
| hand | EV(check) | EV(4x) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| As 2s | +0.1665 | +0.3999 | raise with Ace anything |
| Kh 2h | -0.0799 | -0.0745 | raising K2s beats checking by 0.54% of the Ante bet |
| Kh 8d | -0.0040 | +0.1663 | checking makes it a loser; raising 4x makes it a winner |
| Qh 8d | -0.0926 | -0.0694 | raising Q8o beats checking by 2.3% of the Ante bet |
| Kh 5d | -0.1511 | -0.1176 | raising K5o beats checking by 3.35% of the Ante bet |
Flop (2x)
Betting Pairs
Generally, you bet (2x) any pair you’ve made on the flop. The only time you’d check your pair is if the board is suited, and you have a pair, no flush draw, and your kicker is smaller than the board (it’s pretty rare). Also, you should check your small pocket pair (4’s or smaller) if the board is paired, and all the board cards are bigger than your pair. And, you should check your pocket pair if the board is suited, unless you have a flush draw, or there are smaller cards on the board, as described in the strategy table. But other than those rare cases, you’re betting 2x on any pair you make.
| hand | board | EV(check) | EV(bet) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2h 3d | Ah Kc 2s | -0.3492 | -0.2442 | bet any pair (non pocket) on an offsuit board |
| 2h 3d | Ah Ac 2s | +0.3974 | +0.5080 | bet any pair (non pocket) on a paired board |
| 2h 2c | Kc Qc 4c | -0.1657 | -0.1405 | bet any pair with a flush draw |
| 3c 5d | 3h 2h Th | -0.4781 | -0.4463 | bet mid or top pair on a suited board |
| 6c 9c | Ad Jd 6d | -0.5031 | -0.4768 | bet bottom pair on a suited board w/ 6th nut kicker |
| 3c 3d | 7h 7d Th | -0.1361 | -0.2446 | check pair < fives on paired board with no board undercards |
Betting Kickers
If you’re holding high cards (like Ace, or other “nut” kickers), and you didn’t 4x raise preflop, you can still 2x bet on a paired flop according to the basic strategy table. E.g., if you’re holding an Ace, and the board is paired, you should bet 2x now. But if the board isn’t paired, even if you have AK, you can’t bet your hand.
| hand | board | EV(check) | EV(bet) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ah Kd | 4h 5s 9s | -0.6489 | -0.6570 | non-paired board, check nut kickers |
| Kh Jd | 5h 5s 9s | -0.3978 | -0.3927 | paired board, bet 2nd and 4th nut kickers |
| Ah 6d | 5h 5s 9s | -0.2430 | -0.1773 | paired board, bet 1st nut kicker |
Betting Straight Draws
Generally, you will only consider betting outside straight draws of JT98 or better. If the board isn’t paired or suited, then you can bet any JT98 or better draw, except the “idiot-end” (you have 98). If the board is paired, you can bet a T987 draw if your cards are T9, otherwise the first rule applies. If the board is suited, you can’t bet any straight draw unless you also have a flush draw. Also, only bet the straight draws mentioned when both your hole cards play, or your kicker is an overcard to the board.
Interestingly, you should bet a gutshot to an A-high straight when you have nut kicker. This is a combination kicker & straight draw bet, and while it doesn’t occur very frequently, it’ll probably occur to you that betting it is better than checking.
| hand | board | EV(check) | EV(bet) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9s Td | Jh Qs 3s | -0.0060 | +0.0887 | bet low end of QJT9 outside straight draw |
| 9s 8d | Jh Ts 3s | -0.1644 | -0.1922 | check low end of JT98 outside straight draw |
| 9s Td | Jh 8s 3s | -0.0076 | +0.0470 | bet any JT98 outside straight draw other than “idiot-end” |
| 9s Td | 7h 8s 3s | +0.0113 | -0.0483 | check any straight draw less than JT98 |
| Ks Qd | Th 2h Jh | -0.2475 | -0.2495 | on a suited board, check all straight draws w/o flush draw |
| 3d Qd | Js Th 9c | -0.3452 | -0.4325 | check QTJ9 unless both hole cards are higher than 9 |
| Ks 3c | As Qh Td | -0.4229 | -0.3918 | bet a combination nut kicker and gutshot straight draw |
Betting Flush Draws
If the board isn’t paired or suited, can bet any 4th nut flush draw or better. Also, bet any 5th nut flush draw if there are any board cards smaller than your lowest card. The same goes for paired boards. Bet any 4th nut flush draw, or 5th nut draw and both your cards are higher than the board singleton.
When the board is suited, you may bet your flush draw depending on how high it is, and whether you have a kicker, pair, or other draw. If you are drawing to 2nd nut or better, you don’t need anything else to bet. If you’re drawing to 3rd nut flush, you need an board undercard, i.e., at least one card on the board is smaller than your kicker.
For lower flush draws, you need a good kicker to bet the flop. The example below shows 5th nut flush draw & 3rd nut kicker is good enough to bet. Note that failing to bet 5th nut flush draw & 2nd nut kicker will cost you almost 10% of your ante, i.e., $.50 for a $5 ante. That’s significant. As you can see, the house makes a very healthy profit on misplayed hands.
Finally, bet any pair with any flush draw.
| hand | board | EV(check) | EV(bet) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qh 5d | 4h 7h 9h | +0.1697 | +0.2098 | bet 3rd nut flush draw with any board under card |
| Qh 3d | 4h 7h 9h | +0.1089 | +0.1067 | check 3rd nut flush draw with no board under cards |
| 7h Td | Ah Kh 8h | -0.0255 | -0.0082 | bet 5th nut flush draw with 3rd nut kicker |
| 7h Jd | Ah Kh 8h | +0.0660 | +0.1546 | bet 5th nut flush draw with 2nd nut kicker |
| Th 3h | 8h 2h Qs | +0.1807 | +0.1939 | bet 5th nut flush draw & any board undercards to your smallest card |
| 3h 2d | 2h 8h Th | +0.1614 | +0.3131 | bet any pair with any flush draw |
| Th 5h | 3h 3d 4h | +0.5343 | +0.5437 | bet 5th nut flush draw w/ overs on paired board |
Betting Combination Draws
On non-suited boards, you should bet most flush draws accompanied by open-ended straight draws.
| hand | board | EV(check) | EV(bet) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8h 5h | 6d Kh 7h | +0.9417 | +1.0705 | bet flush draw & outside straight draw |
| 4h 6h | 5d Kh 3h | +0.9441 | +0.9551 | bet flush draw & outside straight draw |
| 3h 6h | 5d Kh 4h | +0.8933 | +0.8829 | check this combo draw (holding a 3) |
| 8c 5h | 6h Kh 7h | +0.4793 | +0.4091 | on suited board, check combo draws |
| Th 2s | 8h 9h 7h | +4.5938 | +4.5869 | check 5th nut flush w/ straight draw on suited board |
| 6h 5h | 3h 3d 4h | +5.1212 | +5.1371 | on paired board, bet outside straight flush draw w/ >65 in hand |
| 6h 5h | 8h 8d 7h | +4.9893 | +5.0284 | on paired board, bet outside straight flush draw w/ >65 in hand |
River (1x)
Made Hand on Board
If there’s a made hand on board (straight, flush, full house, straight flush), call to play the board for a probable push.
Beating the Board
If the board isn’t a scare board as described below, call any time you beat the board (by more than just kickers). This means call if you made any pair that plays. You don’t need to worry about any gutshot boards (there are 4 cards that make a dealer straight). The following example shows you should still call with deuces against a gutshot board:
| hand | board | EV(fold) | EV(call) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2d 2h | 8c 9c 6c 5s Ah | -2.0000 | -1.9182 | bet under pair on a gutshot board |
Scare Boards
A scare flush board contains 4 cards to a flush (9 cards that make the dealer a flush), and a scare straight board contains a 4 card outside straight (8 cards make a dealer straight). If the scare board is also paired, you may call with nut kicker. Otherwise, you need at least bottom pair and 3rd nut kicker to call.
| hand | board | EV(fold) | EV(call) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Th 3s | 8c 9c 6c 3c Ah | -2.0000 | -1.9788 | scare board, bet bottom pair & 4th nut kicker |
| 7h 3s | 8c 9c 6c 3c Ah | -2.0000 | -2.0333 | scare board, fold bottom pair & 5th nut kicker |
| Kh Qs | 8c 9c 6c 3c Ah | -2.0000 | -2.2242 | scare board, fold nut kickers |
| Ah 2s | 3c 9c Jc 4c 4s | -2.0000 | -1.7485 | bet nut kicker on paired scare board |
| 2s 3h | Ks Qd Jh Tc Ts | -2.0000 | -2.1242 | cannot play scare board even if paired and 2nd nut board kicker |
In the first case, we have Th 3s, so we beat the board with a pair of 3’s. Our Th kicker is 4th nut (K = 1st, Q = 2nd, J = 3rd, T = 4th), so we can call. The expected value (EV) of this call is -1.9788, which is better than folding (-2 = lose ante and blind bets). Of course, we have to risk another bet to gain an additional (2-1.9788 = 2.12%) on this average losing hand. But, I find most people don’t have a problem calling the river with this hand, so I probably don’t need to convince you any further that its a good call.
In the next example, we’re holding 7h 3s, which is just one kicker level lower (we have bottom pair with 5th nut kicker). However, the hand is not good enough to call with, and we should fold it. If we call, we’re giving the casino an additional average edge of (2-2.0333 = 3.33%) on the ante. Just fold it, since the dealer just needs a flush card, or any higher pair card, or even the same pair with a better kicker.
In the last example, we have the top 2 kickers with Kh Qs against the scare board. But its still not enough, and calling is a big mistake, yielding an additional whopping (2-2.2242 = 22.42%) house edge on average for the call. For a $5 ante bet, calling gives the house an average $11 for the hand, while folding gives them only $10. I think some people might make this lay down, but few probably know how bad it is to make the call.
Gutshot Boards
When the dealer can make a gutshot straight from the board, you need at least 1st and 4th nut kickers to call.
| hand | board | EV(fold) | EV(call) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kd Qh | 4s 5h 6d 8c 9d | -2.0000 | -2.1727 | check gutshot board without 1st and 4th nut kickers |
| Ad Jh | 4s 5h 6d 8c 9d | -2.0000 | -1.9788 | bet gutshot board with 1st and 4th nut kickers |
| 2d 2h | As Kc Qd Jh 9s | -2.0000 | -1.8333 | bet any pair against a gutshot board |
| 2d 3h | As Kc Qd Jh 9s | -2.0000 | -2.1242 | cannot play unpaired gutshot board itself |
| 2s 3h | As Qd Jh Tc Ts | -2.0000 | -1.8576 | play paired gutshot board with 2nd nut kicker |
Calling with Kickers
On the river, you may call with just a kicker, depending on how high it is, and what the board looks like.
No pair board
When there’s no pair on the board, you may call with 2nd nut kicker if either both your cards play, or there is no possible flush on board. If there’s a possible flush, then you need nut kicker to call. You can never just play the board. In this case, the most you can win is the 1x call bet, since you can not win the ante bet with nothing. You are hoping to push the ante if the dealer doesn’t qualify, even if he outkicks you. The payoff is good if you win, since you’ll win the 1x bet, and save the Ante and Blind.
| hand | board | EV(fold) | EV(call) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jh 2c | Kc Qc 4d 8s 7h | -2.0000 | -1.9101 | call with 2nd nut kicker on nothing board |
| Ah 2c | Kc Qc 4d 8s 7h | -2.0000 | -1.6313 | call with 1st nut kicker on nothing board |
| 2c 3d | Ad Kc Qs 9d 8h | -2.0000 | -2.2131 | cannot just play unpaired board |
| Js 2c | Ad Kd 8d 6h 5s | -2.0000 | -2.0707 | Can’t call 2nd nut kicker when possible flush on board |
| Js 2c | Ad Kd 8c 6h 5s | 2.0000 | -1.9990 | Ok to call 2nd nut kicker when no possible flush on board |
| Js 9c | Ad Kd 8d 6h 5s | 2.0000 | -1.9657 | call 2nd nut kicker against possible flush when both cards play |
One pair board
When there’s a single pair on the board, the kicker requirements are lowered, because the dealer already qualifies, and you’re getting 4:1 on your call (2*ante + blind + 1x call) vs. folding. In this case, you need only 3rd nut kicker. You can play the board when the board kicker (the 5th card) is at least 2nd nut. E.g., if the board is 6s 6h Kh Qs Jd, you can call and play the board. In this case, the 5th card is a J, and the board kicker is 2nd nut. The only higher kicker the dealer may play is an Ace. That’s the only way you’ll lose. However, note that 3rd nut board kicker is not sufficient to call. E.g., if the above case was 6s 6h Kh Qs Td, the dealer can beat you with an Ace or a Jack. The following table shows that playing the board 6s 6h Kh Qs Td is a mistake that will cost you 12.42% of the ante, which is huge.
| hand | board | EV(fold) | EV(call) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3d 2d | 6s 6h Kh Qs Jd | -2.0000 | -1.8576 | paired board, play board (2nd nut kicker) |
| 3d 2d | 6s 6h Kh Qs Td | -2.0000 | -2.1242 | paired board, don’t play boad (3rd nut kicker) |
Two pair board
When there’s two pairs on board, at least 7’s up, the calling requirements of your hand is only 5th nut kicker. If the two pair on board are 6’s up or worse, you need 4th nut kicker to call. In any case, you can call to play the board when the 5th card (board kicker) is 3rd nut. (I.e., there’s only 2 kickers the dealer can have to beat the board.)
Trips board
If there are trips on board, the calling requirements of your hand is only 4th nut kicker. You can play the board when its kicker is 3rd nut (there are only 2 kickers the dealer can win with). In the following examples, we see the power of the kicker. When we have 4th nut kicker, calling gains us (2 – 1.6798 = 32.02%) of the ante, which is huge. On the other hand, making the mistake of calling with 5th nut kicker would cost us 10% of the ante, which is a lot.
| hand | board | EV(fold) | EV(call) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Td 2d | 6s 6h 6d Ks 5d | -2.0000 | -1.6798 | trips board, call 4th nut kicker |
| 9d 2d | 6s 6h 6d Ks 5d | -2.0000 | -2.1000 | trips board, fold 5th nut kicker |
| 3d 2d | 6s 6h 6d Ks Jd | -2.0000 | -1.8091 | trips board, play board (3rd nut kicker) |
| 3d 2d | 6s 6h 6d Ks Td | -2.0000 | -2.1242 | trips board, don’t play board (4th nut kicker) |
Quads board
When there are four-of-a-kind on board, the calling requirements are reduced to 8th nut kicker, because in the unlikely case you win with 8th nut, you’ll win (ante + call + 10*blind), or 12:1 compared to folding. If you don’t have a kicker, and wish to play the board, the board kicker must be 5th nut (i.e., there are only 4 cards the dealer can have to beat you). The following examples show the numbers behind the decision.
| hand | board | EV(fold) | EV(call) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3d 7d | 6s 6h 6d 6c 2d | -2.0000 | -1.4848 | quads on board, call 8th nut kicker |
| 3d 5d | 6s 6h 6d 6c 2d | -2.0000 | -2.2182 | quads on board, fold 9th nut kicker |
| 3d 2d | 6s 6h 6d 6c Td | -2.0000 | -1.7697 | quads on board, play board (5th nut kicker) |
| 3d 2d | 6s 6h 6d 6c 9d | -2.0000 | -2.0909 | quads on board, don’t play board (6th nut kicker) |
Further Resources
- The Wizard Of Odds on Ultimate Texas Hold’em. I used his overall return numbers on the ante, blind, and play bets. These numbers take weeks of compute time to grind out. He does not provide any post-flop play strategy.
- All my posts on Ultimate Texas Hold’em
- Practical Collusion for UTH. How to get an edge by sharing card information with the table.
- My 2009 UTH Win/Loss Statement
- A Week Of Ultimate Texas Hold’em, my initial obsession with the game.
I was looking at the data provided by the Wizard, and if I am reading his matrix correctly,nonsuited 8/q shows a -.0694 return. 9/q turns positive with +.1325
Suited 6/q shows -.006 and turns positive at 7/q.
Similarly, nonsuited King, turns positive at K/7 not 5 or 6.
Suited King 2, is negative and turns positive at suited K-3.
Which is correct for the large raise ?
Thanks
Art S.
Just because the EV is negative for a 4x raise on K5o or Q8o doesn’t mean you should check. You should raise these hands over the long run, because you’ll lose less by doing so. Of course, you’re risking more in the short-term, so for borderline cases, it’s up to you to decide on the tradeoff. I’ll put these decision points into the table above, so you can see the value of the 4x raise vs checking for these hands.
Thanks for the quick response.
Two more questions :
1.After the flop, you are four to a flush, the board is suited.
You have a bet strategy for 2nd nut, 3rd nut, and 5th nut plus 3rd nut kicker.
What about 4th nut?
2. Betting combination draws.
Your third example shows a hand of 3h 6h, and you check because yuo are holding a 3. What is the rule here. What is the minimum to bet?
I have played this game 6 or 7 times… Have won once… Very suspicious of dealing machine… Seems to know how to set the cards against you.. Dealer has two full houses back to back.. Dealer has to straights back to back.. It seems like everytime i have a pair they always beat me.. Try going in with an A or K you get crushed every time.. They always seem to have a pair against you..Makes you wonder… What u say ?//
Dennis ( lvden7@msn.com)
I’m actually trying out ShuffleMaster’s Ultimate Draw Poker (not Ultimate Texas Holdem) machine (multi-player video console, not the cards & table version). I’ve worked out optimal discard strategy on that game. I’ve played it a few times, and am really suspicious myself. It should only be a .6% house edge, but plays disasterously. I’ll try it a few more times, and I’ll probably conclude it’s fixed
. I might contact the company if I get killed a few more times. Are you talking about a video machine version of UTH? I heard they exist …
To bet your 4th, 5th, and 6th nut flush draws, your kicker must be at least 3rd nut to bet. E.g., you bet 2x for JhQd on a 3h6h8h board; but you’d check Jh9d for the same board.
The lowest combo draw (outside straight & flush draw) you 2x bet is when you’re holding 64s or so. This rule might not be absolutely exact, but it’s close enough. You’re alllowed to approximate and gamble every now and then
All flop bets are 2x, else check.
Thank you, this is great work.
Allow me to ask a basic question.
For the river bet, with two pairs on the board, the strategy would play the board
when its kicker is 3rd nut. If the board was showing a pair of aces and a pair of kings,
would you bet the board with a queen 5th card or would you also play a jack or a ten
on the board?
Similar question would apply to your river bet strategy for trips or quads on the board.
If the board was AAKKQ, then the board kicker is 1st nut. For AAKKJ, the board kicker is 2nd nut. For AAKKT the board kicker is 3rd nut. You would call to play the board on all these cases. Interestingly, I just ran AAKK9, where the board kicker is 4th nut. You actually should call this case too, even though my basic strategy card says fold. This is probably because even if the dealer has a pocket pair of 9’s or lower, it can’t play.
The trips and quads on board are as I described on this page. To calculate “board kicker nut level”, you need to count the number of possible dealer kickers that will play, and add 1. So, for AAKKT, there are two dealer kickers that will beat the board (Q or J). Take these 2, add 1, and you get board kicker = 3rd nut.
“Interestingly, I just ran AAKK9, where the board kicker is 4th nut. You actually should call this case too, even though my basic strategy card says fold. This is probably because even if the dealer has a pocket pair of 9’s or lower, it can’t play.”
Wouldn’t a pocket pair of 9s make a full house? Nines full of Aces.
Good point. Made that “even if the dealer had a pocket pair of 8’s or lower, it can’t play.” Thanks!
I was curious about the side bet “trips” and whether or not you play it? I live in Vegas and spend alot of the time in the casinos. I just discovered this game.
I don’t usually play the Trips bet. Although the house edge is only 1.9%, it adds up over the long run, and I play a lot. Besides, the Blind bet gets paid 500:1 for a Royal Flush, and 50:1 for a straight flush (more than the Trips bet), so I don’t see a real need to bet it. Occasionally I’ll try a Trips bet, just for the fun of it. It’s pretty obvious that the dealers want you to bet it, because that’s where they make their tips. But over the long run, I’d rather make my 4x Play bets, since winning one of those pays almost as good as a straight on the Trips bet.
Do you have any insiights as to how this game is being rated for comps.
a) bets per hour, avg. bet, house edge
b) have the casinos started to downtick players who look like they are playing
a strong basic strategy? ala blackjack.
c) how do you think $25 ante and blind, following your strategy would compare to
$25 on the pass line with two $25 come bets at the craps table.
I have heard that the house take on this game is huge. With comps thrown in,
it could be very interesting.
A few of us have commented on receiving good cashback rates for this game. I’m pretty sure I’m +EV at casinopauma.com, since I play $5 Ante=Blind, and they give me between $5-$7/hr cashback. (At 40 hands/hr, I’m giving up $4/hr in house edge.) I have no idea what comps are like in Vegas. It’d be interesting to hear what others have experienced. If it’s anywhere near their BJ comp rate, I should be playing weekends over there.
I have no idea how prevalent UTH is in Las Vegas. It is plentiful and popular in the local casinos around where I live, but I know for a fact in Atlantic City it is only in three casinos (Bally’s, Caesars, and Trump Marina) out of 11 and only one table at each. Of course, there are much better plays in Vegas as I’m sure you know, for example they have 3x and 10x WPT hold-em with a <1.8% house edge at most of the MGM/Mirage properties and the Wynn.
You should ride up to Vegas, we would love to read a trip report!
I was in Las Vegas last month and played UTH at the Wynn, $10 min. Planet Hollywood
$5 min, and Treasure Island, $5 min. Wynn told me they would only rate my p;ay at the $25 ante bet level. Treasure Island wanted $25 min play for the ante,blind and trips combined before they would even take my players card. PH said they would rate my play, $10 ante.
I contacted Shufflemaster asking for more locations to play.
On the strip : Bellagio, Mirage, Luxor
Downtown: Golden Nugget
Others: Aliente Station, Gold Coast, Green Valley Ranch, LV Hilton, River Palms Stratosphere, Orleans.
I suggest calling ahead. The same email said that UTH was now in the Mohegan Sun in Conn. I told a friend who reported back that he could not find it there, and no one
at the casino ever heard of it.
I am headed bach to Las Vegas next week to really play this and would be glad to give a trip report.
BTW, how do you enter a trip report on this site.
Profbac- I can’t speak for the owner of this blog, but can probably send Stephen your report and he will post it for you. It would be interesting to see how you get rated.
Have you ever tried WPT 10x or 3x hold ‘em table games? The house edge is 1.5% and .79% respectively, and the strategy is on the Wizard of Odd’s site. It’s very easy. I know for a fact Wynn has the 10x version and Mirage has the 3x.
Profbac–You will stand to lose $20/hour playing UTH. In craps, with two come bets out, you will stand to lose between $16-$50/hour assuming 48 point decisions per hour. With the more generous comp structure, I’d said UTH is the clear choice. Plus, it is more of a challenge as opposed to the pure luck game that is craps.
And yes, the hold percentage on this game is very high, usually between 24-27% cash dropped goes to the house which makes it very lucrative for them. This is a similar percentage to Spanish 21, 3-card poker, and Let It Ride.
Ted
Look me up on Lasvegasadvisor.com with a Private message, I will fill you in on
the comps situation.
I’m so glad I found this guide.
This will give me something to memorize and practice when I’m bored with Chinese.
I’m planning on trying to implement this strategy at Riverwind Casino to try and earn some extra spending money this semester.
Any general tips? I am by no means a gambler, and have only been through casinos a few times. I’ve been obsessed with Hold ‘em for a couple of years, though, and have recently found profit in picky but aggressive play.
You don’t have to memorize the table, but you can practice. All casinos I’ve been to allow players to use basic strategy cards. If you love poker, you’ll probably find this table game a lot more interesting than blackjack. As the only one playing the game properly, you’ll find that basic strategy for this game makes pretty interesting table talk. If you keep to the minimum bet, with a sufficient bankroll, you’ll find the game extremely cheap entertainment. Have fun and teach others!
Steve,
I assume I have been talking to you at Harrahs Rincon. Tuesday the 12th?
Just checking your site for more info.
Tom Retired navy dude.
Yep, that’s me. Commit the 4x raising hands to memory, and the rest is easy! Play using basic strategy, and you’ll log more winning sessions. (Did you say you never log a win?) See you this weekend out at Harrah’s.
This is such a fun game that I love it so much. I have visisted casino so freguently in the past 6 months, just to play this game. With minimum bet $5, I found out it is fun and relaxed. However I lost almost $1,500 at Mandalay Bay during X-Mas 2009. Its dealrs just kept having impossible hands and killed me and everyone. I agree with Stephenhow’s strategy. I do not place more wager on trip than ante. I also use 3x bet on certain hole cards such as pair 4,5 6.
What’s more important about playing pocket 3’s, 4’s, and 5’s is to ask around how many of you outs are gone. I’ll post information about this shortly (probably my next post).
My wife is big into penny slot’s so she drag’s me to casino a lot (Oklahoma). I always found it difficult to gamble but I found this game two weeks ago and played it twice and really enjoyed it. Trying to follow your rules seemed to work, sat at table for 4 plus hours holding my own. A lot longer than I ever did playing Black Jack. Sat at table with $50 with $2 ante towards end of night was playing $5.
Did see a number of other players getting burned pretty bad. They seemed to be placing too much value on trips bet and I lead on the 4X betting.
What to you mean “ask around how many of your outs are gone?” House seems to be open about handling of cards, but I thought you had to keep your cards hidden from other players.
There’s a lot of ways to discretely collude. I find it manageable with 3-4 players, and if I sit on an end, its easy for me to flash my cards. If the other players are in-the-know, they’ll just chime in if they have your cards copied. Then I’ll know what to do. If you look at my Practical Collusion for UTH post, you’ll see how powerful sharing card info is.
Steve,
Went to Harrahs FRI and SAT.
Missed you at the table.
Kept the cheat sheet in my pocket for reference on preflop bets.
Spent a total of 24 hors at the table and won a few bucks. I was only behind once for about $75,
Hope to see you soon.
Tom (retired navy)
Cool! I finally got there yesterday (Sun afternoon), and the dealer (Suei) told me you played with the Basic Strategy card all day and night, and did fine. I ended up perfectly even after about 4 hours of play myself. Good job! Now, we’ll get better at colluding!
I booked rooms for thu and Fri.
Hope to see you there
I am becoming more and more suspicious of those “random” shuffle machines employed almost all casinos. Especially in games like let it ride where an inordinate number of low cards are dealt while the face cards are buried at the bottom, and what other posters have said about the hold em games setting you up. The starting deal for the cards in the hold em game should vary everytime by a roll of the dice, not with the player in 1st base every time. anyone who doesn’t think that with only a modest amount of computer help these shuffle can’t set the deck in favor of the house is awfully trusting of the casino industry…I’ve given up table games for poker and I am glad I did…
I tend to trust the games, but I wish every casino would simply cut the deck out of the shuffling machine, and deal out hands one card at a time. They do this at one of my local casinos (Harrah’s Rincon). If they simply did this, there’d be no argument over fairness, no suspicion. What’s worse, the new Dealer Bluff game uses hardware to read all the hands out of the shuffler, then uses software to make the dealer bet. Every time I play the game, this discussion comes up, and there’s usually a very irate player. They really need to cut the deck. Geez, even a magician will do it.
On the other hand, there’s a rational argument to why the game is fair using these shufflers, even without a dealer cut. The individual casino cannot “fix” the game, and tampering of the game would have to be implemented by ShuffleMaster, since they provide all the equipment. There’s almost certainly no hardware in the shufflers to arrange cards, since it’d be visible by inspection, and many people (gaming commission, techs, floormen, dealers, and even players) see the insides of the shufflers quite frequently (think jam). The hardware consists of a wheel-like device with many slots for holding cards as they’re randomly shuffled in. If there was any engineered-in ability to arrange the cards, it would be practically impossible to keep secret (somebody along the line would leak it, or blackmail over it, or exploit it). Since ShuffleMaster’s viability is dependent upon its reputation, it’s unlikely they’d risk everything on rigging a game with a house edge. I’m pretty sure it’s been demonstrated time and again that a fair casino is a license to print money (watch people check their monsters in UTH).
Still, I think the casino just needs to cut the deck out of the shuffler. I guess they think they can get a few more hands per hour if the dealer just places cards, instead of actually dealing them. Well, there’s a bright side to this — they can design the game for a lower per-hand house edge if they can increase the table hold with a higher hand rate.
Just got my win/loss statement from Harrahs.
According to them I lost $400 last year on the tables.
YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME!!!!!!!!!
According to my records I lost $15000
I lose more than $400 in a session sometimes and I have NEVER left the casino winners.
Called my casino host and was told to ask before leaving the table what they have me down for.
I guess just because you are a $5 bettor (which is a joke as it usually is at least $10 even if you fold) you are not important.
I totled up our losses for the last 3 years according to THEIR records and we are out $75K.
Lost $10K already this year. Might have to change casinos.