This is the first in a series of online poker site reviews, and I chose UltimateBet because it is the site I have the most experience with. These reviews are designed to not only review the site in general, but to give you a sense of how one specific site can cater to your needs much more than another can. For example, some sites’ tournament structures are different than others, and your task is to find which structure you are most comfortable with.
The first thing you’ll notice when you sit down at the tables is the clarity of UltimateBet’s graphics and their smooth animations. The gameplay itself is a very pleasant experience, although losing money still sucks despite the great interface.
An image of the table layout can be found here.
An image of the UB lobby can be found here.
The biggest knock on UB, and one that I have found myself to be a problem, is the customer service. It sucks, and has sucked for a long time. If you have any financial problems on that site, you will have to wait for a long time to get your problems resolved. Email communication is impossible, as emails get returned that are so generic in nature they may as well be automated.
The table games at UltimateBet used to be filled with very tight players, but as time has progressed and this new wave of players have come to the forefront, these tables have become a bit more loose. On the whole, however, I think UltimateBet’s players are still a bit more tight than most of its’ competition. The table game selection is very good, with just about every limit represented, along with a strong selection of no limit games. A knock on UB, however, is the fact that they can’t pull any kind of poker player besides Holdem players. This is reflected in their other games. While their selection is decent, almost no one is making use of those tables.
As for their tournaments, the selection could be better. UB carries far too many satellites and turbo tournaments, offering their players very few opportunities to play in a regular cash tournament. One good thing about UB tournaments, however, is the fact that their blind structure caters to a player like myself. Their blind structure goes up every 12 minutes (every 15 for a $100+ tournament), and the blinds increase at a reasonable rate. I feel like for a tight player, this is the best structure you will find, period. You typically have enough time to pick your spots, and against an aggressive table, that extra time can become very valuable.
UltimateBet’s SNG selection isn’t too bad at all, with 6 and 10 man SNG’s running from $1 to $500 at all times. The structure is very comparable to the MTTs, with the blinds in SNG’s typically going up every 10 minutes. One thing that UB doesn’t have much of, or much interest in for that matter, is Multi-Table SNGs. Their multi-table SNGs end after the $20 level, and very little interest can be created with the MT SNG’s even at the lower levels.
All in all, I really do feel that this is the best site to play if you are a tight poker player. If you can stay away from any problems with the site and find a couple tournaments a day that fit in with your bankroll, I highly recommend giving them a try. They run a 100% first deposit bonus, but unfortunately, the way they run their bonus dollars program is a bit absurd. Even so, I still think it’s worth a shot, and if as a tight player you still don’t like it, I think Full Tilt might not be a bad call. That will be the next in a long line of poker room reviews coming at you in the near future.
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