Strategy for Ultimate Texas Hold’em

Texas Hold'em, Cards, Chips, Table, Dealer

Texas Hold’em poker is arguably one of the most popular card games in the world. You can play it at land-based casinos or online with live dealers, and developing a strategy will greatly improve your odds of winning.

In this article, however, I’m going to focus on Ultimate Texas Hold’em, which is a variation of the game. The main difference is that instead of going up against other players, you’re competing with the dealer.

I want to discuss the best Ultimate Texas Hold’em strategy and cover some of the basics of the game. This article also includes information on the rules and the house edge.

Ultimate Texas Hold’em Rules and House Edge

The rules of Texas Hold’em are fairly simple. You begin by placing the ante bet and a blind bet before you’re dealt two cards face down. The dealer also receives two cards face down.

You then will look at your cards and decide if you want to continue playing the hand (you can make what’s called a “play” wager that must be three or four times the ante).

Tip:

You can also choose to check, which allows you to continue playing your hand. However, you’re also not increasing the pot, which means that you’re not maximizing the amount of money you could win with your good hands.

The dealer then overturns three cards (known as the flop), at which point you can make another bet that doubles the ante. Again, you can also choose to check, which also allows you to continue playing your hand.

The dealer will then overturn two more cards, known as the turn and river. You’ll then have one last opportunity to either place a bet that’s equal to the ante or fold your cards.

The game also has what’s known as the “house edge,” which is a built-in mathematical advantage that every casino has over the players. You can always mitigate house edge by implementing the best possible strategy for Ultimate Texas Hold’em.

Note:

The house edge is roughly 2.2% of your ante bet in Ultimate Texas Hold’em, but it decreases to 0.50% for all of your bets combined.

This means that, on average, you’ll lose $2.20 for every $100 that you bet on the ante. This is a pretty low number, especially compared to other popular casino games. You need an optimal Ultimate Texas Hold’em strategy to reach that number, though.

Ultimate Texas Hold’em isn’t available everywhere because it has such a low house edge. However, the best online casinos offer this game and other variations of casino poker, which I encourage you to check out.

Basic Strategy for Ultimate Texas Hold’em

Before you begin gambling with real money, you should learn the basic strategy for Ultimate Texas Hold’em. Sticking to the fundamentals will go a long way in terms of improving your odds of winning.

Here are my best tips for beginners.

  • Use Bonuses and Promotions: You can make the most of your bankroll by taking advantage of special offers. Welcome bonuses and other promotions can improve your returns significantly.
  • Play at the Best Casinos: The best online casinos have all the accommodations to satisfy your betting needs. I advise that you explore all of your options and make use of multiple online casinos at once.
  • Manage Your Bankroll: Most bettors don’t have unlimited money to spend on playing Ultimate Texas Hold’em online. That’s why managing your bankroll is important.
  • Know When to Walk Away: Don’t allow your emotions to get the best of you. Gambling when you’re upset is a recipe for disaster. Furthermore, we’ve all been victims of losing streaks, so you should always try to recognize when things aren’t going your way.

I also recommend that you study the pay table for Ultimate Texas Hold’em. Here’s what each hand will typically earn you in terms of payouts.

Your HandPayout
Royal Rush500 to 1
Straight Flush50 to 1
4 of a Kind10 to 1
Full House3 to 1
Flush3 to 2
StraightEven Money
Any Other HandPush (Lose Your Chips)

Again, pay tables will vary from casino to casino, especially when it comes to trips bets. This is a type of side wager where you’ll need a hand that’s a three-of-a-kind or better to win.

Advanced Ultimate Texas Hold’em Strategy

In terms of having a reliable strategy in Ultimate Texas Hold’em, it all comes down to knowing when to raise or not. Keep in mind that the dealer never folds their hand, so raising the pot won’t discourage them in any way.

With that in mind, here’s what you need to do in the different stages of the hand.

Hole Card Strategy

Your first decision has to do with your hole cards. The main thing to remember is that you’ll raise less often with lower-ranking cards.

You should raise whenever you have a pair that’s better than 2s. When you have a King as one of your hole cards, don’t raise if the other cards are a 2, 3, or 4 (unless both hole cards are the same suit).

If you have a Queen, avoid raising if the other hole card is a 5 or lower. If the other hole card is a 6 or 7, make sure it’s the same suit as the queen for you to raise. When one of your hole cards is a Jack, you should only raise if you have an 8 or 9 of the same suit or a 10 and up.

Keep in mind that these are the only hand hands that you should raise and everything else you should merely check.

Flop Strategy

With two pairs or better, you’ll always raise on the flop. You’ll also raise if your pair involves one of your hole cards (except for 2s). Finally, you should raise when you’re only one card away from a flush, and one of the hole cards is a 10 or higher of that suit. Check on every other hand.

Turn and River Strategy

Raising becomes a lot more seldom once you get past the flop. You’re only going to raise on a pair or better with one of your cards in the hole. Now, you have to think about the different hands that the dealer could potentially have.

Warning:

If the cards that make up the flop, turn, and river create a lot of possible winning hands for the dealer, you should fold. Make sure that you’re considering all the possible combinations they could have.

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Petko Stoyanov
Get in touch with Petko
About Petko Stoyanov
My name is Petko Stoyanov, and I've been a gambling writer for more than ten years. I guess that was the natural path for me since I've loved soccer and card games for as long as I can remember! I have a long and fairly successful history with English Premier League betting and online poker, but I follow many other sports. I watch all big European soccer leagues, basketball, football, and tennis regularly, and I keep an eye on snooker, volleyball, and major UFC events.