Ultimate Texas Hold’em Game Guide
★ Very low house edge of 0.53%
★ Exciting alternative to blackjack
★ Payouts of up to 500/1 for a royal flush
Ultimate Texas Hold’em is an exciting live poker casino game where you go head-to-head against the dealer.
Unlike many casino games, you can make decisions as the game develops, making it a thrilling game to try.
Read on to learn how to play Ultimate Texas Hold’em, the payouts, and what strategy to use.
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How to play Ultimate Texas Hold’em
Ultimate Texas Hold’em, also referred to online as Extreme Texas Hold’em, is a card game between you and the dealer in which the aim is to create the best five-card hand according to standard poker hand rankings.

Gameplay is like this. The player places a blind bet and an ante bet of the same stake before any cards are dealt.
Then you are dealt two cards, the dealer is dealt two cards face-down, and two possible scenarios play out.
Firstly, you have the opportunity to bet 3X or 4X your ante stake. This will depend on the strength of your hand. You also have the option to check – not bet at all.
If you check, the dealer will now deal three community cards face up (the flop), and you have another betting opportunity. This time you can choose to bet 2X your ante amount or check again.
If you check again, the fourth and fifth cards are dealt, and there is a final betting opportunity. Now you can only bet 1X your ante bet. If you don’t want to bet, you must fold. Folding means you lose all your bets.
If you had bet pre-flop, then the dealer deals all five community cards in one go and there are no more betting opportunities.
While it may seem complicated, just remember you can only bet once on your hand after the initial ante and blind bet have been placed. All bets made after the initial ante and blind bets are called play bets.
How to remember your raise options
A quick way to remember what you can do is this:
- Make a 3X or 4X raise – after your first two cards have been dealt only.
- Do a 2X raise – only after the flop if you have not previously raised.
- Make a 1X raise – only after all five cards have been dealt and you’ve not previously raised.
When all cards are dealt, the position with the best hand using any combination of the two hole cards and five community cards wins. The dealer must have a pair or better to qualify.
Dealer no pair gameplay
Here are the possible outcomes if the dealer does not have at least a pair:
- Ante bets are a push – returned to the player
- If the player’s hand is better than the dealer’s, the blind and play bets are paid out.
- The player’s hand is worse than the dealer’s, the blind and play bets are lost.
- If the player and the dealer have an equal hand, the blind and play bets are a push.
Dealer pair gameplay
Now here are the possible outcomes if the dealer does have at least a pair:
- The player’s hand is better than the dealer; ante bet, blind and play bets are paid out.
- The dealer’s hand is superior to the player; ante, blind and play bets are lost.
- If the two hands are of the same value, the ante, blind and play bets are a push.
Ultimate Texas Hold’em payouts
Here is how Ultimate Texas Hold’em bets are settled. Ante bets always pay 1/1.
Blind bets
Hand | Odds |
Royal Flush | 500/1 |
Straight Flush | 50/1 |
Four of a kind | 10/1 |
Full house | 3/1 |
Flush | 1.5/1 |
Straight | 1/1 |
Any other | Bet pushes |
Trips bets
Hand | Odds |
Royal Flush | 50/1 |
Straight Flush | 40/1 |
Four of a kind | 30/1 |
Full house | 8/1 |
Flush | 7/1 |
Straight | 4/1 |
Three of a kind | 3/1 |
Play bets
Action | Play bet | Payout |
Raise 4X | Ante 4X | Ante X4 |
Raise 3X | Ante 3X | Ante X3 |
Raise 2X | Ante 2X | Ante X2 |
Raise 1X | Ante X1 | Ante X1 |
Ultimate Texas Hold’em RTP
Ultimate Texas Hold ’em has an RTP of 99.47%, which is up there with blackjack as the best RTP of popular games you will find at casinos. Only some rare video poker games and a few craps bets have higher RTPs.
Naturally, this high RTP makes Ultimate Texas Hold ’em a fantastic choice – not only a fun game to play with plenty of variety, but it won’t kill your bankroll.
But note that the RTP on the trips bet is only 96.50%, so that’s best avoided. Remember, you only get 50/1 for a royal flush with a trips bet – the obligatory blind bet pays 500/1 for a royal flush.

Ultimate Texas Hold ’em strategy
When played optimally, Ultimate Texas Hold ’em has a house edge of just 0.53%, making it similar to blackjack.
But to get anywhere near that figure, you need to play decent strategy. Here are our top tips, which revolve around maximizing value by making raises when you have certain hands.
As a general rule, a 3X raise should not be used.
When to raise 4X:
- You have an ace
- Any suited king and other card
- Any hand king five or better
- Queen six suited or better
- Queen 8 offsuit or better
- Jack eight suited or better
- Jack 10
- Any pocket pair greater than 2 2
When to raise 2X:
- Any hand with two pair or better
- 4 to a flush when you hold the 10 or better of that suit
- Any pair that uses one of your hole cards, except a pair of twos
When to raise 1X:
- Any pair that uses one of your hole cards
- When fewer than 21 cards can beat you. Work out how many cards can beat you and fold if it’s 21 or more.
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