Ultimate Texas Hold'em

Ultimate Texas Hold'em is a house-banked hold'em game in which the player posts two equal mandatory bets, the Ante and the Blind, and then chooses when to raise. The raise may be made before the flop at four times the ante, after the flop at two times, or after the river at one time — and the earlier it is made, the larger it may be. A player who never raises must fold at the end and loses both mandatory bets. That descending schedule is the whole strategic shape of the game. Waiting for more information costs raising power, so strong starting hands are meant to be raised at 4x immediately rather than checked into a cheaper raise later. Two rules govern settlement. The dealer qualifies with a pair or better; if the dealer does not qualify, the Ante is returned rather than paid. The Blind pays only on a straight or better, on a fixed ladder that commonly runs 1 to 1 for a straight, 3 to 2 for a flush, 3 to 1 for a full house, 10 to 1 for four of a kind, 50 to 1 for a straight flush and 500 to 1 for a royal flush; on anything below a straight the Blind pushes even when you win the hand. The house edge is about 2.2 percent of the ante, which is nearer 0.5 percent measured against the total staked across ante, blind and raise.