Ultimate Bet for Mac, now known as UB, is the flagship skin of the new CEREUS Poker Network. Online home of poker legends Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth, UB serves a large player base including Americans. UltimateBet has been criticized recently for inadequate security and customer support but has promised to improve all components of the site since their union with the CEREUS poker network.

Being affiliated with Hellmuth and Duke was quite useful when legislation looking to shut down American Poker Online was passed in 2006. Having two of the most admired American poker players on their side definitely swayed UB%u2019s choice to continue with open doors to American poker players. You can also make use of them by checking out some of UB%u2019s poker video content.

Remaining open for US business was a very good choice as their traffic has seen an increase in recent years along with UltimateBet%u2019s sister-skin, Absolute Poker, thanks to being one of the few us poker sites. American players have been lucky that online poker sites like UltimateBet, Absolute Poker, PokerStars.com, and Full Tilt have stayed true to American Poker Online.

The UltimateBet.com initial deposit bonus of 111% for up to $1,100 is one of the largest promotions found at online poker rooms today. By entering the bonus code FTRBONUS when signing up at UltimateBet.com, you will receive the maximum possible bonus in addition to entry into monthly freerolls and money-added tournaments. The $5 buy-in FTR5 is a money-added tournament with $300 added to the prize pool. A bonus this size comes with a few stipulations. In order to clear this bonus, poker players must participate in real money ring games, multi-table tourneys, and SNG%u2019s. Paying rake in ring games and fees in tournaments/SNGs will generate Status Points that are needed to clear your bonus. For every 20 Status Points a player gains he/she will release $1 of their bonus. The bonus is cleared in multiples of $5 which means the full bonus amount need not be cleared to receive any money, simply earn 100 Status Points and your account will be credited with $5. This bonus is pretty difficult to clear and players must clear the bonus within 60 days from the date of their initial deposit to do so.

Those playing at UB will immediately notice their large variety of stakes and games. A selection comparable with the best online poker sites around. Ring game levels start as low as $0.01/$0.02 blinds and work their way way up to $200/$400 with antes. Players can choose from Hold %u2018Em, Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, Stud, Stud Hi/Lo, Razz, and HORSE. From the micros to the midstakes, the games get plenty of action up to $5/$10 blinds. Players looking for higher stakes games will most likely need to search at another poker site as the heads-up games are typically regulars waiting for fish.

UB%u2019s tourney schedule is highlighted by the weekly $200,000 Guarantee which is played every Sunday. The $215 buy-in tourney generally fills the 1,000 players necessary to reach its guarantee. The UBOC (Ultimate Bet Online Poker Championship) is a huge series with multiple million-dollar prizes such as the $1,000 buy-in Main Event. Players with smaller bankrolls will find many tournaments from as small as a quarter to choose from throughout the day. Their SNG%u2019s come in a wide selection of games, stakes, and formats. From $0.10 to $5,000, all players are certainly covered. The more frequented games tend to be their heads-up format of all buy-in levels and 1-table SNG%u2019s from $5 to $20. UB also has Stud and Omaha SNG%u2019S but neither gets a lot of traffic.

UltimateBet has been known for having the best Mac poker sites software of all the online poker sites. They have recently upgraded their lobby and tables to make the games run much faster. The lobby features tabs at the top of the window to assist players trying to navigate through games, stakes, and formats. Players looking for a more personalized experience can use the lobby filter to focus on your games/stakes even more. For a long time it was impossible to resize or %u201Ctile%u201D tables; however, UB has recently upgraded their software to allow tables to be sized small enough to fit nine on a screen without any overlap.

With a monster 111% return on all first-time deposits for a maximum of $1100 extra dollars (with a deposit of $1000), Ultimate Bet for Mac clearly proposes a great bonus opportunity for new poker players. The only thing you have to do is type in the UB referral code of FTR111 when you make your initial deposit. It's important to understand the procedures behind how you're going to obtain your UB bonus.

You have to always think of how much you have to bet to get that money, what amounts you receive the cash in, and the time there is before the additional offer expires, so you can measure it against the other top texas holdem sites out there.

Here's the base info. When you make your initial real-money deposit, UBPoker gives you bonus dollars equal to 111% of the cash you banked, up to $1100. But these additional dollars are not yet "released." In order to let go bonus dollars, you need to get Status Points. This can only be done playing poker hands in real currency poker games and tournaments, just like at all of the other US friendly poker sites.

For every 20 Status Points you obtain, $1 of your bonus cash is "given out." Any time $5 of your extra cash is released, so any time you get 100 status points, you get a deposit of $5 into your account. If you make an initial deposit of $1000 (and thus $1100 of bonus dollars), you need to earn 22,000 status points to let go of the full $1100. Here's the kicker %u2013  you are only allowed 60 days to clear all of your additional dollars before you forfeit the ones that stay unreleased.

You might be asking how Status Points are accumulated? In contrast to some online poker sites, the algorithm UB Poker uses is quite frank. For tournaments, you win one status point for any $0.30 of entry fee (so in a $30+3 tournament, you'd obtain 10 status points). For cash games, you obtain Status Points according to how high stakes it is. UB provides a chart for your use at http://www.ultimatebet.com/raise-loyalty/earn-climb/status-points, or you can just use this one:


No Limit

$0.01/0.02 - 1 point apiece per 15 hands

$0.02/0.04 - 1 point apiece per 10 hands

$0.05/0.10 - 1 point per 10 hands

$0.10/0.25 - 1 point apiece per 5 hands

$0.25/0.50 - 1 point for every 3 hands

$0.50/1.00 - 1 point for every 2 hands

$1.00/2.00 - 1 point per hand

$2.00/4.00 through $5.00/10.00 - 1.5 points per hand

$10.00/20.00 and higher - 2 points apiece per hand


Limit

$0.01/0.02 - 1 point apiece per 20 hands

$0.02/0.04 - 1 point for each 20 hands

$0.05/0.10 - 1 point apiece per 15 hands

$0.10/0.20 - 1 point for each 15 hands

$0.25/0.50 - 1 point for each 10 hands

$0.50/1.00 - 1 point apiece per 5 hands

$1.00/2.00 - 1 point for every 2 hands

$2.00/4.00 - 1 point for each hand

$3.00/6.00 - 1.5 points apiece per hand

$4.00/8.00 and up - 2 points for each hand


So, for example, you'd have to play 22,000 hands of $1.00/2.00 no-limit poker within 60 days to clear the total $1100 UB bonus. If you're playing for lower stakes like $0.10/0.25, you'd want to  110,000 hands. If you think that you can do this, then Ultimate Bet clearly proposes the best bonus option for you. If you can only participate in, say 4,000 hands of $1.00/2.00 in that time, you'll most likely only receive closer to $200 of extra cas - which is still good. The really good news is, because you get the bonus in $5 increments, you can put in as much as you desire and not really have to worry about losing it. You just won't get as much free money as you could have if you had otherwise done it the other way, but it's still a good option.

UB Poker also frequently presents bonus dollars for other occasions, to keep you depositing cash into your real-money account. As far as bonus programs go, theirs is one of the most inclusive of all mac poker sites.