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Table Games Tell me your experiences playing Ultimate Texas Holdem

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rycelover

rycelover

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Heard a podcast the other day posted by the LV Gambler's Book Club, about Kevin Moore an entrepreneur who wrote a book about his experiences playing UTH as a hobby, titled My First 55,000 Hands.

I had never considered playing this carney game before, but will likely add it to my rotation of BJ and Craps after reading up on basic strategy found at wizardofodds.com and reading Moore's book.

Might be a fun diversion. For BJ players who dabble, I'm interested in hearing your thoughts about variance, bankroll and average bet. I usually play with blackchips at a BJ table, but don't think I have the BR for that at UTH; I'll have to start with a $25 ante and $25 blind bet and go to $100 on the 4x play bet.

Any thoughts?
 
My personal suggestion would be to go with $20-$20 & $80 on the 4x, + $5 or $10 on trips... your per-hand average would likely be about $90 or so... and, since that's what you're used to, even the variance shouldn't bug you too much...
Remember this - UTH is one of the few games in Vegas where you & dealer have the exact same chance of winning...there is no house edge inherent in the outcome.
Their advantage comes entirely from the blind-bet and from not paying your ante when they don't qualify... they also have an edge on any trips bet you make.
But in terms of winners & losers? That should shake-out to be roughly 50/50 as you play.
This is why the 4-play is so crucial to success at this game. The "play" bet is a huge player advantage, as the dealer must "call" any bet you make, regardless of the weakness of his hand.
 

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The number of times I have 4x bet with AA or AK or KK or QQ etc and been beat is ridiculous, I'm over this game!
 
makuk - the number of times I've won with a pair of 8s, after betting 4x on a Q-8 has been crazy.
The math is the math...fact is, if you have a J-10, Q-8, K-5 or an Ace, your odds of winning, pre-flop, are greater than the dealer's.
That is the very reason you 4-play those hands.
A good comparison would be soft-doubling an A-6 against a dealer 6.
In blackjack, practically no-one would pass up that double opportunity....but that doesn't guarantee a win anymore than 4-playing your K-5 does... but, in the long run, making those plays will result in your winning more than losing.
 

  • First Night of The Annual Spring Trip! Tue-Thur nights @ the Fremont
There's a very elaborate strategy card for this game. Personally, I think the strategy here is greater and much more enjoyable than your average BJ game. The trips bet is one of the better sucker bets too! And your average hand is higher while having pretty good odds so the comps come in nicely. Win-win. Unless I'm missing something.
 
There's a decent tutorial on Wizard of Odds YouTube channel. Just search Ultimate Texas Holdem Tutorial on YouTube.
 
Wizard of Odds has a for fun link to play there with 5k in starting chips
 
topcard said:
makuk - the number of times I've won with a pair of 8s, after betting 4x on a Q-8 has been crazy.
The math is the math...fact is, if you have a J-10, Q-8, K-5 or an Ace, your odds of winning, pre-flop, are greater than the dealer's.
That is the very reason you 4-play those hands.
A good comparison would be soft-doubling an A-6 against a dealer 6.
In blackjack, practically no-one would pass up that double opportunity....but that doesn't guarantee a win anymore than 4-playing your K-5 does... but, in the long run, making those plays will result in your winning more than losing.
Click to expand...

I know you're right, I think I recall having a really bad run like this and never played it again! I will give it another go :-)
 
74e5c3c954d0206b4d65973f72c95622.jpg


Here is the strategy card from WOO.

Be prepared to get dumb comments going 4xs with A2 off, esp if you lose...

I used to not play trips [got quads once] boo... but now I. Play trips, only if it is one of the following paytables..

9/7/4 [dream on] .09% he
8/6/5 [1.9% he] not sure if this exists
8/7/4 [3.4% he] more common.

Anything worse I don't play trips bet. 3% on a carney side bet isn't bad imo.
 
makuk said:
I know you're right, I think I recall having a really bad run like this and never played it again! I will give it another go :-)
Click to expand...
Variance on this game can be a bitch for sure, esp if you miss you 4xs bets more than you hit.
 
At a $5 table what would be the recommended buy-in to give this game a try?
 
LV_Bound said:
At a $5 table what would be the recommended buy-in to give this game a try?
Click to expand...

$200 should suffice unless you really run bad, $300 would be ideal, especially if you're going to play the trips bet.
 
Pretty much what I buy in for. I play $5

Test out br at WOO. They they a practice game there
 
grosx2 said:
$200 should suffice unless you really run bad, $300 would be ideal, especially if you're going to play the trips bet.
Click to expand...
That buy-in is very doable, thanks.
May have to give this a try next trip.
 
makuk said:
The number of times I have 4x bet with AA or AK or KK or QQ etc and been beat is ridiculous, I'm over this game!
Click to expand...
Last trip I played at the Orleans $5 table for less than 30 minutes.
Got a pair of Aces twice and I was the only one got a pair of Aces.
Both times the board had garbage. Surprisingly each time the dealer turned up two stupid small cards
match the board to make two pairs and beat me.
And I lost my $200 buy-in in less then 30 minutes playing $5.
 
Yeah stringing together a few 4x losses can drain the bankroll in a hurry.
 
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