Ultimate Texas Hold’em

The game of Ultimate Texas Hold’em is a California game and utilizes a player-dealer position. The player-dealer shall collect all losing wagers, pay all winning wagers, and may not win or lose more than the original amount wagered. Once the player-dealer’s wager has been exhausted, the wagers not covered by the player-dealer shall be returned to the respective players. The gambling enterprise does not participate in the actual play of the game and has no interest in the outcome of the play.

Object of the Game

The object of the game is for each player to form a five-card hand that ranks higher than the
player-dealer’s hand.

Players and the player-dealer each receive two cards. They combine them with five community
cards to make their best five-card hand. Ultimate Texas Hold’em lets players bet aggressively.
The earlier they bet, the more they can risk and win.

    • If players bet pre-flop, they may bet three times or four times their Ante.
    • If they bet on the flop, they may bet two times their Ante.
    • If they wait until the river, when all community cards are out, they may only bet the same amount as their Ante.

This game also features optional bonus bets:

  • Trips Bonus Bet – players win the Trips Bonus Bet if their final five-card hand is Three of a Kind or higher.
  • Bad Beat Bonus Bet – players win the Bad Beat Bonus Bet if either the player or playerdealer is beaten by Three of a Kind or better.

Description of the Deck and Number of Decks Used

  • Physical Characteristics: Cards shall be in standard decks of fifty-two cards.
  • Number of Decks: Cards shall be played with two alternating decks, each consisting of
    fifty-two cards with backs of the same design.
    • The backs of the cards of the two decks are of different color;
    • One deck will be shuffled by the automated card shuffling device while the other
      deck is being dealt or used to play the game;
    • Both decks will be continuously alternated in and out of play, with each deck being
      used for every other round of play; and
    •  The cards from only one deck shall be placed in the discard rack at any given time.

Card Values and Hand Rankings
The rank of the cards used in Ultimate Texas Hold’em, for the purpose of determining a winning hand shall be in order of highest to lowest rank, shall be: ace, king, queen, jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2. All suits shall be considered equal in rank. The ace would be considered low any time the ace begins a Straight or a Straight Flush.

The ranking of Hands for Ultimate Texas Hold’em in order from the highest to the lowest rank, shall be:

Ultimate Texas Hold’em Hand Rankings

Royal Flush :

A hand that consists of an ace, king, queen, jack and 10 of the same suit

Straight Flush :

A hand that consists of five cards of the same suit in consecutive ranking. A king, queen, jack, 10 and 9 is the highest ranked Straight Flush and a 5, 4, 3, 2 and ace is the lowest ranked Straight Flush.

Four of a Kind :

A hand that consists of five cards of the same suit in consecutive ranking. A king, queen, jack, 10 and 9 is the highest ranked Straight Flush and a 5, 4, 3, 2 and ace is the lowest ranked Straight Flush.

Full House :

A hand that consists of a Three of a Kind and a Pair. Three aces and two
kings is the highest ranked Full House and three 2s and two 3s is the
lowest ranked Full House.

Flush :

A hand that consists of five cards of the same suit, but not in consecutive ranking. An ace, king, queen, jack and 9 is the highest ranked Flush and a 7, 5, 4, 3 and 2 is the lowest ranked Flush.

Straight :

A hand that consists of five cards that are in consecutive ranking, but not the same suit. An ace, king, queen, jack and 10 is the highest ranked Straight and a 5, 4, 3, 2 and ace is the lowest ranked Straight.

Three of a Kind :

A hand that consists of three cards of the same rank. Three aces is the highest ranked Three of a Kind and three 2s is the lowest ranked Three of a Kind.

Two Pairs :

A hand that consists of two Pairs. Two aces and two kings is the highest ranked Two Pairs and two 3s and two 2s is the lowest ranked Two Pairs.

One Pair :

A hand that consists of two cards of the same rank. Two aces is the highest ranked Pair and two 2s is the lowest ranked Pai

High Card :

A hand that consists of five cards that do not make any of the hands listed above. An ace, king, queen, jack and 9 is the highest ranked High Card hand and 7, 5, 4, 3 and 2 the lowest ranked High Card hand.

Ultimate Texas Hold’em Hand Rankings

Ultimate Texas Hold’em shall be played on a table having six places on one side for the players
and the player-dealer and a place for the house dealer on the opposite side of the table. Each Ultimate Texas Hold’em table shall have a drop box attached to it. The cloth layout covering the table shall bear an inscription to the effect that the “Player-Dealer Only Plays With a Pair or Higher.”

The wagering areas shall be designated as follows:

  • For Ante wagers, the word “Ante”
  • For Blind wagers, the word “Blind”
  • For Play wagers, the word “Play”
  • For Trips Bonus Bet, the word “Trips”; and
  • or Bad Beat Bonus Bet, the words “Bad Beat”

Dealing Procedures and Round of Play

All wagers for Ultimate Texas Hold’em shall be made by placing gaming chips on the appropriate betting areas of the table layout, keeping in mind the table minimum and maximum wagering limits.

  1. Third Party Providers of Proposition Player Services, as defined in Section 19984 of the California Business and Professions Code, are permitted to play.
  2. Backline betting is allowed on any wager.
  3. Before the first card is dealt in a round, each player shall make either:
    1. An equal wager in the “Ante” and “Blind” circles; or
    2. An equal wager in the “Ante” and “Blind” circles and a “Trips” Bonus Bet or
    3. An equal wager in the “Ante” and “Blind” circles and a “Trips” Bonus Bet and a “Bad Beat” Bonus Bet.
  4. Immediately before the start of each round of play and after all Ante and Blind wagers, Trips and Bad Beat Bonus Bets have been made, the house dealer shall:
    1. Call “No more bets”. No bets shall be made, increased, or withdrawn after the dealer has announced, “No more bets;” and then
    2. Starting on their left and continuing clockwise around the table, deal the cards.
  5. All cards shall be dealt face down
    1. When a card shoe is used the cards shall be dealt as follows:
      1. One card to each wagering area containing an Ante and Blind wagers and then one card to the player-dealer; followed by
      2. A further card to each such wagering area and the player-dealer, so each player and the player-dealer have two cards each; followed by
      3. Five community cards in the center of the table dealt face down.
  1. When an automatic shuffler is used the cards shall be dealt as follows:
    1. Two cards at a time to each wagering area containing an Ante and Blind wagers; followed by
    2. Two cards to the player-dealer; followed by
    3. Five community cards in the center of the table dealt face down.
  1. After the cards have been dealt and delivered to each player and the player-dealer, the dealer shall unload the remaining cards in the shuffler and place them into the discard rack without exposing the cards.
    1. When handling the cards, players shall at all times ensure that the cards remain on or above the area of the table. The cards must not be removed from the table.
  2. After the dealing procedures above have been completed, each player shall examine their cards and decide whether to check (do nothing) or to make a Play wager three or four times the value of their Ante wager. Once a player bets, he/she cannot bet again and they cannot change their bet.
  3. When players have made their Play wagers (if any), the house dealer shall proceed to turn over the first three community cards.
  4. Players who have not already made a Play wager may decide to either check again or to make a Play wager two times the value of their Ante wager.
  5. The house dealer shall proceed to turn over the remaining two community cards (the turn and the river).
  6. When all five community cards are revealed, players who have not yet made a Play wager can either fold or make a Play wager equal to the value of their Ante wager.
  7. A player who decides to fold shall place their cards face down on the table. The house dealer shall then, in relation to each player who has folded:
    1. Collect the Ante and Blind wagers, any Trips Bonus Bet (if the hand is not a Three of a Kind or better) and Bad Beat Bonus Bet on behalf of the player-dealer;
    2. Take the player’s cards and individually spread out the cards, face down, and count them; and
    3. Place the cards in the discard rack.
  8. For all remaining players, the house dealer will turn over the player-dealer’s two cards.
  9. Each player and the player-dealer’s two cards will be combined with three of the five community cards to make the best five-card poker hand.
  10. The action on payouts will always begin with the player to the left of the player-dealer position and continue clockwise.
  11. All wagers shall be settled from seat to seat in the following order: Ante wager, Play wager, Blind wager, Trips Bonus Bet, and then the Bad Beat Bonus Bet.
  12. Once the player-dealer’s wager has been exhausted, the wagers not covered by the player-dealer shall be returned to the respective players.

How Winners are Determined and Paid

Once the hands have been completed, according to the guidelines above, the player’s wagers are settled. The following shall apply when determining whether the player wins, loses or pushes.

The player-dealer does not qualify when the player-dealer does not have a pair or higher, the house dealer reconciles the hands of those players who remain in the game in the following way (NOTE: Ultimate Texas Hold’em handles qualifying differently than other games when the dealer does not qualify, it is not an automatic win for the player):

 

  1. Starting with the player on the player-dealer’s left, the house dealer shall:
    1. Expose each player’s cards, signal a push for the Ante and return the Ante wager to each player that did not fold;
    2. Resolve the Play, Blind, and Trips Bonus Bet normally (see below “When player dealer qualifies”);
    3. Collect the Bad Beat Bonus Bet; and
    4. Collect, count and place the player’s cards in the discard holder.
 

The player-dealer qualifies when the player-dealer’s hand has a poker value of a pair or higher, the house dealer reconciles the hands of those players who remain in the game in the following way:

  1. Starting with the player to the left of the player-dealer, the house dealer will:
    1. Bring the player’s cards into the “work area” between the player-dealer’s hand and the Trips Bonus Bet area and reveal the player’s cards;
    2. Determine the player’s best five-card poker hand utilizing any of the seven cards available (player’s two hole cards and five community cards);
    3. Compare the player’s hand with the player-dealer; and announce the value of the player’s hand and whether it wins or loses.
  2. A player’s hand shall:
    1. Win if it has a higher poker value than the player-dealer’s hand;
    2. Lose if it has a lower poker value than the player-dealer’s hand;
    3. Constitute a push if it has a poker value equal to the player-dealer’s hand.
    4. If a player wins with less than a Straight, the Blind wager pushes.
  3. If a player’s hand loses, the house dealer shall:
    1. Collect on behalf of the player-dealer, in order, the Play, Ante and Blind wagers;
    2. Determine whether the Trips Bonus Bet qualifies and pay accordingly on behalf of the player-dealer or collect the wager on behalf of the player-dealer;
    3. Determine whether the Bad Beat Bonus Bet qualifies and pay accordingly on behalf of the player-dealer or collect the wager on behalf of the player-dealer; and
    4. Collect, count and place the player’s cards in the discard holder.
  4. If a player’s hand wins, the house dealer shall on behalf of the player-dealer:
    1. Pay the Ante and Play Bets on the hand on behalf of the player-dealer at 1 to 1;
    2. Pay the Blind Bet if the hand is a Straight or better on behalf of the player-dealer;
    3. Determine whether the Trips Bonus Bet qualifies and pay accordingly on behalf of the player-dealer, see paytable;
    4. Determine whether the Bad Beat Bonus Bet qualifies and pay accordingly on behalf of the player-dealer, see paytable; and
    5. Collect, count and place the player’s cards in the discard holder.
  5. If a player’s hand constitues a push, the house dealer shall:
    1. Pay any Trips Bonus Bet if the hand is a Three of a Kind or better, or collect for the player-dealer if not;
    2. Collect, count and place the player’s cards in the discard holder.
  6. Winning Ante wagers and Play wagers shall be paid 1 to 1.
  7. Winning Blind wager and Trips Bonus Bet shall be paid in accordance with the table below.
  8. Where a player has made a Trips Bonus Bet at the beginning of the round and has received a Three of a Kind or higher, the house dealer shall leave the particular cards face up on the table and those cards shall not be collected or discarded until the payout on the hand has been made.
  9. If the player receives a Three of a Kind or higher, the Trips bonus payouts are made regardless of whether the hand wins, loses, or pushes. (NOTE: If the player has a
  10. Three of a Kind or better, the Trips Bonus Bet always wins – even if the player folds.)

Bonus Bets

Trips Bonus Bet

  • The Trips Bonus Bet is an optional bet for the game of Ultimate Texas Hold’em.
  • The object of the Trips Bonus Bet is to obtain a hand with a Three of a Kind or better, using the player’s two cards and the five community cards.
  • The Trips Bonus Bet must be placed prior to the intial deal.
  • To participate in the Trips Bonus Bet, players must make bets on the Ante and the Blind.
  • Players place their Trips Bonus Bet in the marked circle.
  • See the collection rate schedule for restrictions on the amount that may be wagered and any collection fees taken on the Trips Bonus Bet.
  • If the player’s hand qualifies for a payout, the player is paid by the player-dealer, according to the paytable below.
  • If the player’s hand does not qualify for a Trips Bonus Bet payout, the player-dealer collects the Trips Bonus Bet
  • The Trips Bonus Bet may win or lose regardless of the outcome of the base game wager.
  • Once the player-dealer’s wager has been exhausted, the wagers not covered by the player-dealer will be returned to the players.

Bad Beat Bonus Bet

  • The Bad Beat Bonus Bet is an optional bet for the game of Ultimate Texas Hold’em.
  • Players win if the player and the player-dealer are involved in a bad beat. There are two ways to win:
    • The player has Three of a Kind or better and loses to the player-dealer.
    • The player beats the player-dealer’s hand of Three of a Kind or better, using theplayer’s two cards and the five community cards.
  • To participate in the Bad Beat Bonus Bet, players must make bets on the Ante and the Blind. Players place their Bad Beat Bonus Bet in the marked circle.
  • If the player’s hand qualifies for payouts, the player-dealer pays him according to the paytable below. If the player’s hand does not qualify, the player-dealer collectes the wager and moves on to the next player.
  • If the player-dealer and the player have a five card tie; then the Bad Beat Bonus Bet loses and is collected by the player-dealer.

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