Ultimate X Poker Online: Video poker is one of those games that experienced gamblers usually feel like they have a pretty good handle on. There are a lot of different games out there, but the process for learning each one is pretty simple: you get a handle on the basic strategy, learn what combinations of cards you should hold, and then get as close to the optimal strategy as possible on machines that use the best pay tables.
Ultimate X Poker Online
But Ultimate X Poker Online is an attempt to add a little bit of complexity and excitement to this well-worn game. In this version of video poker, each machine gives you the opportunity to pay for the chance to get multipliers on your winnings. This feature has the potential to turn winning streaks into huge cashes for lucky players, while also doing just enough to change the math to make these games very different than the basic machines they are based on.
Nine Games, One Theme
Ultimate X Poker Online was created by IGT, and utilizes a format that’s very similar to their popular Triple Play Draw Poker machines. The electronic game actually offers nine different forms of video poker, each of which can be played in standard or Ultimate X modes.
The game selection will be familiar to any casino veteran, as these are some of the biggest titles in the video poker industry. Each of the following can be jumped into from the main menu:
- Jacks or Better
- Bonus Poker
- Bonus Deluxe
- Double Bonus
- Double Double Bonus
- Triple Double Bonus
- Deuces Wild
- Deuces Wild Bonus
- Joker Poker
Ultimate X Poker Online Features
When you first jump into any of these games, you’ll see a familiar interface. Each game is designed to be played in a three-hand multi hand format, where the player is initially dealt five cards. And then, must choose how many of them to hold. Once the player chooses to draw more cards, the held cards will appear in all three hands. However, the newly drawn replacements will be independently determined for each of the three hands. Meaning you can (and often will) get different results on each.
Most of the features are standard for these types of games. You can change the speed of the animations to move through hands more quickly or at a slower pace, and you can use a button to change your bet size. You can also quickly use the “more games” button to move to any of the other games contained in the machine. And, the pay table is never more than a click away.
Multipliers Can Create Huge Wins
The one difference between this and a standard video poker machine is the presence of the Ultimate X Poker Online bonus. By default, the feature is activated, though you have the option of taking it off by clicking the “bonus” button at any time. When this feature is not being used, these machines work exactly like a normal machine, with no surprises.
If you want to play Ultimate X Poker Online, however, you’ll have to pay double your normal bet. If you’re in this mode and you make a winning hand, that hand will then have a multiplier on any winnings on the following deal. The size of these multipliers depends on the game you are playing and the quality of the hand that you made. For instance, in Jacks or Better, the multipliers work as follows:
- Pair of Jacks or Better: 2x
- Two Pair: 3x
- Three of a Kind: 4x
- Straight: 7x
- Flush: 11x
- Full House: 12x
- Four of a Kind or Better: 2x
Remember that these multipliers come on the following hand, not the one you earn them on. They also carry over even if you don’t choose to play the added bet on the following hand. Though you won’t earn any further multipliers unless you go back to paying for the feature.
The Basics of Playing Ultimate X Poker Online
Ultimate X Poker Online: Follows the usual pattern for video poker in general
You insert money into the video poker machine, which is converted into credits based on the denomination of the machine. For example, if you insert $100 into a quarter machine, you have 400 credits. Insert that same $100 into a $5 machine, and you only have 80 credits. The terms “credits” and “coins” used interchangeably. You then decide how many coins to bet on your hand-you can choose 1 coin, 5 coins, or any number of coins in between.
Why the correct strategy is always to make the 5-coin bet?
The payoff for a royal flush is the jackpot. If you bet 1, 2, 3, or 4 coins, the payoff for that hand is either 200 for 1 or 250 for 1, depending on the game. But if you bet 5 coins, the payoff is 800 for 1. That’s a huge difference. A royal flush only comes up once every 40,000 hands or so. But, the difference in payoff is enough that it will subtract 2% or so from the overall payback percentage of the machine. We’ll explain more about payback percentages in the next section. After you choose how many coins to play, the machine “deals” you a 5-card poker hand. You can choose to keep or discard any, all, or none of the cards in your hand. You do this by pushing the “hold” button beneath each card. Or, you can just touch the card on the screen.
Strategy for Ultimate X Poker Online
The machine replaces the cards you’ve discarded, and you win an amount based on the poker hand you’re left with. The machine has a posted pay table which indicates how much each hand is worth. You’ll notice that video poker isn’t like traditional poker because you don’t have to beat another player’s hand. You just get paid based on how good your hand is. You’ll also notice that video poker isn’t like a slot machine, either. The symbols on slot machines are arbitrary with arbitrary probabilities assigned to each of them. A slot machine has a pay table. But, without knowing the probability of getting each symbol, you have no way to calculate the payback percentage or house edge for the game.
With video poker games, including Ultimate X Poker, you know that the probabilities are based on those of a 52-card deck. That’s not enough for the average player to calculate the actual payback percentage for the game. But with a computer, making that calculation is easy. That’s a huge difference, by the way. In one game, you can know what the odds you’re facing are. On the other, you can’t. We always go for a known over an unknown. The wrinkle that Ultimate X Poker adds to this gameplay is the option to double your bet in exchange for a multiplier applied to your winnings.
How that works?
The maximum bet on a normal video poker game is 5 coins. If you bet 5 coins on an Ultimate X game, the game proceeds as if it were a regular video poker game. In fact, depending on the pay table, Ultimate X IS another video poker game. It’s just a video poker game with an optional multiplier you can activate. To activate this multiplier, all you must do is bet 10 coins on the hand instead of 5. This isn’t that innovative a feature, but Ultimate X has a unique way of applying their multiplier. Most video poker games offering multipliers assign a random multiplier. Ultimate X bases the multiplier on the ranking of your final hand.
Here’s an example:
- A royal flush, straight flush, or 4 of a kind results in a 2X multiplier.
- A full house results in a 12X multiplier.
- A flush results in an 11X multiplier.
- A straight results in a 7X multiplier.
- A 3 of a kind results in a 4X multiplier.
- 2 pairs result in a 3X multiplier.
- A pair of jacks or better results in a 2X multiplier.
Ultimate X Poker Online: The Sizes of The Multipliers
We should point out that the sizes of the multipliers vary based on which machine you’re playing. These are just example numbers from a commonly used pay table. It’s also important to point out that these are NOT the payouts for the hands. This is a multiplier applied to the payout you would have had. A royal flush pays off at 800 for 1 normally. In the above example, that hand would pay off at 800 X 2, or 1600.
One of the perks of playing Ultimate X Poker Online is knowing the size of the multipliers. Many video poker games assign multipliers randomly. This converts those games into a slot machine of sorts. Because without knowing how often or when the multipliers applied, you can’t calculate the payback percentage for the machine. But since we know the probability of getting each hand, we also know the probability of getting the multiplier. So, we can calculate what that does to the payback percentage for the game.
Like many video poker variations, the feature of Ultimate X Poker Online sits on top of an existing game variation and pay table. The following games are available in an “Ultimate X version”:
- Deuces (Bonus)
- Bonus Poker
- Bonus Poker Deluxe
- Deuces Wild
- Double Bonus
- Double Double Bonus
- Jacks or Better
- Joker Poker
- Triple Double Bonus
Ultimate X Poker Online: Strategy Can Be Complex
One of the interesting features of this game is how the multipliers can actually impact your strategy when you are deciding which hands to keep. It is rare, but strategy guides for these games note that there are some small deviations that players should make when the average multipliers get beyond a certain point. It’s enough to keep players on their toes at all times while they play.
However, there is one simple strategy tip that’s easy to remember. Recall that we said that your bonuses carry over to your next spin, regardless of whether you take the Ultimate X Poker Online feature on that next play. This means that when you’re ready to wind down your sessions, you should always play your final spin without paying the extra coins for the multiplying feature. The logic is simple: there’s no point paying twice the price for that final spin when you won’t be using the fruits of your efforts anyway. Of course, you could always play until you fail to get any wins when you’re about ready to quit, then stop right there. But, we like the idea of playing your final hand at half price.
And if you’re at a live resort and walk by a bank of these machines, it’s always worth taking a look to see if anyone has left a machine with multiples in play. It’s rare, but if that’s the case, you should clearly jump in and play one spin without paying for the Ultimate X Poker Online feature. You’re basically getting to play a hand of standard video poker with a multiplier on your winnings – that’s more than enough to give you an enormous edge for that one play!
A Great Change of Pace
If you enjoy playing video poker, but have started to find the game a bit stale, then Ultimate X Poker Online might be exactly what you’ve been looking for. The rules are set up to keep the house edge very close to the original games (though with a lot more variance). While still offering up a new strategic challenge and the potential for plenty of added excitement. If you like any of the games contained in this machine, we definitely think you’ll enjoy checking out this “enhanced” version of these classic titles. (Source: Gambling Sites)