Annual UB Online Championship
Saying goodbye to 2010 means saying hello to 2011. It is a great time to play on US friendly poker sites because UBOC 6 is upon us. The latest UB Online Championship has a total of 29 events, all with guaranteed prize pools. There are 29 championship watches up for grabs, and there is even a Tournament of Champions for the winners of UBOC 2010. If you were planning on trying flash Texas Holdem, you might as well take the plunge now!

January 16th is when things kicked off with the NL Holdem Deep Stack event for a buy-in of $530. Yesterday featured the first Omaha event, so you were able to put your skills to the test and see if that free Omaha poker video paid off. If heads-up poker is your specialty, you have Event 13 to look forward to, but register as soon as possible because it won’t be possible to register late for this tourney.

To play in a small field with a giant prize pool, check out the High Roller event on January 23rd. You will find the largest prize pool in the Championship Event, though, which has a $1.05k buy-in. If you are new to the best US poker sites and don’t want to commit to these stakes, you can always play qualifiers to the events. The satellites start as low as 10 cents!

Another solution for people inexperienced with the top Texas Holdem sites is Mini-UBOC. Mini-UBOC has 19 events, too, but the buy-ins are much smaller. These tournaments give you the chance to experience the thrill of making a big final table in UBOC without having to risk a large chunk of your bankroll.

Some people have been waiting all year for UBOC, so fire up UB and join in on the action. If you own an Apple computer, you are in luck because of Ultimate Bet for Mac. Have fun chasing a UBOC watch!

Former UB Professional Annie Duke
Originally this entry was going to describe another UB pro, but today Annie Duke announced that she and UB are parting ways. I will, however, still dedicate this article to her since she was such a prominent UB figure for so long, and also because she still supports US friendly poker sites.

Among the most prominent lady poker pros of this time, Duke won a World Series of Poker bracelet in 2004 in an Omaha event. She was born in New Hampshire and has a brother, a sister, and three children. Her brother supports the Full Tilt download.

Duke promoted UB from 2000 until the end of 2010. Many would agree that she is an excellent tournament player, as she’s cashed over $4 million playing in casinos for USA players. Her most successful cash in the WSOP ME was 10th place in the year 2000. To make it more impressive, she was pregnant with her third kid at the time! She has monied in the WSOP an impressive 37 times for a total of $1.1 million, and in 2004 she won $2 million in the WSOP Tournament of Champions. Earlier this year she was victorious in the National Heads-Up Poker Championship for $500k.

Being female helps but isn’t the sole reason Duke is a famous poker professional. She actually tutored Ben Affleck the year he won the California State Poker Championship back in 2004. It is safe to say that her tutoring was better than any poker video he could have downloaded! She was the first poker player to talk on the Colbert Report, she’s appeared on the show 1 vs 100 three times, and she must like game shows because she also showed up on Deal or No Deal once. She is also well known for participating in Celebrity Apprentice just last year where she came 2nd behind Joan Rivers even after collecting three times more cash for her charity, Refugees International.

Duke proudly supports online casino gambling and player rights. She voices her displeasure with the restriction that people are not allowed to wear sponsorship logos during some live MTTs. Regarding the subject, she boldly said, “We are not even slaves. We're people paying to pick the cotton.” Duke acknowledges the fact she’s one of only a few successful women in poker, but she disagrees with the fact that there are women only tournaments. In her words, "Poker is one of the few sports where a woman can compete on a totally equal footing with a man, so I don't understand why there's a ladies only tournament." It doesn’t come as a surprise that as a result, she refuses to play in women only events.

Annie Duke is a good spokesperson for poker in general. When people see her on TV, it encourages them to play on the best US poker sites. Everyone should enjoy one of the best games ever invented!

Phil Hellmuth Biography
Mood:  spacey
One high profile pro poker player that makes money via US friendly poker sites would be a UB representative famous for his temper tantrums as much as his countless World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets, Phil Hellmuth. Hellmuth was born in 1964 in Wisconsin where he went to University and eventually learned to play poker. He has two sons, and he and his wife, Kathy, currently live in California.

You wouldn’t think it, but people are encouraged to use Ultimate Bet for Mac when they find out that UB’s most prominent spokesman holds so many outstanding records. It’s just amazing to find out that he has won 11 WSOP bracelets, winning the first one back in 1989 when he was just 24 years old. His most recent bracelet was won in 2007. He has the record for cashing the WSOP (75) and the largest number of final tables with 41. He has won a total of $6.1 million in the WSOP, good for 9th on the All Time Money List. Strangely enough, Hellmuth has never won a World Poker Tour (WPT) MTT in casinos for USA players, although he does have 3 final tables under his belt. He’s actually been able to cash 11 times in WPT tournaments and his total winnings is $691k. This long list of impressive feats caused him to be elected to the Poker Hall of Fame a few years ago in 2007.

Hellmuth first achieved attention and fame through his accomplishments with tournaments, but people probably know him more for his major overreactions and outbursts at the poker felt. Over the years he has decided that he is the best online poker player in the world, and nothing upsets him more than a couple bad beats. In the past he’s directed his outbursts to those who benefit from his bad luck, questioning their intelligence and ability to play the game. In 2008 during WSOP he got a penalty for verbally abusing a player after he showed the table that he’d caused Hellmuth to fold a hand preflop with suited rags. Because of all his antics, poker players and spectators eventually gave him the nickname of “The Poker Brat”.

Interestingly, Hellmuth took his unique nickname and ran with it. You can actually buy clothing or merchandise at www.PokerBrat.com, and if you want to get into his head, you can read his thoughts in the book titled Poker Brat. He is the author of several books, actually, and he has even made the occasional poker video and mobile phone game. He’s written several newspaper columns called “Hand of the Week” where he details interesting hands that he’s encountered during his career, and he blogs for both CardPlayer and UB. Add all his TV appearances and coaching opportunities, and it’s clear that Hellmuth has a busy poker life outside of the tables.

Online players, especially American players, get tons of information regarding Full Tilt or PokerStars, but it’s really important to not overlook UB’s site. Clear your UB bonuses by playing the same games that Hellmuth plays. If you strive to one day be as successful as Hellmuth at poker, the best way to practice is by playing in online poker rooms. If you would like to see what else UB has to offer, be sure to go back to my previous entries.

UB Championship Series
Mood:  cool
So far in my articles we’ve talked about the benefits of using US friendly poker sites, the UB referral code, how to earn the bonus, and details about RAI$E, their VIP program. For today’s topic, I’d like to go over the tournaments hosted by UB, in particular the UB Online Championship (UBOC) series. The fourth UBOC was hosted at the start of this year, and over a two week period, 12 events took place.

Those that could download free poker at the start of the year definitely benefited from being able to clear their bonus during the tournament series because they had the chance to compete for part of a $4 million prize pool. Even the micro stakes players participated because there was also the Mini-UBOC, a series that had the same events as the regular UBOC but had much smaller buy-ins.

Because UB is among the top Texas Holdem sites there were a lot of Hold Em events, but the folks in charge ensured that UBOC also featured several different types of poker. There were two Pot Limit Omaha events, three mixed game events, and one HORSE event. The Hold Em choices included short-handed and full ring tournaments as well as heads-up and rebuy events. And as a bonus, the site also gave out a special watch to each event’s winner as a gift for being the tournament champion. Most online poker rooms give these bonus prizes to their winners to mimic the WSOP bracelets.

You could buy-in to events from $109 to $2,600 while event guarantees ranged from $30k to $1 million. Tourney poker pros like Eric Baldwin and Phil Hellmuth were asked to host the events, just like the Full Tilt Poker download does with their FTOPS events. Some absolutely huge prizes were won, including $361k in the Deepstack No-Limit Hold Em 6-max event and $279k in the Championship Event.

With every series UB hosts, the prizes have only gotten bigger and better, so the future for UBOC looks bright. You’ll need to wait until they announce the next UBOC to play in these tournaments yourself, but at least it will give you time to make that UB download if you haven’t already done so. If you’re one of those that isn’t already using Ultimate Bet for Mac, go ahead and glance at my older articles for details about why it might be a good choice. Thanks for reading and see you next time!

A Close Look at the UB VIP Program
Mood:  happy
In the following article, I intend to give a more detailed description regarding the VIP program on UB, one of the biggest US friendly poker sites. I’ve already stated that you collect Status Points to clear your deposit bonus, but the Points are worth so much more than that thanks to the RAI$E program. Basically there are five levels in the program and as you climb the VIP levels, your rewards get better and better. Unlike with the Everest Poker download, UB automatically makes you a member of the program when you sign up with the site.

You start at Level 1 as an Ultimate Member. Ultimate Members receive some benefits such as a periodic reload bonus and entries to freerolls. You’ll also have the option to refer a friend to the site and earn an additional $75 bonus. These benefits are pretty cool as freebies, but just like the VIP program on the PokerStars download, you’ll definitely want to increase your level as fast as you can. This is because you’re missing out on a lot by just being an Ultimate Member.

When you earn 50 Status Points within one month, you become an Ultimate Player. Level 2 allows you to keep the Level 1 benefits such as the refer-a-friend bonus, but you also receive a few extra perks. First off, you receive an UltimatePoints multiplier that boosts the Status Points you earn by two so that you save up points at double the speed. Just like the points you earn when you download Full Tilt Poker, your Status Points can be spent at the UltimatePoints Store on whatever you wish. If you decide that you want to save some points up for something special in the store, you also have the option to play UltimatePoints tournaments to try to win even more Points.

At Level 3 and 500 Status Points, you are an Ultimate Contender, and Points can now be redeemed for up to $50 cash per month. If you have had the chance to play on PokerStars, you might know that their VIP cash bonuses are similar. Your UltimatePoints multiplier raises to three and now you can buy special items from the store that you didn’t have access to at Level 2.

The next level, Ultimate Legend, is earned when you collect 2,500 Status Points in one month. You will have to see plenty of hands to get here, but you will agree that the benefits do well to reward the best online poker players. You’ll receive an UltimatePoints multiplier of four and even an additional 10% discount on all store merchandise. You receive more cash for Points at this level, $250 instead of the previous $50. If that isn’t enough, Players at this level also get entries to exclusive freerolls, a VIP host, and even a personal concierge. Sometimes there are special auctions to participate in or you’ll be given a special VIP treat.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Level 5, where you become an Ultimate Icon, gives the best benefits. You’ll need to earn 10,000 Status Points per month on this poker flash site, but the work will be worth it. Firstly, your UltimatePoints multiplier increases to five and you can redeem up to $1,000 per month in exchange for Points. If you keep your account balance over $1,000, you will receive a 9% interest rate on the money in your account. For even more perks, UB will ask you to represent them by playing in tournaments around the world such as the WSOP! If you look around, you will see that it is unlikely to get benefits better than these in other flash compatible casinos. You must receive an average of 10,000 Status Points over half a year before you receive the Ultimate Icon benefits, and then you are required to maintain this average to stay at Level 5.

UB has created a VIP program to say thanks to those that play there all the time and to attract new people to play at UB. You should be aware that reaching the highest levels in their RAI$E program is a very difficult task. If you decide to take the plunge and go for the top while playing low stakes, you’ll almost for sure need to concentrate 100% of your playing time at UB so that you can earn the maximum number of points. You might not have time to download Roulette if you want to become an Ultimate Icon. Reaching Level 5 is well worth the trouble, though, if you can do it.

Earn a UB Deposit Bonus
Mood:  special
For my first entry, I provided an overview of one of the US friendly poker sites, UB. I wrote about their player base and VIP program, but even more significantly, I introduced the UB referral code. With a referral code you can obtain a helpful deposit bonus. I'm writing this next entry to teach you how you must clear this bonus because the clearing process has more to it than the clearing process for Bingo codes.

Here's the simple info. Your first step is to, of course, download free poker from UB’s website. After you've got the software running, you have access to the cashier. When you make your beginning real-money deposit, UB Poker gives you additional dollars equal to 111% of the money you banked, up to $1100. These bonus funds are not yet yours to keep. In order to use your bonus dollars, you need to acquire Status Points. These points are similar to VPPs from the PokerStars rakeback program. You receive Points by receiving hands in real currency games, whether it be ring games or tournament poker.

Now you will see how the bonus clearing works. It is pretty much the same as when you use a Full Tilt Poker bonus code. For a group of 20 Status Points that you obtain, $1 of your extra money is given out. Each time you get 100 status points, you get a deposit of $5 into your account. If you make a first deposit of $1000 (and thus receive $1100 additional dollars), you need to earn 22,000 status points to release the full $1100. Be careful though: you are only allowed 60 days to earn all of your additional dollars before you forfeit the ones that remain unreleased.

So how do you get Status Points? For tournaments, you receive one status point for each $0.30 of entry fee (so in a $30+3 tournament, you'd earn 10 status points). Like on other money poker sites, the Points you obtain in cash games depends on the stakes you're playing. This is the chart they use to decide your Status Points:

No Limit
$0.01/0.02 - 1 point for every 15 hands
$0.02/0.04 - 1 point per 10 hands
$0.05/0.10 - 1 point apiece per 10 hands
$0.10/0.25 - 1 point for each 5 hands
$0.25/0.50 - 1 point per 3 hands
$0.50/1.00 - 1 point apiece per 2 hands
$1.00/2.00 - 1 point per hand
$2.00/4.00 through $5.00/10.00 - 1.5 points apiece per hand
$10.00/20.00 and higher - 2 points for every hand

Limit
$0.01/0.02 - 1 point apiece per 20 hands
$0.02/0.04 - 1 point apiece per 20 hands
$0.05/0.10 - 1 point per 15 hands
$0.10/0.20 - 1 point for every 15 hands
$0.25/0.50 - 1 point apiece per 10 hands
$0.50/1.00 - 1 point apiece per 5 hands
$1.00/2.00 - 1 point per 2 hands
$2.00/4.00 - 1 point apiece per hand
$3.00/6.00 - 1.5 points for every hand
$4.00/8.00 and up - 2 points for every hand

So, for instance, you'd have to play 22,000 hands of $1.00/2.00 no-limit poker within 60 days to clear the full $1100 bonus. If you're playing lower stakes like $0.10/0.25, you'd need to see 110,000 hands. When you consider the deposit bonuses on the best US poker sites, this requirement is not so much of a stretch. The good news is that because you get the cash in $5 allowances, you can deposit as much as you desire and not have to worry about being unable to clear the bonus. You perhaps won't earn all of it, but some free money is better than no money.

Lastly, here is a word of caution: especially for the beginner player, the temptation to try to clear this bonus quicker by playing higher stakes is always present. Don't lose sight of bankroll management! At small stakes the UB deposit bonus is more tedious than any Roulette bonus, but trying to play higher than your bankroll will allow will probably harm you more than it will benefit you in the end.

Try Poker at UB
Thank you for coming to my new site and blog! I am a huge fan of online poker in North America. Because I live close to the U.S., I am primarily concerned with US friendly poker sites. In this entry, I will tell you about UB and go over their rewards program and player base.

UB's VIP program releases your UB bonuses while also giving you further rewards. The “RAI$E” points system gives you special points which earn you reload and monthly cash bonuses, just like some of the other download free poker sites. If you reach the most exclusive status level by earning 10,000 points per month, you receive the largest cash bonuses, discounted store merchandise, 9% interest on account balances greater than $1,000, and even poker trips to live tournaments! Some of these benefits are so unique that they can’t even be found on a Fulltiltpoker download. If you can become an Ultimate Icon, you'll really be getting the most out of your UB experience.

Like many other poker sites, UB doesn’t have the same traffic as the PokerStars download, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t get any traffic. The CEREUS Poker Network is actually the 3rd biggest network in the world, thanks largely to the fact that it’s still one of the best US poker sites. Whether you want ring games, single table tournaments, or multi-table tournament poker, you’ll encounter a bunch of tables if you’re at small or medium stakes. One problem with UB is that it doesn't have as much action for the high stakes player.

Altogether, if you’re wanting to play a bunch of poker at small to mid stakes and you don’t need free poker no downloads, UB is one of the best online. Earn your deposit bonus, collect tons of Status Points, and you’ll be making a bunch of money playing the games on UB before you know it!