Perfect basic strategy is a must for this high volatility game

By Henry Tamburin

For cash play, you should have at least x20 your buy ins in bankroll cash. Sometimes, you may want to up that to x 50 your buy-in. In MTTs, your bankroll should ideally work on a sliding scale. As the size of your poker bankroll increases, you can also increase the amount you allocate to buy ins. Ultimate X Poker is a variation of many normal video poker games that gives players the chance to win multipliers on the following hand. It’s available in single play, three play, and 10 play versions. The difference between the three available versions is how many hands you play.

Let me repeat this because it’s important: The volatility is very high. This means that if you are not lucky and don’t get a winning hand followed by another winning hand, your bankroll will head south very quickly. This greater volatility requires a much bigger bankroll to withstand the big bankroll swings that will occur with this game.

In previous articles in Strictly Slots, I wrote about the six-coins-per-line games Super Times Pay and Quick Quads. This month, I’ll describe the mother of multi-coin-per-line games known as Ultimate X.

Ultimate X is available as a multi-hand and single-hand video poker game. If you wager 10 coins per line instead of five coins, you will earn a multiplier, not on the current hand, but on the following hand (i.e., betting 10 coins per line puts you in the Ultimate X mode). Essentially, you are doubling your initial bet in the hopes that you will get a greater payout on the following hand.

The easiest way to show you how Ultimate X works is to play a few hands. (The game is Triple Play Bonus Poker.)

Suppose on the first hand you wagered the maximum of 30 coins (i.e., 10 coins per line) to activate the Ultimate X feature and are dealt the following hand:

Notice on the bottom right of the screen, the “Ultimate X Poker” logo shows that it is active (because you wagered the maximum of 30 coins). On the first line, you hold the pair of 4s. The 4s will appear in the same card position on lines #2 and #3, and each line will receive three draw cards. The result of the draw gave you these final hands.

You wound up with two pairs on line #1 (pair of 4s and 8s) but you didn’t get a winning hand on lines #2 and #3. Our winning two pair on line #1 paid 10 coins (which is a standard payout for two pairs for a traditional five-coin wager). The 10-coin winning payout appears in the “Win” meter at the bottom left of the screen. Likewise, the 10 coins won increased the “Credit” meter (lower right) by 10 coins. Notice that to the left of line #1 (i.e., bottom hand), you’ll see “Next Hand 3X.” This signifies that the payout for a winning hand on Line #1 on the following hand would be multiplied by 3.

On the next hand, you are dealt:

Notice that “3X” appears to the left of line #1 (to signify whatever the payout is for a winning hand on line #1, it will be multiplied by 3). You hold the single ace, hit the draw button, and wound up with a pair of queens on line #1 and a pair of aces on line #3.

The payout for a high pair is five coins but on line #1, the payout is multiplied by 3 (because we had a winning hand on this line in the previous hand). Therefore, your total payout was 20 coins (five coins for the pair of aces on line #3, and 15 coins for the pair of queens on line #1). Since you have a winning hand on lines #1 and #3, the screen shows that you will have a 2x multiplier on any winning hands on lines #1 and #3 on the following hand.

On your third hand, you were dealt two unsuited high cards (J-Q) on line #1, you held them, and ended up with:

Unfortunately, you didn’t get a winning hand on lines #1 and #3 (with the 2x multiplier from the previous winning hands on these lines) but you got a winning hand on line #2 that gives you a 3x multiplier on this line for the following hand.

On the next hand, you were dealt two pair:

You hold the two pair, say a silent prayer, and after the draw ended up with the following hands:

Unfortunately, you didn’t get a full house or three of a kind on any line on the draw (darn!) so your final result was two pair on all lines. The payout was 10 coins on line #1, 10 coins on line # 3, and 30 coins on line #2 (because of the 3x multiplier from the previous winning hand line #2). Notice also that on the following hand, you will have a 3x multiplier on all three lines.

I hope after playing these sample hands, you get the gist of how the game plays and how fun and lucrative it could be if you get a winning hand on one or more lines followed by another winning hand on the same line(s).

The amount of the multiplier that you receive for any winning hand depends on which game you are playing (e.g., bonus poker, double double bonus, etc.), what the winning hand was (see below), and how many lines you played (e.g., Triple Play, Five Play, or Ten Play.). The multiplier is always 2x for winning hands higher than a full house. As an example, the multipliers for the Triple Play Bonus Poker game are:

Notice that if you get a full house or flush on any line, then on the following hand the payout for any winning hand (on the same line) would be multiplied by 12 and 11 respectively. (My biggest winning hand to date playing Ultimate X was when I got four 3s with a 12x multiplier (the payout was a very nice 2400 coins or $600 playing quarters).

Keep in mind that when you activate the Ultimate X feature, you are doubling your bet (betting 10 coins per line instead of 5 coins) in return at a potential shot at a bigger payout on the following hand. Because you are betting a total of 30 coins per hand on a Triple Play Ultimate X game, the volatility is very high. Let me repeat this because it’s important: The volatility is very high. This means that if you are not lucky and don’t get a winning hand followed by another winning hand, your bankroll will head south very quickly. This greater volatility requires a much bigger bankroll to withstand the big bankroll swings that will occur with this game. (Psychologically, you also have to be prepared for the negative swings.)

According to IGT, there are nine game families on the Ultimate X platform, mostly on Three-, Five- and Ten-Play machines, although a single hand version is offered on their bundled-theme Five Star Poker. The highest return Ultimate X game that is offered is 9/6 Double Double Bonus Poker on Ten Play (99.87%, assuming perfect strategy). You can review the returns for other games on the Ultimate X page at www.wizardofodds.com.

If you want to know which casinos in Las Vegas offer Ultimate X, go to the Best Video Poker Page on www.lasvegasadvisor.com. You can also go to www.vpfree2.com and use the search function to find out which casinos in different regions of the U.S. offer Ultimate X, or use the “Find in Casinos” function on www.videopoker.com. If you want to play Ultimate X for free, go to www.videopoker.com. (I highly recommend you do so to get a feel for how the game plays and the size of the bankroll swings.)

Tip of the Month

When you play Ultimate X, you are paying more on the current hand in the hopes of getting a multiplier on the following hand. Therefore, on your last hand before you quit playing, you should only bet five coins per line (i.e., don’t activate the Ultimate X feature on the last hand because it has no value since you won’t be playing another hand). Also, before you start playing, check the screen on different Ultimate X games to see if a previous player left a multiplier on the game. If you are lucky to find one with a multiplier, jump in and play the hand with only a five coin per line wager. As always, but even more so with Ultimate X because you are betting twice as much per hand, play each hand with perfect basic strategy. Good luck!

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Play Ultimate X Poker online, free

Henry Tamburin is a blackjack and video poker expert. He is the host of the smartgaming.com website and the editor of the Blackjack Insider newsletter (for a free three-month subscription, visit www.bjinsider.com/freetrial). For a free copy of his Casino Gambling Catalog, which contains books, strategy cards, and software for casino players, call toll free 1-888-353-3234, or visit the web store at smartgaming.com.

Ultimate X Poker is a soon to be released video poker game by the gaming producer duo International Game Technology (IGT) and Action Gaming. The game has not yet received much attention but will be likely to become a popular pick for casinos around the US and the world. It reminds me of Multi-Strike Poker because each hand has a multiplier that can boost winning hands. The multiplier is not automatically activated but depends on the result of the previous hand played. If on the previous hand there was a winning poker hand, depending on which hand the player got, the next hand will have a multiplier ranging from 2x to 12x. A max bet of 10 credits must be played per hand to have the multiplier feature activated.

The Ultimate X Poker machine comes with several well-known video poker games:

• Bonus Poker
• Bonus Poker Deluxe
• Deuces Wild Poker
• Double Bonus Poker
• Double Double Bonus Poker
• Jacks or Better
• Joker Poker

The payback rates for these games vary between 95.6% to a 99.9% if played with optimal strategy. Since the multiplier feature does not affect the rules, all the games can be played with their normal strategy.

Ultimate X Poker is powered by the IGT’s Game King AVP platform. As is common with other Game King machines, the game comes with multi-hand option in Triple Play, Five Play and Ten Play.

Where to Play Ultimate X Poker

The game has been tentatively released but it won’t be after IGT’s Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas on Nov. 18-20th 2008 that the game will be officially out. At the moment there is no official press release by IGT with a list of casinos that will (or are) providing this game.

How to Play Ultimate X Poker

If you are video poker junkie like us then you won’t need much of an introduction to this game. It plays like all other standard video poker games. The multiplier feature is set off automatically and no skill is necessary to modify its outcome. To see what multiplier each hand triggers follow our multiplier schedule below.

If you are new to video poker then you just need to learn the basics of draw poker and you are set to play Ultimate X Poker.

The Game King machine will provide a list of video poker games (shown above). Select which game you want to play. After pressing on the game button, the game’s interface will appear. On it you will see 3 meters, one for the WON coins, another for the BET amount and finally one with the total credits you have in the machine. Press the Max Bet button to bet 10 credits per each hand you are playing. Five cards will be automatically dealt on the main hand. Hold the best cards and discard the rest. The cards you hold on the main hand will be duplicated on all other hands in multi-hand version. Hit the Draw button to get new cards for the discarded ones and your final 5-card poker hand is completed. On multi-hand version each hand will receive its new cards from a separate deck (that does not hold the initially held and discarded cards).

A payout will be made according to each game’s pay table. Let’s take for example the Bonus Poker Deluxe pay schedule on Ultimate X Poker:

Free Ultimate X Online

The special features of this game are its multipliers. Multipliers will appear on the left of each current hand if you are able to complete a winning hand on the previous played hand. During the game, if you complete a winning hand, a small box on the left side of each hand will announce by how much that hand’s winnings will be multiplied on the next round.

So, for example, if on one hand you get a Two Pair, the little box will announce that next round you will get a 3x multiplier on that hand, so all winnings will be multiplied by 3. If on the current hand you don’t complete a winning combination, then next round won’t have a multiplier.

The multiplier feature will only take place if you bet 10 credits per hand, which is double from what you normally wager on a video poker game. The extra 5 credits on each hand don’t get matched on winning hands, only the original five coins. Although this sounds like a risky deal, the game payback rates are high because of the multipliers which do make a big difference in the end.

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