Ultimate Texas Hold'em rules

Key points

• You play one-on-one against the dealer with Texas Hold’em hands. Put the same amount on the Ante and the Blind.
• You can place the Play bet only once: 4x or 3x the Ante before the flop, 2x on the flop, and 1x after the turn and river. If you never place it, you Fold and lose the Ante and Blind.
• The dealer qualifies with a pair or better. If not, the Ante is returned.
• The Blind is paid by hand rank only when you win (straight 1, flush 3 to 2, full house 3, royal flush 500, and so on). Below a straight it is returned.
• The house edge with best play is about 2.19% per Ante.

How a hand goes

1. Put equal amounts on Ante and Blind (both required). Trips is optional
2. You and the dealer get two cards each, face down. The board (five shared cards) is placed face down too
3. Preflop: put Play 4x (four times the Ante) or Play 3x (three times the Ante) on PLAY. If you do not, Check
4. The flop (the first three board cards) is turned. If you have not played yet: Play 2x or Check
5. The turn (fourth card) and river (fifth card) are turned. If you have not played yet: Play 1x or Fold
6. The dealer turns over two cards and qualifies with a pair or better. The best five of seven cards are compared
7. Bets are settled

Example. Ante 10, Blind 10. You check preflop; on the flop your 9 pairs, so you Play 2x and put 20 out. The dealer has no pair and does not qualify. You are higher, so the Play of 20 wins, the Ante is returned, and the Blind is returned too (below a straight).

The dealer qualifies

The dealer qualifies only with a pair or better in seven cards. The hand is still compared if the dealer does not qualify; only the Ante changes, and it is returned.

The Blind pays only when you win, by your hand (the table below; returned below a straight). It loses if the dealer wins and is returned on a tie. Fold loses it too.

Hands rank as in Texas Hold’em. From strongest: royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, high card.

Payouts

Blind: paid by hand only when you win.

Trips: paid on your own seven cards only, and stays in action if you fold. Tables differ.

Sources

Checked: 2026-09-29 (the date every page was confirmed to open)

• Wizard of Odds “Ultimate Texas Hold’em”
• N.J.A.C. 13:69F-32.10