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Game rules
One deck, you against the house, best five cards from seven. These are the rules enforced by the JustPoker game engine; where the table and this page could ever disagree, the engine's published tests are the reference.
Ultimate Texas Hold'em is a poker-based table game played heads-up against the dealer, not against other players. Each hand uses a single, freshly shuffled 52-card deck. You and the dealer receive two hole cards each and share five community cards; the best five-card poker hand from those seven wins.
Unlike cash-game poker there is no bluffing and no pot. You decide how much to add to your initial stake — the Play bet — and the earlier you commit, the more you may bet. The dealer follows fixed rules and never makes decisions.
Every shuffle is derived from a server seed committed before the hand and a client seed you control. You can reproduce any deck after the fact on our Provably Fair page.
Stakes are set in whole cents. The Blind always equals the Ante, and a Play bet is a multiple of the Ante, so only the Ante and Trips are chosen directly.
Blind matches the Ante exactly.
May be left at zero.
4 × the maximum Ante, pre-flop only.
Any whole-cent amount within limits is accepted.
Balance required before the deal
Each street offers one decision. Once you place a Play bet there are no further decisions: the remaining community cards are dealt and the hand goes to showdown.
The Ante and Blind must be equal. Trips is an optional side bet that pays on the strength of your own final hand, whatever the dealer holds. Ante, Blind and Trips are taken from your balance when you press Deal.
You see your two hole cards; the dealer's stay face down. This is the only moment you may raise 4× (or 3×) the Ante. Raising now closes your decisions: the rest of the board is dealt and the hand goes straight to showdown. Checking keeps the smaller raises available later.
If you checked before the flop you may now bet 2× the Ante or check again. Community cards are shared: your best five-card hand can use any combination of your two cards and the five on the table.
The last two community cards arrive together. If you have not yet bet, you must either bet 1× the Ante or fold. Folding forfeits the Ante and Blind; the Trips bet stays live and is still paid if your seven cards make three of a kind or better.
The dealer's cards are revealed and both hands are compared. The Play bet pays even money when you win. The Ante pays even money only if the dealer qualifies with at least a pair; otherwise it is returned. The Blind pays according to its paytable when you win with a straight or better, and pushes on any other winning hand.
Exactly one Play bet is made per hand (or none, if you fold). The table only offers actions your balance can cover; Check and Fold are always available.
| Stage | Cards visible | Options | Cost | Then |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-flop | Your two hole cards | Check · Bet 4× · Bet 3× | $0 · 4 × Ante · 3 × Ante | Check → flop. Bet → showdown. |
| Flop | Hole cards + 3 community | Check · Bet 2× | $0 · 2 × Ante | Check → turn and river. Bet → showdown. |
| River | Hole cards + 5 community | Bet 1× · Fold | 1 × Ante · forfeit Ante and Blind | Bet → showdown. Fold → Trips still settled. |
The dealer qualifies with a pair or better, using the best five of the dealer's seven cards. Qualification only affects the Ante:
The Play and Blind bets are never protected by qualification: if the dealer's hand beats yours, both lose even when the dealer holds only a high card. A pair on the board counts toward qualification, because the dealer's hand is made from all seven cards.
| Outcome | Ante | Blind | Play |
|---|---|---|---|
| You win, dealer qualifies | Wins 1:1 | Paytable or push | Wins 1:1 |
| You win, dealer does not qualify | Push | Paytable or push | Wins 1:1 |
| Dealer wins, dealer qualifies | Loses | Loses | Loses |
| Dealer wins, dealer does not qualify | Push | Loses | Loses |
| Tie | Push | Push | Push |
| You fold | Loses | Loses | Not placed |
Trips is settled on your own hand in every row, including a fold.
Paid on a winning hand only. Odds are on the Blind stake.
| Player hand | Pays | Wins on $10.00 |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 500 to 1 | $5,000.00 |
| Straight Flush | 50 to 1 | $500.00 |
| Four of a Kind | 10 to 1 | $100.00 |
| Full House | 3 to 1 | $30.00 |
| Flush | 3 to 2 | $15.00 |
| Straight | 1 to 1 | $10.00 |
| Any other winning hand: Blind pushes. Dealer wins or you fold: Blind loses. | ||
Paid on your best five of seven regardless of the dealer's hand.
| Player hand | Pays | Wins on $10.00 |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 50 to 1 | $500.00 |
| Straight Flush | 40 to 1 | $400.00 |
| Four of a Kind | 30 to 1 | $300.00 |
| Full House | 8 to 1 | $80.00 |
| Flush | 7 to 1 | $70.00 |
| Straight | 4 to 1 | $40.00 |
| Three of a Kind | 3 to 1 | $30.00 |
| Two pair or lower: Trips loses. Trips is settled even when you fold. | ||
Winnings are calculated as stake × odds and rounded down to the cent; for example a $1.01 Blind at 3 to 2 wins $1.51.
From strongest to weakest. Within a category the highest ranks decide; suits never break ties, so identical hands push. The badges show which bonuses a category unlocks.
1. Royal Flush
Ten to Ace, all one suit.
2. Straight Flush
Five in sequence, all one suit. A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest.
3. Four of a Kind
Four cards of the same rank.
4. Full House
Three of a kind plus a pair.
5. Flush
Five cards of one suit, not in sequence.
6. Straight
Five in sequence, mixed suits. The ace plays high or low.
7. Three of a Kind
Three cards of the same rank.
8. Two Pair
Two different pairs.
9. Pair
Two cards of the same rank. The dealer qualifies from here up.
10. High Card
Nothing made; the highest card decides. The dealer does not qualify.
The rules below are the ones implemented by our published game engine's strategy advisor and used in the simulations quoted under house edge. They are guidance, not a guarantee: the house retains an edge under any strategy.
Otherwise check. The 3× option is never better than 4× or check.
Only if you checked pre-flop. Otherwise check.
Only if you checked twice. Folding costs the Ante and Blind.
With optimal play the published house edge of Ultimate Texas Hold'em is approximately 2.19% of the Ante, and the element of risk — expected loss divided by the average total amount wagered per hand, about 4.15 antes — is approximately 0.53%. The simpler strategy summarised above is published at about 2.43% of the Ante.
We measure our own implementation rather than rely on published figures alone. A 400,000-hand simulation of the engine playing the strategy advisor above returned a house edge of 2.29% of the Ante and an element of risk of 0.55%. The advisor approximates optimal play (its river decision is exact; pre-flop and flop follow the simple strategy), so a small gap to the optimal figure is expected.
The Trips side bet is independent of your decisions. For the paytable above its house edge is exactly 3.50% of the Trips stake, computed from seven-card hand frequencies.
These figures are long-run averages. Individual sessions vary widely, and no strategy makes the game profitable for the player. Please read our responsible gambling information and set limits before you play.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| House edge, optimal strategy (published) | 2.19% of Ante |
| Element of risk, optimal (published) | 0.53% |
| House edge, simple strategy (published) | 2.43% of Ante |
| House edge, JustPoker engine simulation | 2.29% of Ante |
| Element of risk, JustPoker engine simulation | 0.55% |
| Trips side bet (this paytable, exact) | 3.50% |
Simulation: 400,000 hands, strategy advisor, fixed seed; re-run on every release.
The same hand as the diagrams above, settled by the game engine. Stakes: Ante $10.00, Blind $10.00, Trips $5.00.
| Bet | Stake | Result | Odds | Winnings | Returned |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ante | $10.00 | Win | 1 to 1 | $10.00 | $20.00 |
| Blind | $10.00 | Win | 1 to 1 | $10.00 | $20.00 |
| Play (4×) | $40.00 | Win | 1 to 1 | $40.00 | $80.00 |
| Trips | $5.00 | Win | 4 to 1 | $20.00 | $25.00 |
| Total | $65.00 | Net result +$80.00 | $145.00 | ||
"Returned" is what comes back to the balance: stake plus winnings on a win, the stake alone on a push, nothing on a loss. Winnings are rounded down to the cent.
The live tables play the same game with the same rules and payouts, but up to five players sit at one table. Each player has their own hole cards and bets; everyone plays against one dealer hand and one set of community cards. Every seat is settled against the dealer on its own, so players never compete with each other.
Seats. Each table has five seats. You may hold one seat at one table at a time. If you sit down while a hand is being played you sit out until the next betting window opens.
Betting window. The first bet on the felt opens a 25 s betting window; once every seated player has bet it closes after at most 5 s. As at the single-player table, your balance must cover the Ante, Blind and Trips plus a 1× Play bet before you are dealt in. You can change or withdraw your bet until the window closes; after that it is committed to the deal.
Decisions. Every player who is dealt in has 20 s to decide on each street, with the same options as the single-player game. If the clock runs out the table acts for you: check pre-flop, check on the flop and fold on the river. A street nobody still has to act on is shown briefly and then dealt on. Results stay on the table for 10 s before the next betting window.
Sitting out. A seated player who does not bet in the window sits out that round and keeps the seat. After 3 rounds in a row sitting out you are stood up. You can leave at any time except while your hand is in play, or once the betting window has closed with your bet on the felt.
Showing cards. During the pre-flop, flop and river decisions you may show one or both of your hole cards to the table. This is allowed because nobody plays against anyone else: every hand is settled only against the dealer, so another player's cards never change your result. At the showdown the hole cards of every seat dealt into the round are turned face up, together with the dealer's.
Shared-seed fairness. Each table has its own server seed, committed before the rounds it deals: its hash is shown at the table, and it is replaced every 200 rounds, when the old seed is revealed and a pre-committed next seed takes over. A round's deck comes from that seed, a round counter and a combined client seed: a SHA-256 hash of the round id and the client seeds of every player dealt in, in seat order. Every input is fixed before the deal, so no single player — and not the operator — chooses the cards. Once a table seed is revealed you can re-derive every seat's cards, the dealer's and the board on the Provably Fair page.
| Table | Ante | Trips |
|---|---|---|
| Main Floor5 seats | $1 – $100 | $1 – $50 |
| High Limit5 seats | $25 – $250 | $1 – $100 |
| Phase | Clock | If time runs out |
|---|---|---|
| Betting | 25 s | No bet: sit out |
| Pre-flop | 20 s | Check |
| Flop | 20 s | Check |
| River | 20 s | Fold |
| Results | 10 s | Next betting window |
The deck for each hand is derived from a server seed committed before you play, your own client seed and a hand counter. Reveal the seed, recompute the deck and confirm the cards you were dealt.
18+ only. Gambling can be harmful; play within limits you set in advance. Help is available through the organisations listed on our responsible gambling page.