Ultra Bonus Poker Video Poker
Ultra Bonus Poker delivers the kind of high-paying action that many video poker players who like jackpots crave. Players have to realize that some of the payouts they usually receive for common hands will be discounted. But in return, four of a kind hands will pay off much higher than normal Bonus Poker games.
Video poker thrills casino patrons and online gambling enthusiasts all over the world. You can learn to play in a matter of minutes, even if you don’t have much knowledge of poker as a table game. Even more important, the payback for video poker rivals any gambling entertainment you can find.
The most basic form of video poker, which is known as Jacks or Better, features the kind of gameplay which allows you to grind out winnings in small amounts over a long period of time. But some gamblers don’t possess that kind of patience. They’d like to see the kinds of jackpot-style payments that allow you to win a lot of money in a short period of time.
That’s why video poker makers started toying with the pay tables. They created Bonus Poker games for the sole purpose of juicing the payouts on certain hands that are difficult to achieve. Most Bonus Poker games reward four of a kind hands at a much more aggressive level than common Jacks or Better games.
Video poker players also tend to like variety, mixing and matching their favorite games depending on what they’re hoping to achieve in terms of payback. Games like Double Bonus, Double Double Bonus, and Triple Double Bonus soon popped up to boost those four of a kind payouts even more. Ultra Bonus Poker video poker fits into that mold.
You might be able to tell by the name that Ultra Bonus Poker video poker really tries to amp those quad payments to another level. Obviously, you’ll get payments on four of a kind that are much higher than Jacks or Better. But Ultra Bonus Poker also puts the basic Bonus poker pay table to shame in terms of how it rewards those quads.
Yet those beefed-up payments don’t come without a price. If the makers of Ultra Bonus Poker video poker added extra amounts to the four of a kind payouts and didn’t take something away, gamblers would be winning big money from the machine with regularity. And the casinos that house the game or the online sites that offer it would soon go out of business.
As a result, you’ll notice that some common hands like two pair or three of a kind pay out a little less on Ultra Bonus Poker video poker than they would in other video poker formats. You might not think these discounts will hurt you too much. But the fact that these hands show up a lot during gameplay means you’ll be losing out with these lesser payments.
In the following article, we’ll talk about Ultra Bonus Poker video poker in terms of learning how to play the game. We’ll also take a look at the pay tables that you might find for the game and how those tables affect payback percentage. Lastly, we’ll discuss how you can learn strategy that will help you maximize your winnings.
Why Play Video Poker?
Have you ever played real money video poker before? If you have, you probably know why it’s such a beneficial game to gamblers. And if you haven’t, we’re here to enlighten you on it.
You can usually find video poker in the same section of casinos as slot machines. For that reason, you might think that it has something in common with slot machines. Well, in some ways, it does, but video poker leaves behind slot machines in most areas.
Both can be played with just a single player at a machine. That can be a real blessing if you are the type who doesn’t like the hassle of big crowds. In addition, you don’t have to worry about playing in a specific way as you might if you were playing a game like blackjack or even the table version of poker.
But slot machines don’t really stack up well against video poker in any other way. First of all, slow machines don’t allow you to have any control over the game. For those looking to be actively involved in the outcome, they can’t get that fix from playing slots.
In addition, slot machines leave you in the dark about what to expect. You have no way of knowing how often you might expect the winning spins to show up on the screen. Nor do you know about how much payback you can expect from any particular machine that you might be playing.
But video poker reverses all of that in your favor. First of all, you can have an impact on how your hands of video poker turn out by the strategy that you use. That strategy comes into play when you decide which cards to hold and which to discard for each hand you play.
Video poker relies on a 52-card deck, so possible outcomes are limited. Probabilities will tell you how often you might receive certain winning hands. You also can use those probabilities as part of your strategy.
When you combine everything, the probabilities of making winning hands and the pay for those hands, you can determine a payback percentage. There is no mystery as there is with slot machines. In fact, you can usually take a pay table like the one for Ultra Bonus Poker video poker and input it into a video poker calculator to find out how much the machine will pay.
Speaking of pay, the average pay for video poker easily outstrips the pay for the average slot machine. In fact, most video poker games deliver payback that’s on a level or above the best table games. And all that comes in a package that is self-contained and doesn’t need any assistance from a casino employee to operate it.
What if you like to gamble online? Video poker again comes out with high marks in that department. After all, the screen of a video poker machine easily translates to small screens, like those on a phone, tablet, or computer, that allow you to play online.
As you can see, if you haven’t played video poker before, you’re missing out on some great stuff. The good news is that you can learn the game in no time.
Let’s start by taking you through a step-by-step look at how to play video poker online. Then, we can start talking about Ultra Bonus Poker video poker and the unique pay tables that make it so fascinating.
Learning Video Poker
Step 1: Creating a Bankroll
Your bankroll refers to the money that you put into the machine to play. If you’re playing online, it refers to the account that you create at the gambling website that you use. You’ll need a bankroll so that you can make wagers and win money in return when you form a winning hand.
You might not understand it when you create your bankroll and don’t see any reference to money on the screen. That’s because your bankroll will be rendered in terms of credits or coins. Each of these units will be equal to the denomination of the machine that you’re playing.
Denominations can range from small amounts like a penny or nickel to bigger amounts like a dollar. Some machines may even allow you to choose among several denominations.
You should choose based on how long you hope to play. Remember that, once you learn how to play, you might be able to churn out several hands per minute.
In case you’re wondering how to tell what your credits will be, simply divide the amount that you enter by the denomination. For example, imagine that you put $10 into a 25-cent machine. That means that you have 40 credits, or 10 divided by .25.
Step 2: Making Your Bet
We talked above about the fact that you can utilize strategy to maximize your winnings at video poker games like Ultra Bonus Poker video poker. What you might not realize is that the strategy begins when you make a bet.
You have the choice of betting between one and five coins every hand that you play. If you choose, you can switch it up every single hand. But your best strategy is to bet five coins on every hand, which is also known as the max bet.
When you play between one and four coins per hand, the payout for the royal flush hand is 250 to 1. The royal flush (ten, jack, queen, king, and ace, all of the same suit), is the hardest hand to achieve in all video poker. And you might think that 250 to 1 is a great payout.
It is, but it’s nothing compared to 800 to 1. And that’s what you’ll receive when you hit a royal flush and have bet five coins. That’s a massive difference, and that’s why you should never choose to deviate from a max bet.
If you find that betting five coins per hand is a little too much of a financial commitment, you shouldn’t start betting less. You’d be better off simply choosing a machine with a lower denomination. That will allow you to keep the high ratio for the royal flush on a max bet while spending a little less money.
Step 3: Playing Your Hand
If you’ve ever played Five-Card Draw Poker with friends or family, you will probably recognize the basic format of a video poker hand. You receive five cards on the deal, then you get to replace the cards that aren’t helping. You try to make the hand that’s the best of anybody at the table, or you try to bluff your way to winning.
In Ultra Bonus Poker video poker, it’s just you at the machine. There are no other players, so there’s no need for bluffing. All you have to do is make a winning hand as determined by the pay table.
There are some online video poker games which differ somewhat from others in terms of the winning hands on the table. In the case of Ultra Bonus Poker video poker, the winning hands resemble what you would see in Jacks or Better or many other basic types of video poker. Those winning hands are:
- Pair of jacks or better
- Two pair
- Three of a kind
- Straight (five cards of consecutive rank, like 3-4-5-6-7)
- Flush (five cards of same suit)
- Full house (three of a kind and two pair in the same hand
- Four of a kind
- Straight flush (straight with five cards of same suit)
- Royal flush (ten, jack, queen, king, and ace of the same suit)
Once you decide on your bet, you will assess to see if there any of those winning combinations in your hand. You might be lucky enough to have a winning combination right off the bat. But, more than likely, you will have to look to improve your hand on the draw.
The draw allows you to discard cards that you don’t think are helping your hand out. You can keep all five of your cards if you already have some sort of winning combination. Or you can discard all five if you think you need a fresh start with the hand.
Let’s look at a sample hand to see how you might make these decisions:
The good news with this hand is that it’s immediately a winner if you choose to hold on to the pair of jacks. Not only that, but the hand could easily improve on the draw. You could end up with two pair, three of a kind, a full house, or even, with a great draw, four of a kind.
But there are other possibilities in this deal. For instance, you have four cards consecutive in rank with the eight through the jack. If you dropped one of the jacks, you could go for a straight, which you would manage if you drew a seven or a queen.
Another direction you could take would be to hold on to the eight, nine, and jack of Spades. These cards make up three fifths of a straight flush, although your chances of receiving it on the draw would be small. But even if you didn’t draw the straight flush, two more spades of any kind would give you a flush.
These choices pop up all over the place when playing video poker games like Ultra Bonus Poker video poker. On the one hand, you could play it safe and be happy with small winnings. Or you could go for bigger winnings, which obviously brings in more risk that you won’t win anything at all.
Most video poker hands won’t present quite as many options as this one does. In fact, once you learn to play, you should be able to make most choices about what to hold and what to discard when playing Ultra Bonus Poker Video Poker in an instant. The trick is making the right decisions, which we’ll talk about more when we get to the section on strategy.
In any case, once you make your decision about what to hold and what to discard, you will press the buttons corresponding to those you wish to hold (if any). The machine will draw however many cards you need from the 47 remaining in the deck which gave you the original deal. That will prevent you from getting the same cards you discarded back in your hand.
Once the draw is done, the hand is complete. If you formed a winning combination, credits will be added to your total based on what the pay table says. The credit for the bet comes at the beginning of the hand, so you won’t have any more coins taken away at the end of the hand if you lose.
You can continue playing Ultra Bonus Poker video poker as long as you still have credits remaining. All you have to do is repeat steps two and three above. At any point, you can redeem your remaining credits for cash.
That’s pretty much all you need to know to play hands of any basic video poker game, including Ultra Bonus Poker Video Poker. But what sets this game apart if it isn’t the gameplay? The answer to that lies in the pay tables.
Pay Tables for Ultra Bonus Poker Video Poker
Video poker and slot machines both have pay tables. Slot machines show you the amounts you’ll get paid for spins, but you have no way of determining how often those spins might show up. In the case of video poker, you have the probabilities that can be derived from simple math, and the pay tables round out the picture.
When you see the pay table for Ultra Bonus Poker video poker, you might recognize it as being similar to basic Bonus Poker. Like Bonus Poker, Ultra Bonus gives out heightened rewards for four of a kind hands. Take a look at a common Bonus Poker pay table:
8/5 Bonus Poker Pay Table
| Coins/Hand | 1 coin | 2 coins | 3 coins | 4 coins | 5 coins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 200 | 400 | 600 | 800 | 4,000 |
| Straight flush | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
| Four of a kind (aces) | 80 | 160 | 240 | 320 | 400 |
| Four of a kind (2s, 3s, or 4s) | 40 | 80 | 120 | 160 | 200 |
| Four of a kind (any other) | 25 | 50 | 75 | 100 | 125 |
| Full house | 8 | 16 | 24 | 32 | 40 |
| Flush | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 |
| Straight | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 |
| Three of a kind | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 |
| Two pair | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Jacks or better | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Those familiar with Jacks or Better might immediately notice that the Bonus Poker table separates four of a kind payments based on the rank. Jacks or Better awards all four of a kind hands the same, usually at 25 to 1.
But you can see how the table differs based on the cards involved in the four of a kind. And the payments for quad hands with aces or with twos through fours exceed what you get from a Jacks or Better pay table.
Ultra Bonus Poker video poker takes this concept and really amps it up. Take a look:
Ultra Bonus Poker Video Poker Pay Table
| Coins/Hand | 1 coin | 2 coins | 3 coins | 4 coins | 5 coins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 200 | 400 | 600 | 800 | 4,000 |
| Straight flush | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
| Four of a kind (aces) | 400 | 800 | 1200 | 1600 | 2000 |
| Four of a kind (2s, 3s, or 4s) | 160 | 320 | 480 | 640 | 800 |
| Four of a kind (any other) | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
| Full house | 9 | 18 | 27 | 36 | 45 |
| Flush | 6 | 12 | 18 | 24 | 30 |
| Straight | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 |
| Three of a kind | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Two pair | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Jacks or better | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
You’ll notice immediately how lucrative the four of a kind hands are in Ultra Bonus Poker video poker pay table. The payback is five times as much for four aces, four times as much for four twos through fours, and twice as much for four of any other rank.
Of course, no pay table can award those kinds of bonuses without taking something away. In the case of Ultra Bonus Poker video poker, those discounts come at the bottom of the pay table. You’ll be getting only 2 to 1 for three of a kind and even-money for two pair.
You might not consider this to be a big deal, especially if you haven’t played video poker before. But if you have played before, you know why these discounts will hurt you.
These hands come up often during gameplay much more than four of a kind. As a result, losing out on the payback on these hands will help to overcome any gains you might get from the quads.
This quirk of the Ultra Bonus Poker video poker pay table also makes the game much more prone to wild swings between winning and losing than the Bonus Poker game. In the world of video poker, that is known as volatility.
For some, volatility might not matter. You might just be happy about the chance to gain more winnings in a quicker amount of time if you end up with four of a kind.
But if you wish to play video poker for a long time on a small bankroll, high-volatility games cause some problems. You’ll run a much higher risk of blowing through your bankroll quickly with games like this.
You also have to take into consideration that the pay table above is not the only one you’ll find for Ultra Bonus Poker video poker. It is known as the full-pay version, because it brings back the highest payback percentage in the game (more on that in a second).
But there are other pay tables which are slightly discounted from the full-pay table. Take a look at some of the other Ultra Bonus Poker video poker pay tables that you might find in machines or as part of online gambling websites.
| Coins/Hand | 1 coin | 2 coins | 3 coins | 4 coins | 5 coins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 250 | 500 | 750 | 1,000 | 4,000 |
| Straight flush | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
| Four of a kind (aces) | 400 | 800 | 1,200 | 1,600 | 2,000 |
| Four of a kind (2s, 3s, or 4s) | 160 | 320 | 480 | 640 | 800 |
| Four of a kind (any other) | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
| Full house | 8 | 16 | 24 | 32 | 40 |
| Flush | 6 | 12 | 18 | 24 | 30 |
| Straight | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 |
| Three of a kind | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Two pairs | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Jacks or better | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Coins/Hand | 1 coin | 2 coins | 3 coins | 4 coins | 5 coins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 250 | 500 | 750 | 1,000 | 4,000 |
| Straight flush | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
| Four of a kind (aces) | 400 | 800 | 1,200 | 1,600 | 2,000 |
| Four of a kind (2s, 3s, or 4s) | 160 | 320 | 480 | 640 | 800 |
| Four of a kind (any other) | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
| Full house | 9 | 18 | 27 | 36 | 45 |
| Flush | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 |
| Straight | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 |
| Three of a kind | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Two pairs | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Jacks or better | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Payback Percentage for Ultra Bonus Poker Video Poker
When you play the full-pay version of Ultra Bonus Poker video poker, you will receive on average a payback of 98.75%. What does that mean exactly?
Say that you put $10,000 into an Ultra Bonus Poker video poker machine. At the conclusion of your session, having put every last cent through the machine, you will come out with an average bankroll of $9,875. That means you will have lost $125.
Keep in mind that this is the average result. In a short session, you might hit a lucky streak and win a bunch. Or you could get bad cards and lose a significantly higher percentage.
As you keep playing, however, your own percentage will start to get closer and closer to 98.75%. That’s what the probabilities and pay tables dictate.
You might not see the worth of playing a machine where the average result is a loss of money. But you have to remember that you can make some of it up by earning rewards, either at a casino or a top gambling website.
We usually recommend a payback of at least 99% if you are planning on playing a video poker game over a long period of time. But Ultra Bonus Poker video poker, in its full-pay mode, comes close enough that you can consider it. And that’s especially true when you figure in the increased chance of jackpot-style scores.
Of course, as you move down through the pay tables listed above for Ultra Bonus Poker video poker, the payback percentage drops lower and lower, well out of the recommended range. That’s another reason why you should keep a close eye on the pay tables. Otherwise, you could end up hurting your chances of profit.
Strategy for Ultra Bonus Poker Video Poker
Another key component of payback percentage is the notion of perfect play. In other words, you can’t ever hope to reach the quoted percentage unless you make all the right moves during gameplay.
For every deal that you receive when playing Ultra Bonus Poker video poker, there is a specific combination of holds and discards which will bring the highest expected value to your hand. That’s what you need to be striving for in every possible hand. But, as we showed you above, it’s not always easy to see the right mathematical play.
That’s why we recommend getting some help in this quest. Let others do the work for you in terms of the math. From there, it’s just a matter of you learning the plays.
There are two methods that we recommend for you to achieve this:
- Video Poker Strategy Charts: You can find strategy charts for Ultra Bonus Poker video poker all over the internet. These charts rank all possible combinations of cards you can get on the deal. When you compare these combinations to the cards in your hand, you’ll know which cards to hold and which to discard.
- Video Poker Training Software: This software lets you play pay tables like the ones included in Ultra Bonus Poker video poker as if you were playing for real money. Every time you make a mistake in terms of the cards you’re playing, the software will let you know. By practicing with a trainer over time, you’ll know all of the correct plays on first glance.
Conclusion
Ultra Bonus Poker video poker really pushes the limits of Bonus poker pay tables. Any four of a kind hand will give your bankroll a substantial boost. But the lower payouts on the bottom of the pay mean you’ll need an occasional four of a kind hand to keep that bankroll alive.
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