Product Features
Friday, July 3, 2009 - ProductMan
Who doesn’t want to live forever? I’m not talking about tapping into some secret fountain of youth. I’m thinking more along the lines of not facing defeat so soon when you’re at play. I remember those days back at the arcade when games only cost a quarter, maybe two tops. I used to love getting more life out of a certain Italian plumber or taking my Soviet-style blocks further by slipping another couple of coins into the mix. No need to start from square zero when you’ve already found a comfortable place to stand.
It’s that kind of thinking that spawned a useful new feature that we’ve added to our re-buy tourneys. Players will now be able to re-buy any time their balance falls below the required amount (typically 1,500 chips). Players will no longer have to search for the re-buy feature from the menu, since it will be easily accessible from the table at all re-buy tourneys.
All re-buy tournaments will conveniently include a box that quickly lets you select two options. The first option will let you add additional chips to the table if your stack drops below 1,500 chips during the period when re-buys are still available. The second option will allow you to double your re-buy. Even if these options aren’t checked, you’ll still have the option of clicking on the re-buy button to add chips to your stack.
Tags: Re-buy, tournaments
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Friday, June 19, 2009 - ProductMan
After spending countless hours each week behind my beast of a laptop, my perspective might be a little skewed, especially on a Friday. You might just say that I’ve been known to take things for granted. Over the years I’ve become pretty reliant on all the computing powers at my disposal, especially a certain “undo” command. In my world, hitting control-z is the best way to pretend that things never happened. It’s way better than sweeping stuff under the rug, if you ask me. It would be amazing if I could bring those advanced powers to the tables on the days when lady luck decides to abandon me, but it isn’t exactly going to happen. Luckily with our new 30-minute re-buy tournament, we give you the next best thing.
Our new turbo and ultra turbo re-buy tourneys let you re-buy additional chips during the first 30 minutes of play, which amounts to 6 blind escalations on turbo tournaments and 15 blind escalations on ultra turbo tournaments. In case you are keeping score, our turbo re-buy tournaments have 5-minute escalation times, while the ultra turbo version has 2-minute escalation times.
You can re-buy for the same cost as the original tournament. What’s even better is that the extra cash goes into the prize pool. How do you feel about massive pots? How does a new lease on life sound? Log on and feel free to take a detour to victory.
Tags: new features, product, tournaments
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Sunday, June 14, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
Every day at 2:20 pm World Series of Poker Commissioner takes to the small stage set up by the Feature Table Arena and presents the previous day’s winners with their gold WSOP bracelets. The ceremony always attracts a fair number of reporters, photographers and camerapeople who aim their instruments of recordation at the dais and the latest poker champion. Today the crowd was just a bit larger than usual, because one of the players who received a bracelet is a bit larger than life–Phil Ivey, who last night won his second bracelet this year (and his seventh overall).
As the appointed hour grew close and the media thronged around the stage a rumor circulated that Ivey wasn’t coming to the ceremony. I wanted to get a picture of the media gaggle surrounding the stage and if Ivey wasn’t gonna show, chances are much of the press would as well. But at 2:20 there was Ivey, standing next to Pete Vilandos, who won a bracelet in the $1,500 No-Limit Hold-Em event last night. Vilandos was the first to take the stage and accept his bracelet, and the players in the room stood to listen to the Greek national anthem:
And then it was Ivey’s turn to shake Jeffrey Pollack’s hand and take possession of his seventh bracelet. And time for a platoon of shutterbugs to press close (or loom overhead) to get shots of Ivey standing at attention for the Star-Spangled Banner:
I’d like to see what the media crush would be like, if, say, Phil Hellmuth won his twelfth bracelet. We still have five weeks to find out.
Tags: 2009 world series of poker, 2009 wsop, bracelet ceremony, jeffrey pollack, Phil Hellmuth, phil ivey, ub, ub wsop, ultimatebet, ultimatebet wsop, world series of poker, WSOP, wsop bracelet ceremony
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Friday, June 12, 2009 - ProductMan
With summer practically in full swing it’s easy to get distracted. Whether you’ve been heading to the beach, hitting the links, lazing in your backyard hammock, or watching a certain World Series get underway, it’s easy to get lost in a life of leisure. Luckily, we’ve made some changes around here that will help curb a little of that near neglect. With our new and improved Late Registration Tournaments, your personal poker game doesn’t have to stay permanently on the backburner.
Our new Late Registration Tournaments still give you the chance to register after the tournament starts, but late registration will no longer end when the first player is eliminated from the tourney. We’ve also changed how players are seated for the better. Check out these worthwhile changes below.
Late registration now remains open until one of the following happens:
- the number of players equals the number of places paid
- the blind level set for the tournament is reached
- the set time for the tournament expires
Depending on the number of seats at a table, one or two seats will be left open for players who register late. Late registrants will be moved to these open seats and once all seats have been filled, a new table will be created. When a new table is created, only one late registrant will be placed at the new table. Other tournament players will be randomly picked and placed at this new table. New tables that are created for late registrants will be the first tables to break.
Log on and feel free to be late.
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Thursday, June 11, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
Hard to believe that we’re two weeks into the 2009 World Series of Poker. We’ve already reached Event #23 out of the 57 that are scheduled. Still a long way to go, but there’s a good bit in the books as well. If I may make a few observations:
- Attendance numbers seemed to be in line with last year. It’s hard to make direct comparisons because the schedules don’t directly correspond and some new events (the $1,000 Stimulus event especially) may skew the numbers. But the economy hasn’t resulted in dramatically smaller fields at the World Series, at least not yet. Tomorrow is another $1,500 No-Limit event, a broad barometer the poker economy.
- If the tournament numbers look good, the cash game numbers in the Amazon Room have to be through the roof. This is the busiest I’ve ever seen the cash games during the WSOP, there must be 45 tables in use right now and I don’t think they’re spreading games smaller than 2-5 NL (and many games are much, much bigger). In years past the Amazon Room really cleared out late at night when the tournament fields shrank–not this year. There’s always a buzz from the cash-game area.
- The bracelet awards ceremony at 2pm has been a huge success. The whole Amazon Room turns it’s attention to the dais by the Feature Table stage to watch Jeffrey Pollack and Jack Effel award the bracelets to the newest champions. I wasn’t a big fan of the idea to play each winner’s national anthem, but it’s pretty cool to see the entire room stand, unbidden, to honor the winner and his native land. Even though there was a snafu and they played the Swedish national anthem after Finnish player Ville Wahlbeck won the $10K Mixed event, the bracelet ceremony is a smash hit and should become an instant tradition at the WSOP.
- All things considered, it’s been a fairly smooth ride so far. Some events have filled up earlier than expected, leaving some players on the outside looking in and grumbling about it. The decision to cap play on Day 2 at 3am and then play long sessions for the bracelet have worked out as well. The food in the Poker Kitchen is pricey but its not hard to find something edible (I’ve been in the rut with the chicken BLT wraps, which I can eat while working with little fear of dripping anything on my keyboard).
Hardly a comprehensive look at the World Series so far, but a few items that may be of interest. I’m starting to see people getting tired, a bit run down. Actually, I see that every time I look in the mirror. But that’s a universal truth about the WSOP, everyone gets that thousand-yard stare after two weeks or so. And then the Main Event rolls around and the real lunacy begins.
Actually, there’s another universal truth about the World Series–Phil Hellmuth will always show up late to the start of a tournament. And apparently he’s just arrived in the Brasilia Room for the $10,000 No-Limit Deuce-to-Seven event. Via LearJet and limo, giving Phil perhaps the largest carbon-footprint of anyone in the field.
Tags: 2009 world series of poker, 2009 wsop, bracelet ceremony, Phil Hellmuth, world series of poker, WSOP, wsop review
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Friday, June 5, 2009 - ProductMan
With the WSOP in full-swing, it seems like all eyes are fixated on Vegas. Even if you can’t make the trek to Sin City, the blogs are abuzz to the hilt with comprehensive coverage that practically transplants you into the action. Actually, there’s so much commentary, photos, and witticisms in these pages, I’m beginning to think the other goings-on at UltimateBet are going to be majorly overshadowed, to say the least. Are you even reading this?
You should know that our software developers have poured their hearts and souls, or at least precious time, into our latest release. Fire up the poker client and install our latest release. You’ll discover these new features:
Expanded Prize Pool Display
We have expanded the prize pool display in the lobby. You can now see more places within the lobby. We’ll now display up to the top 11 places (if 12 or more places are paid). You’ll also have the option within the prize pool display to click on a hotlink to view the complete prize pool.
User Note Display on Rollover
Put yourself into the loop and improve your game with your own research. You can create notes about your opponents by right clicking on a player’s avatar and selecting the “Note” option. You’ll see a pop-up window where you can enter notes about that specific player. You’ll see a small “N” next to the player’s name, indicating that there is a saved note. When scrolling your mouse over the “N” letter, any saved notes will be displayed in the form of a tool tip.
Waiting List Additions
Why wait and why worry? Our new waiting lists put more options at your disposal. If you join a waiting list from a standard table, you’ll have the option to wait for a standard table, wait for a standard table at the stakes you joined from, or search all tables within the stakes you joined from. You’ll be able to set the amount of players and seats at a table.
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Friday, May 29, 2009 - ProductMan
Looking for some great poker action? Look no further than UltimateBet. Action has been on the rise since we added 4-max tables and new Hold’em tables that require players to post an ante along with the blinds. 4-max tables let you compete against fewer opponents, but without having to be as aggressive as you would if you were playing heads up. Now you can enjoy more action than 6-max tables provide, but with more flexibility than 1-on-1 tables. Don’t worry if you don’t see an empty seat at one of our 4-max tables. Just sit down at an empty table and it will usually fill up with opponents in a matter of seconds.
Also, tables that require antes from every player plus the blinds have become a favorite on UltimateBet too. Players love the fact that more money is in the pot pre-flop before cards are even dealt. Players are getting more aggressive at these tables and are trying to take down the pot as soon as possible. More players taking a stab at the pot mean bigger pots and bigger pots mean more money for the winner. Combine 4-max tables with players being required to post antes and blinds and… well just check out the client so you can witness the excitement with your own eyes!
While we enjoy seeing our new updates being enjoyed by our players, we know we can’t settle down. The industry continues to evolve and we must continue to stay ahead of the curve. We have some great features coming out in the very near future. We are going to make it easier for our players to enjoy some of their favorite tourneys. It will be easier to navigate through our client and players will notice some exciting visual changes. With the summer rolling in, we are looking forward to some amazing new features and ideas. We also look forward to releasing those new features to you in the very near future.
Tags: Holdem, product, ub
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Friday, May 22, 2009 - ProductMan
If you’ve logged on lately, you might have noticed some changes. We didn’t exactly strap on the dynamite to demolish our software and start a new. It is more like we’ve slapped on a fresh coat of paint, but what a good-looking coat of paint it is. Actually, our recent changes are all about form and function.
Lobby Button:
Did you notice that we recently changed the location of the “lobby” button in tournaments? The old button placement was in the same spot as the “bet pot” button. If you accidentally clicked the “lobby” button right when your turn came up, you could have clicked “bet pot” by mistake. We’ve moved the “lobby” button to the other side of the bar.
Tournament Pop Up:
Tournaments are great but sometimes your operating system might decide not to cooperate. If you need to restart your machine or you close the main client during tournament play, we’ve made things a little easier for you.
In our latest release, if you are playing in a tournament and the main client is closed either by accident or on purpose, all you have to do is reload the software. You won’t have to search for the tournaments that you are playing in. Your tournaments in play will pop back up when you launch the client.
Ante Games:
We’ve really upped the ante. In our new ante ring games every player at the table will have to post an ante along with the two players that are required to post blinds. Ante Up and watch the pot grow pre-flop. Look for games with the word “ante” listed next to the stakes in the lobby.
Final Table View:
We’ve introduced a slick new final table view that just might blow your mind. Want to see what all the fuss is about? You can experience our new multi-table tournament final table firsthand by competing in our guaranteed tourneys over 10K.
As always, let us know what you think.
Tags: product, tournaments
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Saturday, May 16, 2009 - Cardroom
The Card Room would like to announce the release of Ring games with antes. Antes in ring games add another dimension to an already exciting lineup of games offered by Ultimate Bet. Ring games with antes are very much like normal ring games except that each player must ante up a certain amount such as $0.25 on our $1/$2 NL ante tables. The game proceeds as normal once the antes and blinds have been posted. It is popular amongst the pros and you can find out yourself just by looking in the list of tables with the name “ante” listed with the stakes. Let us know what you think or reply back if you have any suggestions on the ante tables.
See you at the ante tables!
The Card Room
Tags: ante, ante table, ring game, ring games with antes
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Friday, May 15, 2009 - ProductMan
The evolution of poker continues right here at UltimateBet. With nearly ten years under our belt, it sometimes seems like all the bases have already been covered. Tell that to our programmers, who have abandoned their beds and strapped themselves to their desks to help us roll out some exciting new features. Log on and test-drive our latest release. Here are a few of the changes you’ll find in this week’s update:
Ante Games:
Log on and discover the newest addition to our ultimate game selection. At our Ante Games every player at the table will be required to post an ante along with the two players that have to post the blinds. Join one of our ante games, watch the pot grow pre-flop, and enjoy even more action.
Final Table View:
We’ve redesigned the final table of our renowned Multi-Table Tournaments. You can experience our exciting new design this weekend, beginning with our 100K Guaranteed Tournament. The final table is the stuff of fantasies, and you’ll agree that it looks fantastic. The new look is unbelievable. We’re sure the blogosphere will be abuzz about our unique new look. Be one of the players to make the final table in the 100K and witness our new design firsthand.
Tournament Pop Up:
Who doesn’t love playing in our tournaments? Unfortunately, sometimes computers crash and people need to restart their machines. Players who multi-task sometimes accidentally close the main client during tournament play.
We have updated our client so that if you are playing in a tournament and the main client is closed on purpose or by accident, all you have to do is reopen the client. Players will no longer have to search for a tournament that they are playing in. Just load the main client and the tournaments in play will pop back up.
Tags: final table view, poker software, Product Features, Product Team, Software Update, tournament pop up
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