Product Features
Tuesday, December 23, 2008 - ProductMan
When I was in elementary school, I used to love the days when our regularly scheduled curriculum was conveniently interrupted by some random video screening. Although many of my classmates complained upon discovering that the VCR wasn’t loaded with the latest Hollywood blockbuster, I couldn’t resist the diversion. I’m fairly certain that I slept through most of those educational videos, but I do remember various productions that kindly advised us not to talk to strangers, which was apparently all the rage in the late eighties.
The world has surely turned on its head since then. These days, connecting with strangers on social networking sites, in forums and chat rooms, and by instant message is encouraged. There is probably no better way to consort with strangers (and perhaps your future friends) than by playing online poker.
With UltimateBuddy, it’s easy to keep taps on all your favorite strangers, friends, and foes whenever you hit the tables. Based on the same instant messaging technology used in popular chat clients including AIM, Yahoo! Chat, and Windows Live Messenger, this handy applet lets you quickly and easily see when your friends are online and where they are seated. All it takes is a few clicks and you can add friends to your list of favorites or take a seat right at their table. You can even make notes on all your contacts to help you get up to speed at every encounter.
UltimateBuddy won’t let you down. It’s highly secure and you can custom tailor it to meet your needs. You can easily fly under the radar and stop other people from tracking you. Handy sound effects keep you in the loop, letting you worry about your hand and your bankroll.
You’ll also be pleased to know that UltimateBuddy is now built-in to our standard gaming software. That means you no longer have to download and install a separate application to take advantage of all these useful features.
The Product Team
Tags: Instant Messaging, Product Features, Product Team, Social Networking, Software Update, table chat, Ultimate Buddy
Comments (3)
Friday, December 19, 2008 - ProductMan
I’ve always been fascinated by time travel and I know I’m not the only one. A few years ago, Santa was kind enough to leave an engaging read underneath my Christmas tree. The book, whose title escapes me at the moment, basically explained how to build a time machine. Even though the author took the liberty to dumb down the theoretical physics with cartoons, I really haven’t made any progress in the laboratory inside my mind. I’ve mostly been reminiscing about DeLoreans, cosmic telephone booths, and robots that look curiously like the current Governor of California.
Time travel technology would definitely ignite my poker game and set the whole blogosphere ablaze. If I could rewind the game and change a call on a whim I’d be invincible, but that isn’t going to happen. Luckily, UltimateBet gives everyone the tools to learn from their mistakes and relive past glories. By accessing your hand histories, you can quickly see how you’ve played over time and use that info to shape the future. You might want to take advantage of countless online tools that help you evaluate your gaming strategies, or even compete with other players on various leader boards and rankings at different levels.
In addition to the instant replay option available at the tables, there are two ways to retrieve your hand history from our game client.
Hand History Files:
For your convenience, your computer automatically records all played hands from Poker Cash Games, Sit and Goes, Multi Tournaments, and Black Jack games, for both fun and real money. You can access these hands either by browsing the files on your computer or directly from the game client using either of the options below.
1. Click on the Hand History button at any game type table.
2. Click on My Account / Hand History / Open My Hand History Files
Request Hand History via email:
We will be happy to send your hand histories via email. You can request hand histories for ring games or tournaments from the past month. The requested information will be sent as a single file.
To access this option, select My Account / Hand History / Request Hand History via email.
Good luck in the future, but maybe I mean the past.
Tags: Hand History, poker software, Product Features, Product Team, Software Update
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Tuesday, December 16, 2008 - ProductMan
There’s no better way to feed a full house than with piping hot pizza. Whether you host a weekly game at your pad with your buddies or prefer to logon and trounce the tables of the world, you need to eat. Don’t settle for inferior frozen pizzas when all it takes is a phone call to get proper pies delivered to your door.
I also recommend conferring with your crew and any respective stomachs before dialing up the grub. You wouldn’t want to foul up the game with anchovies or something equally revolting. What’s the deal with anchovies, anyway? I can’t think of a better way to taint a culinary masterpiece than with the addition of putrid fish. Although most people find bait as a pizza topping disgusting, some people love it. It pretty much appears on every menu around here, which means that it is all the rage in many heads. The truth is that some people make horrible and unpopular decisions. The real trick is to make sure they don’t have the final say.
At UltimateBet we occasionally release features that we think are awesome, but we quickly learn that some of our players beg to differ. It’s worth taking the time to send us your suggestions and feedback so that we can tailor the game to meet your needs. We’re here for you and always want to hear from you. Check out some of our recent tweaks and enhancements below.
Bad Beat Jackpot at the tables
We love watching our Bad Beat Jackpot balloon every second, but some of you have told us that you find this distracting. There’s no need to get mesmerized against your will. Now you can hide the Bad Beat Jackpot using the Options Menu at the tables.
Did you close a table by mistake?
Who doesn’t get carried away on their computers? If you like multitasking, you know how easy it is to accidentally close a window. We always ask you to confirm whenever you close a table… just in case.
Text at the tables
Resizing your tables shouldn’t reduce the text and image quality. Whatever table size you choose, you can count on crystal clear visuals.
Tournament Lobby details
Did you notice that some tournament information wasn’t refreshing quickly in the lobby? We have fixed this minor issue that affected some of our players. The prize pool, number of players, and additional details, which appear as tournaments progress, will always be displayed accurately and in real time.
Post your comments below. Tell us what’s on your mind and help us improve our game—and yours!
Tags: poker software, Product Features, Product Team, Software Update
Comments (11)
Friday, December 12, 2008 - ProductMan
I can’t believe it’s going to be 2009 in two and a half weeks. This decade is almost out of steam and they don’t even have a name for it yet. For the record, I’m not willing to call the years between 2000 and 2009 the zeros, the 2000s, or the naughts. At the rate things are going, maybe remaining nameless is a great call, although I am open to worthy suggestions.
I really thought things would be different by now. Even though I can easily store and listen to every song ever recorded on a device smaller than my wallet, technology seems to be slightly behind schedule. Where are the hoverboards, flying cars, robot butlers, burritos that don’t drip, and plans for world peace? Maybe all this stuff has already been invented except it is merely being held back because the public isn’t ready.
At UltimateBet, we’re always ready to embrace the latest technology and we want you along for the ride. When it comes to security, no one has time for even the slightest glitches. That’s why we not only make use of cutting edge security tools, but we regularly review and update our security procedures.
Hackers are no match for our custom 256-bit encryption algorithm. Whether it comes to banking security, data security, or gaming security, you’re automatically covered. Your personal information always stays under wraps thanks to our secure database and privacy policy.
Put your mind at ease and take our latest release out for a test drive. We always love feedback. Bring your ideas into the blogosphere and help us deliver the future of poker today.
Tags: Product Team, Software Update
Comments (0)
Wednesday, December 10, 2008 - ProductMan
December might seem like a great time to unwind, but we’re actually kicking things into overdrive on our end. Although it’s only been a little more than two week since the Cereus launch, that’s pretty much the digital equivalent of eternity.
We listened to your feedback (the good, the constructive, the ugly, and even the downright nasty) and our programmers and developers have been working around the clock pouring your ideas into our brand new software update.
If you’ve been playing with us for a while, you know that we constantly tweak our offerings to meet the needs of our players. We’d like to think of it as the natural evolution of the ultimate poker room, rather than a work in progress. Check out some of the changes we’re ushering in with our new update:
Game Speed Increase:
Our update runs faster and smoother. We’ve reduced the pauses between hands from two seconds to half a second. Thanks to your feedback, we’ve made the game noticeably faster.
More Buddies:
Tell all your friends! We’ve also made an update to Ultimate Buddy. We’ve increased the number of Buddies you can have from 500 to 2,000.
Heads-Up Kick Off Limit
Heads-up cash game players will notice that we’ve applied a new 5-minute rule to the ‘Sit Out’ function. This means that you won’t be waiting around forever for players to rejoin a game. After five minutes of sitting out at a heads-up ring game table, players will be removed from the table.
Disable Enter to Bet:
You can now disable the ‘Press Enter to Bet’ function to avoid accidentally betting when you press the ‘Enter’ key while chatting or using other applications. To disable this feature, visit the Options window and deselect the “Enter to Bet” checkbox.
Disable Blackjack at a Table:
You can now disable blackjack directly from individual tables instead of having to disable it globally. You can access this feature from the lobby under the My Account menu and select Hide Blackjack.
We’re only getting started. Be there as we roll out more updates over the coming weeks. We’ll be refining our software and introducing exciting new features.
This is your chance to give us feedback and comment on our software. If you have any ideas or suggestions for new features you’d like to see, this is the place to post them.
Help us build your dream software or at least bury the things you can’t stand.
Tags: Product Features, Product Team
Comments (4)
Tuesday, December 9, 2008 - ProductMan
I’ve been attempting to grow a beard this month, mostly because I can’t be bothered to shave during the season of frostbite and windburns. Some of my foes have suggested that having a beard is a sign of having something to hide. I’d prefer to think of it as the ultimate poker face. Traditional poker faces are obviously less important when playing online, but even if this is some kind of facial shroud of mystery, you can always know where you stand.
When playing in tournaments, it is always easy to see how you stack up. All you need to do is click on the ‘Info’ button and your chat box will instantly display valuable information about your performance in the tournament. This is one window the frost can’t conceal!
This handy feature lets you quickly see important details without leaving the table. With a single click, the box will display:
• The largest, smallest, and average chip stacks
• Your position in the tournament
• Your remaining time bank time
• The remaining blind time and the blind amounts
We always appreciate your input. Is there any other information that you would like to see at a glance? Please post a comment if you have any ideas or suggestions.
If only growing a respectable beard were this easy.
Tags: Product Team
Comments (1)
Friday, December 5, 2008 - ProductMan
I’m starting to wish that I had penned this piece before last night’s shenanigans. The weekend always starts early in this town and the holiday season only raises the bar, or maybe I mean the line up at the bar!
There’s really no shortage of Christmassy get-togethers and seasonal office parties and they seem to start earlier each year. I mean it’s only December 5th and I’ve already had enough festive cheer to last me well into 2009.
By festive cheer, I’m obviously not talking about happiness in general, but the intoxicating delight delivered through that captivating concoction of whiskey, sugar, eggs, milk, cream, and nutmeg, otherwise known as eggnog. People either love it or hate it, except I’m not really sure who can resist a fine holiday spirit wrapped in the gift of sugar, not to mention that handsome dose of protein. I’d really like to thank the calories too, for giving me the energy to face the day. Otherwise, I might not remember my name right now.
Forgetting who you are, even for a moment, can be a huge problem, especially in a place as anonymous as the internet. There’s no shortage of shady characters trying to pull the wool over your eyes and ours. Of course, you can always take precautions like we do. We regularly ask players to confirm their identity by providing us with documentation. This keeps our poker room safe and secure. We always like to know who we are dealing with, especially with major chunks of change flowing through the system.
Don’t be alarmed or offended if we ask you to verify your account. You should actually feel relieved, knowing that we take our games and your financial security seriously. All documentation is always kept strictly confidential. Don’t hesitate to contact our 24/7-security team if you have any questions. They’re here to make the process as smooth as possible so that you can get back to the poker tables as quickly as possible.
I should probably take some precautions of my own, maybe by declining some invitations. At least there are no official drinking holidays between New Year’s Eve and St. Patrick’s Day. Actually, my wife is pretty sure Valentine’s Day is supposed to be intoxicating, except I think she might have something else in mind. Maybe I should just stick to that family friendly scotch-free supermarket eggnog until then.
Tags: Product Team, Security
Comments (0)
Thursday, December 4, 2008 - ProductMan
During my senior year of high school, I enrolled in a popular computer science class. Our teacher was particularly lazy and he pretty much outsourced his lesson plans to his students, which meant everyone had to give a couple of presentations to the class each month. Most of these presentations were pretty boring, but I can still remember a certain seminar about computer security delivered by a major slacker.
Instead of discussing usual nerdy security topics like firewalls, data encryption, anti-virus protection, cryptography, authentication techniques, hacking, and access control, this scholar unintentionally put his own spin on the topic. He suggested that the best way to protect your data was to get a guard dog to hang out in your computer room or office and maul any would-be thieves. He also extolled the virtues of setting up electric fences, laser alarms, deadbolts, and using pepper spray to protect your data, in case you are allergic to pit bulls!
I’m not sure how the guy spoke for thirty minutes with a straight face, but the truth is you don’t want to slack when it comes to security. With the launch of CEREUS, we’re ramping up poker security even further.
We’ve engineered our new state of the art security center to protect our players and ourselves. Our new cutting edge system is fully automated and will detect and eliminate bots, collusion, chip dumping, and other kinds of fraud. Scammers will quickly discover that trying to foil our online poker software is fruitless.
We take pride in providing a fair and honest poker room, but we’re not afraid to ask for help. Give us a shout if you ever see anything suspicious and remember that we always welcome your thoughts, concerns, and feedback about security topics (and pretty much anything else). By the way, all it takes is a few juicy steaks to fend off a pit bull.
Tags: Cereus, Product Team
Comments (0)
Friday, November 28, 2008 - COO
Hi Everyone,
Our technical staff are working around the clock to address the issues you are having with the new software update. I apologize for the delay in response to your e-mails, we have a surge of requests coming in and it will take a bit longer than usual for our staff to get through them all. I assure you that we are here, we are listening, and we are working to fix these problems.
Before contacting our support team, please see if the content below helps solve your issue:
Problem: Everytime I click ok to receive the update it does nothing and now I can’t get on to Ultimatebet.
Solution:
- Close the Upgrade if it has crashed. This may require going into Task Manager (CTRL+ALT+DEL) and ending upgrade.exe process.
- Go to Start > Program Files > Settings > Control Panel > Add Remove Programs (depending on OS).
- Select any and all versions of Ultimate Bet and uninstall.
- Go to the folder Program Files to check for Ultimate Bet folder. If folder is found delete it.
- Go to www.ultimatebet.com
- Download and Install the UB software again.
Problem: I can’t get in without verifying my email (missing validation code).
Solution:
Try logging in now. All UB accounts should no longer have issues with the validation process.
Question: I have to change my screenname? What’s up with that?
Answer:
The CEREUS poker network offers UltimateBet fans many new advantages, including an expanded pool of players, bigger Bad Beat Jackpots, more guarantees and a lot more action at the tables. As a result of the expanded player base, there is some duplication of player nicknames.
Duplicate nicknames can’t exist on the same network, as it would cause a lot of confusion and mistaken identity issues.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused some of you, but keep in mind that picking a new username can work in your favor. If existing players recognize you at the tables and already know your playing style, your new name would make you appear brand new to them at the tables and they won’t know how to react to your moves. This is a significant advantage.
Once you login to your account, you will see a popup window asking you to change your nickname. To check the availability of the new nickname, click the button called “check ID.” Keep in mind that this change is a one-time deal, you will not be able to do it again, once your new nickname has been selected.
If you would like to keep a version of the username that you originally registered, simply add an additional letter, number or underscore. Special characters are not allowed. All nicknames will be in capital letters.
Please write down your new nickname, so if you forget it , you can easily look it up. Remember to keep your account password private, especially when other people may have access to your computer.
Problem: I am having a problem retrieving my password.
Solution:
Please try the Forgot Password process again located at the Login Window. We have made this process simpler and it should work now.
If you are unable to login after following these steps, please contact us at support@ultimatebet.com including the answer to your security question so we can provide further assistance.
Again, we will be working on addressing ALL your concerns around the clock. I know that some of you are unhappy with the changes we’ve made to the game interface. Change – any change – is usually met with resistance and it’s totally understandable. I urge you to give it another shot. I can assure you that the technical problems you are experiencing with the update are temporary. We will not let up until all these issues are resolved.
If you get past the superficial changes and think about the massive benefits this new network has to offer, I think you will fall in love with UB all over again. With so many more players online at one place, think of the massive jackpots, better tourneys, more guaranteed’s, bigger promotions. It’s huge!
I hope that you will stick with us through this time of change and I promise that we will do our absolute best to make sure that you have the most amazing online poker experience.
Tags: Cereus, COO, customer
Comments (3)
Friday, November 28, 2008 - ProductMan
I definitely overdosed on turkey this year. It is hard to believe that Christmas hasn’t arrived on the scene, especially since I already feel like hibernating until spring, but I blame that on whatever that turkey sedative is called, since the weather is surprisingly nice. If I couldn’t post this blog from the comforts of my bed, thanks mostly to the advanced surfing skills of my new iPod touch, you probably wouldn’t be reading any of this. I guess I could use my laptop, but I’m charging the battery for some eventual online poker action.
What better way to celebrate Black Friday than by hitting the poker tables, especially with the launch of Cereus. It looks like things are now running smoothly, with no more than a few minor hitches. Some dude, who actually only registered a few days ago, already snagged 250K by hitting the first Cereus Bad Beat Jackpot. I’m looking forward to more of these massive jackpots, more holdem tournaments, millions of new players, and tons of new features. Since I’m really neurotic, I’m going to love the new rabbit cam, and especially the added security and stability.
Now I just need to figure out how to run the UB software on my iPod. I have a texas-sized fridge full of leftovers to get through and it would be really awesome to hit the poker tables while lying on the kitchen floor. Texas holdem anyone?
Tags: Cereus, Product Team
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