If you haven’t noticed, we launched a new UltimateBet.com home page a little over a week ago. Our goal of the layout change was to get pertinent information to players faster and more effectively. Of course we want new players to download but aside from adjusting messaging for that, we’ve cut a lot of clutter and extra fluff on the main page that we knew just got in the way. The Bad Beat Jackpot is now feeding into the homepage, so you know when it’s time to jump on the tables.
UltimateBet successfully launched the first ever 7 Deuce Hold’em tables online and everyone is buzzing about it. We’ve added action to the tables that had previously only been available in live games. Watch our own Phil Hellmuth in a famous 7 Deuce hand on High Stakes Poker win the pot and prop bet with 7 Deuce.
Phil plays regularly at the UltimateBet 7 Deuce $25/50 stakes tables where, if you win with 7-2, you get paid $75 from each player at the table on top of pot, which can get massive. Good luck!
I can’t go without mentioning progress on the Aruba Poker Classic either, since we are going to have our 10th Anniversary party down there and expect the number of players to exceed 550. Now that’s a nice prizepool. If you’re staying with us in the Radisson you can have yourself a Mai-Tai, take dip in the ocean then the pool and be in your seat at the poker table all before the flop. We still have tons of ways to qualify without buying in directly, so check out the tourney schedule for details. Our next 25-seat giveaway event will be on August 30th, so don’t miss it.
I’m sure by now you’ve seen the new Seven-Deuce tables here at UltimateBet. Every player chips into a side pot, which can only be won by a player showing down the worst starting hand in poker, Seven-Deuce (you can make more straights with Three-Deuce, silly).
You’ve probably noticed that the numeral “7″ in the graphic is shaped like a hammer. This is because the nickname for Seven-Deuce is, you guessed it, the Hammer. A term that was coined way, way, WAY back in the day (like, 2003) by a blogger named Grubby, where they played a version of the Seven-Deuce prop bet in their home game. Grubby started offering prizes to any of his readers who won a hand with the Hammer, showed it down, and typed “HAMMER!” in the chat window. He hoped that, one day, the term would become part of the poker lexicon. I think it’s safe to say that day has come.
Over the years (have I really been blogging about poker for nearly six years??) I’ve won many a hand with the Hammer. I’ve also, um, lost many a hand with the Hammer. It’s the worst starting hand in poker for a reason–it’s awfully hard to make a winning hand with it. It started to seriously mess with my bankroll, until I realized that while it’s fun to slap the Hammer down on the felt and rub your friend’s nose in your brilliant play, it’s less satisfying to show it down to some random who has no clue what you’re doing. It reeks of bad sportsmanship, which should be avoided, unless you’re trying to shatter the spirit of someone you know. Then it’s quite awesome.
But at UB’s new Seven-Deuce table every player is en garde. If you get beat by the Hammer you’ve got no reason to squawk when the cards are flipped over and you see that you were outplayed. And the side pot (and the Seven-Deuce Leaderboard) certainly give players a major incentive to play the Hammer to the hilt.
And so I decided to take a seat at one of our Seven-Deuce tables and school these newbies. I looked forward to showing down the Hammer and, as the pot was pushed my way, type “Son, I was playin’ the Hammer before you had all this fancy Twitterin’ and iPhones and Wiis…”. Yeah, I’m pretty much an idiot.
To the tables! I settled into my seat, thirty bucks sitting before me, when I was dealt…pocket Aces. OK, even tho it takes the Hammer to win the side pot I’m not gonna turn down pocket rockets. There was a raise in front of me, I repopped, and the original raiser (a maleovlent bastard named IONABILL) made the call. The flop came 7h-4s-7c and all the money went in to middle. The turn was the Ks and I went “Blauuugh”. Because based on the way the hand went down pocket Kings was a very likely possibility. And, after the 8s fell on the river and the hands were turned over IONABILL showed his cowboys.
“Sorry” he typed in the chat. “Didn’t like that king on the turn,” I replied, once I cleaned the vomit off the floor. I reloaded and, the very next hand, I was dealt the Hammer. “OK, OK,” I said. “Best hand in poker, you get stacked. Worst hand in poker, YOU GET YOUR (DELETED) REVENGE!!!!!”
And that’s exactly what happened! Kinda! I did win the hand, and the side pot, after a King-high flop. So that helped me win back some of what I lost with Aces, but not all. Still, it stopped the tears.
If I have one piece of advice for those of you who dare play the Seven-Deuce game, it’s this–the Hammer is a raising hand, not a calling hand. If you aren’t playing the Hammer fast, you’ve giving the initiative to you opponent. You want him/her on his/her heels, backing up, afraid of your aggression and the powerful hand you’re representing. Otherwise you’re gonna have to show down a hand, which is easier said than done with Seven-Deuce.
I made this very mistake a few hands later when, again holding the Hammer, I called a raise from IONABILL. “I’M TAKIN’ YOU DOWN, PUNK!!” I shrieked as the flop came 3h-Qd-Jh. He bet out and I had to fold. ‘Cause I had squat and didn’t feel like this was a good spot for a big re-raise.
And that’s when IONABILL flipped over the Hammer and took both the main and side pots.
I won’t reveal what I said and did once I realized I’d been outhammered, on the odd chance that my mother and/or law enforcement officials read this. Showing superhuman restraint I typed, “lol, I had the Hammer too”. I still can’t believe I actually typed “lol”, what with the rage consuming my soul and all.
I’d just about regained my equilibrium when I was dealt Ace-King and raised it up. HIROLLER718 made the call and the flop was an unsatisfying 5d-8s-6d. Not the best for my Big Slick. But I duly made a continuation bet and HIROLLER718 duly shoved in his entire stack. I duly tucked tail and surrendered my hand and HIROLLER718 duly showed down the Hammer.
My left eye twitching, I typed “nice flop for the Hammer”. Which it was. And well played by HIROLLER718, certainly better played than by me. There was a lot of stack-shoving at my table, which is one of the points of our Seven-Deuce tables–it creates action. Big action. With only about $5 in the pot one player shoved for about $30…and showed down the Hammer. A big bet out of the blue like that is gonna smell like the Hammer to lots of players, and they may call very light. To find themselves facing the nuts. That’s the beauty of the Hammer, and the Seven-Deuce game–you just don’t know. Not until the cards are flipped over, and you see how you’ve been played.
Down $40 at one point, I battled back to finish with a net loss of just three bucks. My composure regained, I knew I’d return to the Seven-Deuce tables another day. That is, if I can find a seat at one of our Seven-Deuce tables, as they’ve been at a premium since we started offering them. But I’ll return soon enough to take another swing with the Hammer.
We ushered in a rewarding revolution last week when we released our new 7 Deuce Tables. The poker planet is abuzz with our crazy Texas Hold’em twist that turns those nasty 7-2 hole cards into pure gold. Have you taken your seat yet?
Cash and glory are ready to be seized when you bluff your way to victory with what is widely known as poker’s worst hand. The fun begins with the addition of our side pot. Before any cards are dealt, everyone places a prop bet into the side pot. You can score the side pot when you win a hand while holding 7-2. That’s really only the beginning because the main pot has been known to balloon as everyone at the table tries to outwit each other.
You can really rock the show with our new Seven Deuce Leaderboards. We’re keeping track of who wins the most 7-2 hands. The players with the most daily low stakes ($0.10/$0.25 to $1/$2) and high stakes ($2/$4 and above) hands will earn a piece of our $27,500 pie. Hit up the lobby and look for the tables with the 7-2 designation.
While you have our game open, you might as well try winning your way to paradise. The Aruba Poker Classic is less than two months away and you can get on board for as little as 10 cents. Try your hand at one of our STEP tourneys and you could win your $8,500 Aruba package for next to nothing. There’s also a $10,000,000 bonus on the line.
Grab your seat and let us know how you fare. The whole blogosphere wants to hear your 7-2 success stories. Tell us how things unfold (or even unravel) by posting into the comment box below.
I don’t even know where to begin today. My brain is totally and completely frazzeled. (NO – I have not had any merlot – yet!) I have just spent 5 hours working on some financial reports in Excel. I swear I will dream about cells, equations, and formulas. GRRRRRR – ok now I feel better.
So I just finished creating the new Pro BLOG schedule and I think you will really like it. We have such a talented group of pros and they are all so eager to BLOG. I think you will find a lot of valuable information, insight and just entertainment value reading these BLOGs. If you have any suggestions for what you’d like any of them to write about, just reply to this thread and I’ll see if we can make it happen.
So this Sunday August 9th will be a very cool day to be online playing. A majority of the team will be up and playing in the new Seven/Deuce games on UB. They are getting a ton of positive press and the pros really seem to like them too. Check out Mr. Hellmuth playing on Sunday night at 8:00 PM EST in the high roller tourney on the site. That will not be boring!
Not too much is new this week – just more Aruba planning. We are going to have some very cool entertainment lined up for you all (no – sadly NOT Bon Jovi – but I tried) as well as some new on island experiences. Make sure you qualify and get your butt to the beach!
I think this may just be the shortest BLOG I have ever written (and yes – I can hear you – probably the most boring) but that’s just the way it goes sometimes. I’m not usually at a loss for words – so something must be wrong. Oh well – next week will be a doozy I’m sure.
I got to tell ya I really love these new Seven Deuce cash tables on UB .I have been playing them for a couple days now and i cant believe the action I am seeing at the tables. They are perfect for players like me who need to play a lot of hands . A few years back I was playing in Phil Hellmuth’s annual Christmas home game ,when he brought up the idea that we play 7-2 . It was the first time i ever played it and I have loved it ever since. I remember the very first time it ever came into to play..Phil was in a hand with a very loose player named “Spa Man” we were only playing 5-10 but the game played huge ,probably 150k on the table. Phil bet pot ,pre flop, post flop ,the turn , then the river for about 3700.00 on a KJ7-10-4 board, Spa Man thought about it for 5 min before he folds his AK face up.. thats when the table went wild because Phil flips over his 7-2 and collected 50.00 from each player. Phil won 450.00 but he risked 3700.00 to do it. It is so funny how some people will play just for a little bragging rights.If you want to learn more about these new fun tables go to http://www.ultimatebet.com/poker-promotion/seven-deuce My advice to the new Seven Deuce player is to start at lower levels and build your way up. It is a little different than a normal cash game . Hope to see you all at the tables good luck H0
. A few years back I was playing in Phil Hellmuth’s annual Christmas home game ,when he brought up the idea that we play 7-2 . It was the first time i ever played it and I have loved it ever since. I remember the very first time it ever came into to play..Phil was in a hand with a very loose player named “Spa Man” we were only playing 5-10 but the game played huge ,probably 150k on the table. Phil bet pot ,pre flop, post flop ,the turn , then the river for about 3700.00 on a KJ7-10-4 board, Spa Man thought about it for 5 min before he folds his AK face up.. thats when the table went wild because Phil flips over his 7-2 and collected 50.00 from each player. Phil won 450.00 but he risked 3700.00 to do it. It is so funny how some people will play just for a little bragging rights.If you want to learn more about these new fun tables go to 
