• Ultimate Texas Holdem Wikipedia Play
• Ultimate Texas Holdem Wikipedia Game
• Ultimate Texas Holdem Wikipedia Codes
• Ultimate Texas Holdem Wikipedia Rules

Cereus Poker Network was an online poker network comprising Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet. The site is now insolvent and not processing player withdrawals. Cereus is owned by a private company, Blanca Games. Blanca Games bought all Network assets in August 2010 from Tokwiro Enterprises.^[1] The Cereus network was one of the world's ten largest online pokercardrooms prior to losing the majority of its player base in the wake of the April 15, 2011 online poker indictments.^{[citation needed]}

Ultimate Texas Hold'em is a newly created, very short article that would likely be better placed within the main Texashold'em article. HappyValleyEditor ( talk ) 04:57, 18 March 2016 (UTC) Oppose I haven't added all the sources for the rules yet, hopefully someone else can help. Practice playing Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em with the Wizard's game which offers perfect strategy advice or select an online casino to play for real money. Texas hold 'em (also known as Texas holdem, hold 'em, and holdem) is one of the most popular variants of the card game of poker. Two cards, known as hole cards, are dealt face down to each player, and then five community cards are dealt face up in three stages.

Absolute Poker[edit]

Absolute Poker was established in 2003. It was licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission.^{[citation needed]}

2007 cheating incident[edit]

In September 2007, Absolute Poker began defending itself following accusations made by members of several Internet forums that the online poker room has a 'superuser' account which allows one player to read the hole cards of another during a game.^[2] By October, widespread Internet allegations of cheating led to the Kahnawake Gaming Commission beginning an investigation.^[3][4]

Although allegations had been made about several accounts, one of the most remarkable pieces of evidence was a complete history of a tournament which was won by a player called 'POTRIPPER'. This history was far more complete than normal; it included all hidden hole cards for all of the players at the table, and the IP addresses of players and third-party observers who were watching the game via the Internet. It was sent out, perhaps by accident, when a player complained about suspicious play. Reviewing the data, mathematician and gaming expert Michael Shackleford said:

Hand after hand POTRIPPER’s play is consistent with that of a player who had knowledge of every player’s hole cards. The majority of hands show POTRIPPER bluffing at just the right times when his opponents were weak. Yet, when he was hopelessly outmatched, even with good cards, he laid them down.^[5]

Shackleford subsequently blacklisted Absolute Poker on his gaming-related website.^[6]

On October 19, an unofficial source within Absolute Poker claimed that an employee had hacked the system to 'prove a point'.^[7] On October 21, Absolute released an official statement:

...it appears that the integrity of our poker system was compromised by a high-ranking trusted consultant employed by AP whose position gave him extraordinary access to certain security systems. As has been speculated in several online forums, this consultant devised a sophisticated scheme to manipulate internal systems to access third-party computers and accounts to view hole cards of other customers during play without their knowledge. [...] We will pay for all losses suffered by the affected players as soon as our audit is finished and the amounts are determined.^[8]

In November 2007, Absolute issued an interim statement claiming the employee cheating had taken place over a period of forty days and that the cardroom was refunding $1.6 million to affected players.^[9] The Kahnawake Gaming Commission issued its report on the incident in January 2008. Among other consequences, Absolute Poker was fined $500,000.^[10]

The Quebec provincial police opened an investigation into the ongoing matter.^[11]

UltimateBet[edit]

Founded in 2001, UltimateBet was licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission.

UltimateBet offered Texas hold 'em, Omaha high and high low, seven card stud high and high low. Mixed game tables were also offered (HO, HOSE, HORSE). Like other online poker rooms, UltimateBet also offered a .net play-money-only cardroom.

UltimateBet hosted an annual live tournament, the Aruba Poker Classic, which was a World Poker Tour event for the first four seasons of the show. In 2005, Freddy Deeb won the event, claiming the $1,000,000 prize. Prior winners were Eric Brenes in 2004, Erick Lindgren in 2003, and Juha Helppi in 2002. The tournament in 2008 was a $5,000 buy-in event with a guaranteed $1 million top prize.

The company sponsored the poker television series Poker2Nite, hosted by professional poker player Joe Sebok and radio host Scott Huff.^[12]

Spokespeople for UltimateBet have included professional poker players Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke, as well as actress-turned-poker player Tiffany Michelle.^[13]

Prior to the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, the software parent company of the cardroom, Excapsa Software was traded on the London Stock Exchange as XCP.L. In October 2006, the company announced it was selling its assets to a private company and moving to delist itself from the stock exchange.^[14] The legality of the deal was immediately questioned because most of the payment would take place after the act became law.^[15]

2005–2007 cheating scandal[edit]

UltimateBet had a cheating scandal similar in nature to that of Absolute Poker.^[16] In May 2008, the company released a statement about the scandal, claiming that cheating had taken place from March 2006 to December 2007. However, in a later statement they confirmed that the cheating had begun at the start of 2005:

We have also confirmed that the cheating dates back further than we initially believed. We can now confirm that the cheating began in January 2005, long before Tokwiro Enterprises ENRG acquired UltimateBet from the previous ownership.^[17]

The company claimed the cheating was perpetrated by employees of the former owners, Excapsa Software.^[18] According to the company, the fraudulent activity was traced to unauthorized software code that transferred hole-card information of other players to the perpetrators during play. UltimateBet stated it had removed the cheating software as of February 2008 and began issuing refunds to affected players.^[19]

On September 29, 2008, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission stated it had found clear and convincing evidence to support a conclusion that between the approximate dates of May 2004 to January 2008, Russ Hamilton was the main person responsible for, and benefiting from, multiple cheating incidents at Ultimate Bet.^[20][21]

2011 indictments[edit]

On April 15, the Department of Justice seized the .com internet addresses of the three online gambling sites, PokerStars, Full Tilt, and Absolute Poker.^[22] The Cereus Poker Network continued operating until May 12, 2012 when players reported being unable to connect to game servers using the poker client software. At the time of its closure, it owed players an estimated $50 million, mostly to residents of the United States.^[23]

Absolute Poker Claims Process[edit]

On April 10, 2017, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York issued a press release explaining that former players at Absolute Poker would be eligible to file claims to regain the funds in their balances at the defunct poker site.^[24] Money held in Ultimate Bet accounts is also eligible for reimbursement. The Garden City Group was retained as claims administrator. This is the same company that handled claims relating to Full Tilt Poker, which was also targeted in the 2011 indictments against online poker firms. After the Full Tilt Poker remissions process was completed, having returned more than $118 million to affected players, some of the money that had been set aside for it yet remained unclaimed. It is this leftover amount that will be distributed in compensation to the former customers of the Cereus Poker Network. The petition for remission deadline is set at Sept. 7, 2017 with payments to be processed shortly thereafter.^[25]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

1. ^Elaine Chaivarlis. 'Cereus Poker Network Acquired by Blanca Games'. pokernews.com.
2. ^'Absolute Poker in 'Superuser' Controversy'. bluffeurope.com.
3. ^Associated Press: Kahnawake Gaming Commission Starts Probe into AbsolutePoker.comArchived October 24, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
4. ^eGaming Review: Absolute engulfed in cheating scandal
5. ^'Absolute Poker Warning'. wizardofodds.com.
6. ^'Online Casino Blacklist'. wizardofodds.com.
7. ^''Geek' blamed for online poker cheating - Technology & science - Security - NBC News'. NBC News.
8. ^Haley Hintze. 'Absolute Poker: Consultant Cited in Latest Statement'. pokernews.com.
9. ^AllIn Magazine: Absolute Poker Issues Interim Statement On Security BreachArchived November 9, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
10. ^Kahnawake Gambling Commission: In the Matter of Absolute PokerArchived July 13, 2011, at the Wayback Machine PDF file
11. ^ABC News. 'Online Poker Players Expose Alleged Fraud'. ABC News.
12. ^Gordon, Nicole; Friedman, Michael (2009-11-19). 'Does Poker2Nite Have What it Takes to Flourish?'. PokerNews. Retrieved 2010-03-19.
13. ^Ultimatebet.com: UltimateBet's Star Players Team Turns to Hollywood for Newest RecruitArchived November 19, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
14. ^Bloomberg: Excapsa to Sell Assets, Scrap Listing on U.S. Gaming Crackdown
15. ^'Business - The Times'. timesonline.co.uk.
16. ^'Public Still Awaiting Answers in UltimateBet Cheating Scandal'. pokerworks.com.
17. ^Status Update on NioNio InvestigationArchived November 19, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
18. ^ULTIMATEBET ISSUES STATEMENT REGARDING UNFAIR PLAYArchived August 29, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
19. ^Haley Hintze. 'Online Site UltimateBet Issues Statement Regarding Unfair Play'. pokernews.com.
20. ^Haley Hintze. 'Kahnawake Gaming Commission Announces Sanctions on UltimateBet: Russ Hamilton Named'. pokernews.com.
21. ^Kahnawake Gaming Commission: Kahnawake Gaming Commission Imposes Sanctions on Ultimate Bet with Regard to Cheating IncidentsArchived October 10, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
22. ^Richtel, Matt (2011-04-15). 'U.S. Cracks Down on Online Gambling'. The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
23. ^'Can We Discuss Absolute Poker'. Two Plus Two Publishing.
24. ^'US Attorney Announces Compensation Program for Absolute Poker Victims'. US Department of Justice.
25. ^'Absolute Poker/Ultimate Bet Claims Administration'. Garden City Group LLC.^{[permanent dead link]}

Introduction

The house edge is defined as the ratio of the average loss to the initial bet. In some games the beginning wager is not necessarily the ending wager. For example in blackjack, let it ride, and Caribbean stud poker, the player may increase their bet when the odds favor doing so. In these cases the additional money wagered is not figured into the denominator for the purpose of determining the house edge, thus increasing the measure of risk. For games like Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em and Crazy 4 Poker, where there are two required initial wagers, the house edge is based on one of them only. House edge figures are based on optimal or near-optimal player strategy.

The table below shows the house edge of most popular casino games and bets.

Casino Game House Edge

Notes

Guide to House Edge

The reason that the house edge is relative to the original wager, not the average wager, is that it makes it easier for the player to estimate how much they will lose. For example if a player knows the house edge in blackjack is 0.6% he can assume that for every $10 wager original wager he makes he will lose 6 cents on the average. Most players are not going to know how much their average wager will be in games like blackjack relative to the original wager, thus any statistic based on the average wager would be difficult to apply to real life questions.

The conventional definition can be helpful for players determine how much it will cost them to play, given the information they already know. However the statistic is very biased as a measure of risk. In Caribbean stud poker, for example, the house edge is 5.22%, which is close to that of double zero roulette at 5.26%. However the ratio of average money lost to average money wagered in Caribbean stud is only 2.56%. The player only looking at the house edge may be indifferent between roulette and Caribbean stud poker, based only the house edge. If one wants to compare one game against another I believe it is better to look at the ratio of money lost to money wagered, which would show Caribbean stud poker to be a much better gamble than roulette.

Many other sources do not count ties in the house edge calculation, especially for the Don’t Pass bet in craps and the banker and player bets in baccarat. The rationale is that if a bet isn’t resolved then it should be ignored. I personally opt to include ties although I respect the other definition.

Element of Risk

For purposes of comparing one game to another I would like to propose a different measurement of risk, which I call the 'element of risk.' This measurement is defined as the average loss divided by total money bet. For bets in which the initial bet is always the final bet there would be no difference between this statistic and the house edge. Bets in which there is a difference are listed below.

Element of Risk

Standard Deviation

The standard deviation is a measure of how volatile your bankroll will be playing a given game. This statistic is commonly used to calculate the probability that the end result of a session of a defined number of bets will be within certain bounds.

The standard deviation of the final result over n bets is the product of the standard deviation for one bet (see table) and the square root of the number of initial bets made in the session. This assumes that all bets made are of equal size. The probability that the session outcome will be within one standard deviation is 68.26%. The probability that the session outcome will be within two standard deviations is 95.46%. The probability that the session outcome will be within three standard deviations is 99.74%. The following table shows the probability that a session outcome will come within various numbers of standard deviations.

I realize that this explanation may not make much sense to someone who is not well versed in the basics of statistics. If this is the case I would recommend enriching yourself with a good introductory statistics book.

Standard Deviation

Hold

Although I do not mention hold percentages on my site the term is worth defining because it comes up a lot. The hold percentage is the ratio of chips the casino keeps to the total chips sold. This is generally measured over an entire shift. For example if blackjack table x takes in $1000 in the drop box and of the $1000 in chips sold the table keeps $300 of them (players walked away with the other $700) then the game's hold is 30%. If every player loses their entire purchase of chips then the hold will be 100%. It is possible for the hold to exceed 100% if players carry to the table chips purchased at another table. A mathematician alone can not determine the hold because it depends on how long the player will sit at the table and the same money circulates back and forth. There is a lot of confusion between the house edge and hold, especially among casino personnel.

Ultimate Texas Holdem Wikipedia Play

Hands per Hour, House Edge for Comp Purposes

The following table shows the average hands per hour and the house edge for comp purposes various games. The house edge figures are higher than those above, because the above figures assume optimal strategy, and those below reflect player errors and average type of bet made. This table was given to me anonymously by an executive with a major Strip casino and is used for rating players.

Hands per Hour and Average House Edge

Ultimate Texas Holdem Wikipedia Game

Footnotes

* — House edge based on Ante bet only as opposed to all mandatory wagers (for example the Blind in Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em and the Super Bonus in Crazy 4 Poker.

Translation

Ultimate Texas Holdem Wikipedia Codes

A Spanish translation of this page is available at www.eldropbox.com.

Ultimate Texas Holdem Wikipedia Rules