UltimateBet.com may be considered by some more experienced poker pros to be more of a poker school than a poker site. However, this perspective is condescending. Everybody has to start somewhere, and UltimateBet.com is a great place to start, because you can be tutored by some of the best, including Phil Helmuth and Annie Duke. In 2007, UltimateBet merged with Absolute Poker to form the behemoth known as the Cereus Network. Software runs in a sleek manner without undue graphical interference. Tables have an old school feel to them. 

When you've won the World Series of Poker 11 times, your opinion matters, so when Phil Helmuth endorses a site, we listen up. However, we would be remiss if we did not note that there were a couple high profile security issues with UltimateBet a few years back. Those problems have since been corrected, and what does not kill you makes you stronger, and a site so large cannot afford to have the same issue twice, but still, the record isn't perfect.

As a poker site that is both gigantic in terms of user base and focused on bringing new players into the market, it's understandable that UltimateBet would have a real challenge on its hands to satisfy customer questions and issues. Overall, UltimateBet does a good job of handling this deluge, but there are some areas that need work. The FAQ page, for example, is a great resource for answering your own questions, but email response routinely takes the full 48 hours.

UltimateBet obviously subscribes to the notion that first impressions are everything, if we are to judge by a startup bonus that amounts to a full 200 percent of your initial deposit all the way up to $1,100 dollars. And after they snatch you, they hold with every other month reload bonuses that are usually 25 to 100 percent match of your deposit up to $600 each and every time. UltimateBet also offers monthly 5000 cash free rolls and a fruitful loyalty program.

Deposit using eWallets like Click2Pay, Neteller, and MoneyBookers, or use the good old-fashioned Visa or MasterCard. Withdrawal options include but are not limited to Visa and MasterCard, PaySafe cards, bank wire, and check by mail.