Ultimatebet opened in 2001 and is part of the Cereus network. They offer a good sign up bonus with frequent promotions and have a rewarding loyalty scheme.

Regular tournament players at Ultimatebet will appreciate the conservative blind structures, meaning players often have ample time to steadily build a chip stack and enjoy the competitive games found there.

Ultimatebet does not have telephone support or live chat help, however they compensate for this with a well monitored email response team that often replies to enquiries within minutes.

The Cereus network has been one of the hardest hit since the April 15th (black friday) fallout.

The number of real money players has dropped by three quarters leaving approx' 500 real money players at peak times. Despite this the site owners still maintain their intention is to continue their operation, albeit a scaled down one.

Ultimatebet offer a larger proportion of guaranteed prize pool tournaments than most other sites of comparable size. There are frequent freeroll tournaments, WSOP and WPT qualifiers, as well as ring game and regular multi-table tournaments.

Ultimatebet also offer an Instant-Play no download browser based version. That means you can play online poker without having to install the Ultimatebet software. It's perfect for occasions when you're away from your personal machine and would rather not download the application.

From the lobby

The redesigned lobby is a good improvement on the old version making site navigation smooth and fast. Cash tables, regular and sit and go tournaments are easily accessible. A simple tab system quickly aids players with general choices and there is a filter system to speed players to their preferred games.

Sit and Go tournaments

Sit and go games begin every few minutes on Ultimatebet with the balance tilted towards the upper end of the low buy-in level. Medium stake games have a good take up of players and the high end players find good company during peak hours.

Scheduled tournaments

The regular games come thick and fast, offering plenty of variety for players in well attended games at all levels. The highest player numbers will always be seen at the lower end of the market, but medium and high buy-in players will find more than enough action.