Ultimate Poker Review 6 Weeks After Launch
The first legal US online poker site, Ultimate Poker, went live on April 30, 2013. Nevada’s pride and joy has been in operation, employing active real money poker tables for six weeks now. As such, we felt it was time to review the site’s overall success, and are pleasantly surprised to report exponential growth on the virtual felt.
Ultimate Poker, owned and operated by Ultimate Gaming and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, has gone from the ground floor of dealing its very first poker hand, to accommodating an average of 449 players at peak hours. According to the trusted online poker traffic tracking website, PokerScout, the daily average of active players is around 200, revealing steady growth from the initial 100 player average when the website was first launched.
The overall response from users has been good, although some negatives were mentioned regarding the functionality of the software. On the plus side, players were generally pleased with the smooth gameplay and reported no malfunctions, such as erroneous pot awarding or accidental all-in betting. However, the software is lacking many of today’s standard features.
Some players pointed out that the online poker site would be more preferable if it offered resizable tables to accommodate the multi-tabling capabilities. There is no automatic re-buy or top off feature to keep players in the action, as most online poker rooms offer. Ostensibly, Ultimate Poker was launched before the software received its final tweaking, merely in an effort to make history by becoming the very first legal online poker site in Nevada, not to mention the United States as a whole. With that in mind, many players and industry analysts are expecting a much-appreciated upgrade to the software in the very near future.
One thing all members of Ultimate Poker seem to agree on is the comprehensive security of the poker site. Being regulated and overseen by the Nevada Gaming Control Board, residents of the Silver State no longer have to worry about their funds being presumably protected by an off shore company headquartered on some minuscule island in the middle of no man’s land. Their activities and funds are secured locally and regulated by an authority that puts the residents of its state as the top priority.
In addition, withdrawals are faster and more secure than ever. Members of Ultimate Poker have the ability to withdrawal their money online, or by visiting any land-based Stations Casino. In this way, payouts can be received just as fast as the player can walk in to the casino and visit the cashier cage. Deposits can also be made at any Stations Casino location, or by ACH (instant check), bank wire or check by mail.
For the moment, it seems Ultimate Poker will continue to rise in player traffic as more and more residents of the Silver State are enjoying the convenience and entertainment of the legal online poker room. However, it will be interesting to see how Ultimate Poker fairs when more operations open their doors to Nevadans. At present, Caesars Entertainment is expected to be the next to enter the online poker market with the launch of real money tables at WSOP.com, but the only official time-frame given relates to “summer 2013”; a vague approximation at best.