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Ultimate X (single line)

Introduction

 

Ultimate X is a popular video poker variant. The twist is that if the player doubles his bet, then any paying hand not only pays according to the pay table but also awards a multiplier on the following hand. This page addresses the single-line version of Ultimate-X Poker, which can be found on Five Star machines. I have a separate page for the multi-line version.

Rules

 
  1. For one to five coins bet, the game plays conventional single-line video poker.
  2. If the player doubles a five-coin bet, then he will enable the Ultimate X feature.
  3. In the Ultimate X feature, if the player wins, then he will be paid normally as well as winning a multiplier on the next hand.
  4. Any multipliers shall apply to the win on the next hand, but not additional multipliers.
  5. The tables below show some known multiplier tables.
 

Multiplier Table for Non-Wild-Card Games

Hand Jacks or Better
8-6
Bonus
Poker
7-5
Bonus
Poker
Deluxe
8-6
Double
Bonus
9-6-5
Double
Double
Bonus
9-5
Royal flush 2 3 2 2 4
Straight flush 2 3 2 2 4
Four of a kind 2 3 2 2 4
Full house 12 12 12 12 12
Flush 10 10 10 10 10
Straight 7 7 7 7 7
Three of a kind 4 4 4 4 4
Two pair 3 3 3 3 3
Jacks or Better 2 2 2 2 2
 

Multiplier Table for Deuces Wild

Hand Multiplier
Royal flush (natural) 2
Four deuces 2
Royal flush (wild) 2
Five of a kind 2
Straight flush 11
Four of a kind 7
Full house 5
Flush 5
Straight 3
Three of a kind 2
 

Multiplier Table for Joker Poker

Hand Multiplier
Natural royal flush 2
Five of a kind 2
Wild royal flush 2
Straight flush 2
Four of a kind 2
Full house 6
Flush 6
Straight 5
Three of a kind 4
Two pair 3
Kings or better 2
 

Example

 

Following are three consecutive hands I played at VideoPoker.com. Images are used with permission.

 

In the hand above, I got a pair of queens, which paid 5 credits and a 2x multiplier on the next hand.

 

In the next hand, I got a flush. Normally, it would pay 30 credits, but with the 2x multiplier it paid 60. I also earned a 10x multiplier on the next hand.

 

In the third hand, with a big 10x multiplier, I got nothing.

Return

The following table shows the returns for known Ultimate X games and pay tables. As usual, all returns are based on optimal player strategy.

Return Table

Game Pay Table Return
Jacks or Better 9/6 99.72%
Jacks or Better 8/6 98.57%
Jacks or Better 8/5 97.38%
Jacks or Better 7/5 96.23%
Jacks or Better 6/5 95.08%
Bonus Poker 8/5 99.21%
Bonus Poker 7/5 98.09%
Bonus Poker 6/5 96.94%
Bonus Poker Deluxe 9/6 99.96%
Bonus Poker Deluxe 8/6 98.82%
Bonus Poker Deluxe 8/5 97.47%
Bonus Poker Deluxe 7/5 96.32%
Bonus Poker Deluxe 6/5 95.41%
Double Bonus 9/7/5 99.21%
Double Bonus 9/6/5 98.11%
Double Bonus 10/6/4 97.76%
Double Bonus 9/6/4 96.62%
Double Bonus 9/5/4 95.39%
Double Double Bonus 9/6 99.05%
Double Double Bonus 9/5 97.93%
Double Double Bonus 8/5 96.80%
Double Double Bonus 7/5 95.80%
Joker Poker 50/17/7/5 98.24%
Joker Poker 50/16/7/5 97.38%
Joker Poker 50/15/7/5 96.52%
Joker Poker 40/20/5/4 95.66%
Deuces Wild 25/15/9/4/4/3 99.05%
Deuces Wild 20/12/10/4/4/3 97.88%
Deuces Wild 25/16/13/4/3/2 96.81%
Deuces Wild 20/10/8/4/4/3 96.21%

Analysis

The following table shows my analysis of 8-6 Jacks or Better. The table is in order of the highest total win. The return is the product of the probability, win, and 0.5. The reason for multiplying by 0.5 is the player must bet two units, but the wins are based on a one-unit bet. The lower right cell shows a final return of 98.573%.

Analysis of 8-6 Jacks or Better

Hand Base Win Multiplier Total Win Probability Return
Royal flush 800 12 9600 0.00000026 0.00123396
Royal flush 800 10 8000 0.00000033 0.00133036
Royal flush 800 7 5600 0.00000030 0.00082621
Royal flush 800 4 3200 0.00000148 0.00236745
Royal flush 800 3 2400 0.00000250 0.00300244
Royal flush 800 2 1600 0.00000389 0.00311026
Royal flush 800 1 800 0.00001077 0.00430808
Straight flush 50 12 600 0.00000123 0.00037039
Straight flush 50 10 500 0.00000163 0.00040805
Straight flush 50 7 350 0.00000148 0.00025965
Four of a kind 25 12 300 0.00002673 0.00400923
Four of a kind 25 10 250 0.00003553 0.00444122
Straight flush 50 4 200 0.00000776 0.00077583
Four of a kind 25 7 175 0.00003239 0.00283418
Straight flush 50 3 150 0.00001338 0.00100339
Straight flush 50 2 100 0.00002128 0.00106380
Four of a kind 25 4 100 0.00016990 0.00849500
Full house 8 12 96 0.00013025 0.00625198
Full house 8 10 80 0.00017310 0.00692416
Four of a kind 25 3 75 0.00029367 0.01101258
Straight 6 12 72 0.00012856 0.00462822
Straight 6 10 60 0.00017258 0.00517742
Full house 8 7 56 0.00015769 0.00441535
Straight flush 50 1 50 0.00006132 0.00153310
Four of a kind 25 2 50 0.00046624 0.01165594
Flush 4 12 48 0.00012750 0.00305991
Straight 6 7 42 0.00016741 0.00351553
Flush 4 10 40 0.00017281 0.00345610
Three of a kind 3 12 36 0.00084193 0.01515472
Full house 8 4 32 0.00082648 0.01322362
Three of a kind 3 10 30 0.00111842 0.01677631
Flush 4 7 28 0.00016787 0.00235022
Four of a kind 25 1 25 0.00130455 0.01630690
Full house 8 3 24 0.00142757 0.01713089
Straight 6 4 24 0.00096036 0.01152426
Two pair 2 12 24 0.00146181 0.01754168
Three of a kind 3 7 21 0.00101651 0.01067339
Two pair 2 10 20 0.00194104 0.01941037
Straight 6 3 18 0.00174723 0.01572506
Full house 8 2 16 0.00226398 0.01811187
Flush 4 4 16 0.00091550 0.00732402
Two pair 2 7 14 0.00176238 0.01233667
Straight 6 2 12 0.00292130 0.01752782
Flush 4 3 12 0.00159399 0.00956393
Three of a kind 3 4 12 0.00531450 0.03188700
Jacks or Better 1 12 12 0.00242594 0.01455562
Jacks or Better 1 10 10 0.00321625 0.01608127
Three of a kind 3 3 9 0.00917096 0.04126934
Full house 8 1 8 0.00633796 0.02535183
Flush 4 2 8 0.00258472 0.01033888
Two pair 2 4 8 0.00920835 0.03683341
Jacks or Better 1 7 7 0.00288911 0.01011187
Straight 6 1 6 0.00894827 0.02684481
Three of a kind 3 2 6 0.01452988 0.04358963
Two pair 2 3 6 0.01588337 0.04765012
Flush 4 1 4 0.00818824 0.01637648
Two pair 2 2 4 0.02514420 0.05028841
Jacks or Better 1 4 4 0.01490949 0.02981898
Three of a kind 3 1 3 0.04040025 0.06060037
Jacks or Better 1 3 3 0.02548336 0.03822503
Two pair 2 1 2 0.06992255 0.06992255
Jacks or Better 1 2 2 0.03978941 0.03978941
Jacks or Better 1 1 1 0.10808767 0.05404383
All other 0 12 0 0.00617284 0.00000000
All other 0 10 0 0.00821401 0.00000000
All other 0 7 0 0.00755548 0.00000000
All other 0 4 0 0.04007864 0.00000000
All other 0 3 0 0.06970767 0.00000000
All other 0 2 0 0.11153294 0.00000000
All other 0 1 0 0.31965107 0.00000000
Total       1.00000000 0.98573037
 

The standard deviation of 8-6 Jacks or Better is 5.71, relative to the total amount bet.

The following table shows the probability of each multiplier in 8-6 Jacks or Better under optimal strategy.

Multiplier Probability

Multiplier Probability
1 56.29%
2 19.93%
3 12.53%
4 7.24%
7 1.38%
10 1.50%
12 1.13%
Total 100.00%
 

On average, the player will have a multiplier of 2.0095.

Strategy

 

For the single-line version of Ultimate X, it is important to have a separate strategy for each multiplier on the current hand. In the multi-line version you can get away with a single strategy, because the multipliers averaged out somewhat across hands, but not in this version.

You can generate strategies yourself for any game and pay table using my video poker strategy maker. To use it, for any given multiplier enter into the "prize" column for each hand: win + multiplier - 1. For example, with a 4x multiplier and a pay table win of 25, enter as the prize 4+25-1=28.

To save you some time, here are some links to the strategies for 8-6 Jacks or Better.

 

A huge advantage can be had if you find a game abandoned with multipliers! If you see this, play one hand at five coins per line, and then cut and run. Likewise, never leave a game with multipliers on it. Either wait for a losing hand on all lines, or bet five credits per line on your last hand. Don't risk abandoning a game with a multiplier by making a max coin bet with the last of your money. You never want to have to leave a game with a multiplier because you don't have enough money to make another bet.

Acknowledgement

 

A big thanks to Gary J. Koehler for sharing with me the returns indicated on this page. My own analysis agreed with the return of the Jacks or Better game.

Internal Links

   

Outside Links

 

There is a very realistic Ultimate X game that can be played at VideoPoker.com. A free membership is required.

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Strategies

Full-Pay Jacks or Better:

Full-Pay Deuces Wild:

Quick Quads:

Other Strategies: