Absolute Poker vs Ultimate Bet

It's the battle between sister sites Absolute Poker and UltimateBet, both part of the new Cereus Network. Both sites offer a healthy deposit bonus, rewards program and reload bonuses to make playing on either a lucrative money making venture. Perhaps the best of all the things that can be said about either site is that the player pool probably ranks as the worst on the internet.

Round 1: Bonuses & Promotions

Absolute Poker offers a 100-150% first time deposit bonus depending on when you catch them during a promotional period. The offer is never below 100% and as of the time of this article was at a full 150% up to $500. UltimateBet offers a 111% first time deposit bonus up to $1,100 making it one of the largest in the industry. For players looking to load in only $500 you'll want to go to Absolute Poker, but if you plan on loading in a lot more, then Ultimate Bet might be the place to go. There's something to be said for both sites because they both offer regular reload bonuses in the range of 50-100% regularly every month.

Round 1 Result : Ultimatebet

Round 2: Software

Each has their own lobby software and table software, however, it's pretty much a skin of the same base software client. The UltimateBet software has the black and yellow themed layout while Absolute Poker sticks to the Red, White and Blue theme. The filters work much the same way in the lobby and when you are at the tables the experience is again very similar.

Round 2 Result: It's a Draw

Round 3: Traffic

Both sites share the same traffic on the Cereus Network which ranks as the 5th largest in the world. There are plenty of tournaments and Sit and Gos running constantly around the clock and massive field tournaments run weekly. The cash game traffic on the network is excellent and you'll find plenty of fish at all the levels all the way up to mid stakes games.

Round 3 Result: It's a Draw

Round 4: Tournaments

There are plenty of tournaments to enjoy on the Cereus network including heads-up, 6-handed and full ring Sit and Gos. The multi table tournament scene here isn't quite what you would see on some of the top tier poker rooms but the ultra-soft player pool more than compensates for the lack of the big money guarantees.

Round 4 Result: It's a Draw

Round 5: Ring Games

One of the best things about playing on either one of the sites is that their shared network on Cereus arguably has the worst players on the internet. Poker there seems more like an entertaining and wild hobby to most of the part time players on the site, and the regulars at the lower stakes are much more passive than at most sites. There's some serious money to be made for a seasoned aggressive ring game player at either site.

Round 5 Result: It's a Draw

Round 6: Games

Both sites feature all the different Hold'em and Omaha games that are all the rage these days with poker players. On occasion they have ring games and tournaments for HORSE/HEROS, HOSE, Stud and Razz. The Stud games are said to be especially juicy in tournament play.

Round 6 Result: It's a Draw

Round 7: Deposit/Withdrawal Options

Both sites offer VISA, MasterCard, Neteller, MoneyBookers and Click2Pay. Absolute Poker offers iDeal, as well as wire transfers. Ultimate Bet has a bank wire feature in addition to UKash and wire transfers. Both sites have a very reliable payment method for USA players with their check payments.

Round 7 Result: It's a Draw

Round 8: VIP Program

What UltimateBet calls the RAI$E program, Absolute Poker calls the FAME system and both systems work identically. For every real money hand that has a rake at the tables, players are awarded with points. These points are used to unlock your deposit and reload bonuses and can also be spent in their respective stores. The Absolute Poker point store is your traditional points-for-goods trade system where points are turned in for things like iPods. They can also be converted to cash which makes them a valuable commodity. The AbsolutePoker VIP store works much like eBay where players can bid on items and win them, making it a lot more fun to "win" an item.

Round 8 Result: Absolute Poker

Round 9: Support

UltimateBet isn't quite known for their customer support as both sites have their own unique teams to handle customer service issues. UB only offers up an email support system with a 48-hour response pledge. Although Absolute Poker has a similar support system via email, there is a backdoor telephone support system and sometimes customer service reps will call you to help take care of any problems. There's been numerous accounts of AP's customer service reps calling to help or follow up after something has been resolved which has given them fantastic customer service ratings.

Round 9 Result: Absolute Poker

Absolute Poker vs UltimateBet - The Verdict - Who Wins?

Clearly when it comes to sites that share the same network of games and traffic, there's going to be a lot of ties when we break down the differences between the sites. UltimateBet gets the nod for the killer deposit bonus of 111% up to $1,100 but that's not to say that a 150% bonus for $500 isn't awesome over at Absolute Poker. The customer service and VIP program is better at Absolute Poker, so we'll give them the nod this time in this close battle.

Final Score:
Absolute Poker: 2
Ultimate Bet Poker: 1
Draws: 6

Ultimate Bet vs Absolute Poker - And the Winner is....