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Complete rules, strategy & mathematics

Ultimate Texas Hold’em, calculated.

A street-by-street guide to the standard U.S. base game: what to bet, why the thresholds work, and which table details change the result.

Rule set used on this page: one 52-card deck; equal Ante and Blind bets; 3× or 4× allowed preflop; dealer qualifies with a pair or better; standard Blind pay table shown below. Trips is optional and excluded from the base-game strategy.

The three decisions

Before the flopRaise 3× or 4×, or check
After the three-card flopRaise exactly 2×, or check
After all five board cardsRaise exactly 1×, or fold

You can raise only once. Raising early puts more money behind stronger starting hands; checking preserves the smaller later options.

How the wagers settle

OutcomePlayAnteBlind
You win; dealer qualifiesWins 1:1Wins 1:1Pay table or push
You win; dealer does not qualifyWins 1:1PushesPay table or push
Dealer winsLosesLosesLoses
TiePushesPushesPushes

Standard Blind pay table

Your winning handBlind pays
Royal flush500:1
Straight flush50:1
Four of a kind10:1
Full house3:1
Flush3:2
Straight1:1
Less than a straightPush
Decision one

The 4× starting-hand chart

Use 4× whenever the chart says raise. The 3× option is legal but unnecessary under this simplified strategy.

Lower card →
High2345678910JQK
AYYYYYYYYYYYY
KYYYYYYYYYYY
QNNNNSSYYYN
JNNNNNNSSY
10NNNNNNNN
9NNNNNNN
8NNNNNN
7NNNNN
6NNNN
5NNN
4NN
3N
Y Raise 4×S Raise 4× only when suitedN Check

Pairs are handled separately: raise 3-3 or higher; check 2-2.

Fast memory rule

Raise these groups

  • Any ace
  • Any king
  • Q-8 or better
  • Q-6 or Q-7 when suited
  • J-10
  • J-8 or J-9 when suited
  • Any pair 3-3 or higher
Everything else

Check—do not fold

There is no preflop fold. A checked hand can still make the 2× wager on the flop or the 1× wager on the river.

“Suited” means both hole cards have the same suit. Q-7 offsuit checks; Q-7 suited raises.

Decisions two and three

Postflop strategy

The later the decision, the more precisely visible cards can be used.

2× · After the flop

Raise with

  • Two pair or better
  • A hidden pair, except pocket deuces
  • Four to a flush containing a ten-or-higher hole card of that suit

A hidden pair uses at least one of your hole cards. A pair entirely on the board is not hidden.

1× · On the river

Raise with

  • A hidden pair or better
  • Or fewer than 21 remaining dealer cards that would beat you

Otherwise fold. The out-count rule is a practical simplification, not a full two-card dealer enumeration.

River out-count example

Count each unseen single card that, when paired with some compatible second dealer card, makes the dealer’s final hand beat yours. Do not count cards that merely tie. If the count is 20 or fewer, make the 1× wager; at 21 or more, fold. This shortcut deliberately ignores some two-card combinations to stay usable at the table.

Underlying mathematics

What the percentages mean

For the stated standard game under fully optimal play, exhaustive enumeration produces an expected loss of 2.185% of the Ante unit. That is not 2.185% of every dollar wagered: the average total action is about 4.152 Ante units after the variable Play wager is included.

Element of risk2.185% ÷ 4.152 ≈ 0.526%

Expected loss divided by average total money wagered.

The simplified chart and postflop rules on this page are easier to execute but not perfectly optimal. Their published benchmark is approximately 2.43% per Ante, or 0.58% of total action, under the same standard assumptions.

Why table rules still matter

  • A different Blind pay table changes the value of straights and better.
  • A mandatory or bundled side bet changes the combined wager economics.
  • Maximum-payout caps can reduce the value of rare premium hands.
  • Regional dealing or hand-construction rules can define a genuinely different game.
Trips warning: Trips is a separate side bet. Its pay table—not the base-game chart—determines its return. Never assume the strategy-friendly base game makes the optional side bet equally favorable.

Calculation model

At each decision, compare the expected value of every legal action over all compatible unseen cards. Dealer qualification, ties, Ante settlement, the variable Play wager, and the Blind pay table must all be included. The best action is the one with the greatest conditional expected value—not necessarily the action most likely to win the hand.

Model notes

Figures and thresholds were cross-checked against the published combinatorial analysis and standard rules at Wizard of Odds. Last reviewed September 19, 2026. Ultimate Texas Hold’em is a registered trademark of Bally Gaming, Inc.; Casino Calculated is independent and unaffiliated.

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