Heard a podcast the other day posted by the LV Gambler's Book Club, about Kevin Moore an entrepreneur who wrote a book about his experiences playing UTH as a hobby, titled My First 55,000 Hands.

I had never considered playing this carney game before, but will likely add it to my rotation of BJ and Craps after reading up on basic strategy found at wizardofodds.com and reading Moore's book.

Might be a fun diversion. Any thoughts?

 

my experience was losing and more losing.

dropped a couple grand and never looked back.

 

My experience is playing it once when it first showed up because a friend wanted to try it.. guessing at correct strategy after a bunch of drinks didn't go that well...

 

I love the game! Last few trips, I played UTH almost as much as blackjack.
I play a simplified version of the basic strategy on this. The 4x plays (4-plays I call them), are the same - A-any, K-5+, Q-8+, J-10, pair 3s-Aces, K-any suited, Q-6 suited.
After the flop, I play any pair(+) that includes one card in my hand...or 4-to-a-straight or flush if one of my straight/flush cards is 10+.
For the 1x play or fold after the river? It really depends on the board. I've stayed in with as low as an 9-high in my hand...and I've folded K-4 more than once.

 

Thanks Topcard! What do you think about the variance compared to your BJ play? How does your avg bet compare to BJ?

 

The variance in UTH is dramatic... you need to be able to survive expensive 'bad runs' - but when you do, the payback is just as fast & furious as the drain was. Playing the $5 ante minimum, you really need to have about $300 that you're prepared to play for a session, assuming that you play the trips bet for $5.
The average bet? I play $5 tables & my average runs about $25/hand. ($5 ante, $5 blind, $5 trips, $10 avg. play). Sometimes I go $10-$10-$5 with $20 avg. on the "play", so the average bet would then be $45/hand.
One trick that I've found works is to always leave on an 'odds' payout-win that puts you up for the session... like a full-house or flush. When you hit 4-OAK, you should plan on coloring out within the next couple of hands, as it almost never gets any better than that!
Book the win - Go play blackjack or craps for a while...then start a new session later.

My blackjack is considerably lower, averaging about $18/hand (according to Golden Gate & Boyd).
Way less stress playing blackjack, but it can often feel like "work".

UTH, like craps, is always fun!

 

It's a really fun game and has probably the lowest house edge of all the carny games. The variance is high though, as playing proper strategy will require making the 4x bet fairly frequently.

With this game, the preflop strategy is key. People who don't know the correct strategy and attempt to play as though they are in the poker room are not going to do well.

I've read that you ideally want to buy in for 50x your ante to handle the variance and ensure a long session. And that might be without the trips bet, as most serious players don't play it.

As a casual player, I play the trips bet because it adds to the fun. But some good money can be made by stringing together a nice streak of 4x wins while pressing your bets.

You mention the wizard's site so I'm guessing you found it, but just in case you didn't, he has a very nice practice game that offers advice on correct strategy.

 

I play it on my commute into the Manhattan in the mornings! LOL

 

Be aware that the 'advice' function is flawed for the post-flop 2x bet... ignore it.
Best example? The wizard's simulator said I should check my post-flop trip-5s instead of going 2x ante.

 

Haven't played it in awhile, but didn't he have some sort of disclaimer about the post flop advice? It only worked right if you enabled java or cookies or some other computer term that I don't fully understand?