Website Review: ClubUBT.com

It's time to bet. I look warily at the other players on the screen. We're playing elimination blackjack on ClubUBT.com, it's round eight in the tournament, and this could be the end for me. Everyone has more money than I do, except BobKatt. Our chip count is as follows:

big423: $30,000
ekdfire: $51,750
BobKatt: $16,500
Liestro (me): $20,000

Players big423 and ekdfire place bets, but opt to keep them secret. I'm not paying much attention to them, however, because I'm mainly worried about BobKatt. If he beats the house and wins enough money this round, he'll be ahead of me. That'll put me last, and because this is an elimination round, that means I'll be out of the game, and out of the running for the tournament prize: an 8Gb iPod Touch.

Thing is, when BobKatt bets, he also does it secretly! I have no idea what he wagered, so I have to assume the worst: he bet everything. It's my turn to bet and the clock is ticking, so I quickly make up my mind and decide to go all in.

"Balls to the wall!" I shout, as I bet my entire stash. But I hit the "Secret" button to conceal my wager. "So there, BobKatt!"

"BobKatt: tricky, tricky, L," pops up in the chat box. He's obviously as worried about me as I am of him.

I type: "tit for tat, bk."

I bite my fingernails as the cards are dealt. big423 gets a jack and a two. ekdfire: a six and a seven. BobKatt is dealt a king and a queen. (I howl.) My cards are a ten and a five. The screen displays the values of our hands:

big423: 12
ekdfire: 13
BobKatt: 20
Liestro (me): 15

I'm now in deep trouble. BobKatt will most likely beat the house. The house card showing is a six, and from my research I know there's a 42 percent chance it'll go bust (have a hand value of more than 21). But if the house doesn't go bust, it's highly unlikely to beat BobKatt's hand.

I only have 15, though, and the house is likely to beat me (if it doesn't go bust), so should I ask for a card?

I have to wait my turn. big423 requests a card and is dealt a six. He now has 18 and opts to stand (wants no further cards). ekdfire also asks for a card and gets a king. This brings his hand value to 23 and he goes bust. (His secret bet is revealed to be $500, which he loses.) BobKatt doesn't split his hand - which reinforces my suspicion that he went all in - and stands.

The computer beeps me, telling me it's my turn. I tap my keyboard nervously. If I request another card, the chances of going bust are high. I don't know the odds, but it has happened to me many times before, when I've asked for a card with a 15-point hand. Then again, there's a 58 percent chance the house won't go bust, and 15 is low, so it's likely the house would beat me, while still losing against BobKatt.

I click the "Hit" button and I'm dealt a four. ("Phew!") I opt to stand. Our hand values are now:

big423: 18
BobKatt: 20
Liestro (me): 19

The house (which is showing a six) reveals its hole card to be a five. With a total of 11, it has to take another card (must do so with a hand worth less than 17): the house draws an eight.

BobKatt beat the house! I'm out! I say something not fit to print.

But wait. The computer displays the results. I blink in disbelief, then get out of my chair and jump for joy.

Yes, BobKatt beat the house, and, as I suspected, he had bet everything. That brought his total chip count to $33,000. I tied the house (my 19 versus the house's 19), which resulted in a "push" (I won nothing, but also lost nothing). big423, however, lost against the house, and since his secret bet had been $15,000, he now had less money than I did. Our post-round totals:

big423: $15,000
ekdfire: $51,250
BobKatt: $33,000
Liestro (me): $20,000

I am no longer the poor man of the group - big423 is. He gets eliminated and I survive to play another round. I'm one step closer to winning that iPod Touch!

* * *

What you just read is an account of one of the games I recently played on ClubUBT.com, a website that went live in the summer of 2007 and lets members play blackjack and poker online, risk free. There's no risk because instead of betting real money, you bet play chips, and members are automatically given $25,000 worth at the beginning of every tournament.

If you win a tournament, you can't convert the play chips into real money, but you win whatever the prize is. This can be anything from tournament points to a valuable item (like the iPod above), to $10,000 in real money.

What's great about ClubUBT.com is that although you can win stuff like that, you can never lose your own money. All you pay is a membership fee of $19.95/month. In effect, you're playing blackjack and poker tournaments without gambling.

(Plus as a member, you get benefits like a monthly copy of "All In," the world's leading poker magazine, tips from pro's like Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke and Johnny Chan, over $3000 in Las Vegas coupons, online access to Anthony Curtis' "Las Vegas Advisor" newsletter and more.)

If you're skeptical about this, I can understand. I was too. So do what I did: try it out first. ClubUBT.com gives you a two-week free-trial period, during which you can play the games for nothing. If during that time you decide you don't want to become a member after all, you can cancel and it won't cost you a penny. They don't charge your card until your free-trial period ends.

I've personally found ClubUBT.com to be worth the money. I play elimination blackjack a lot on the site, and have had hours of enjoyment.

Getting Started

Before you can start playing, you have to download special software, just like you do with online multiplayer games like Doom and Everquest. Once you've signed in, you're taken to the "Main Lobby," where you'll find a list of all big upcoming tournaments and the prizes you can win.

Here are some examples: "Sony PlayStation 3," "Weather Tec 3-Room Tent," "ClubUBT Cruise" and "$1,000 cash." Once a month or so they have a "$10,000 Tournament."

On the left hand side of the Main Lobby screen you'll find a row of buttons labeled "Poker Tournaments," "Elimination Blackjack Tournaments," "My Account," "Club," "Customer Support" and "ClubUBT Buddy." You'll want to check your account now and then because it tells you how many tournament points and play chips you currently have, as well as when they'll charge your credit card next.

The customer-service button is where you can access a live-chat feature that lets to communicate in real time with a poker or blackjack expert. You can also use email if you don't need an answer right away, or have a long, involved question.

To find out about the next tournament you can enter, simply click the "Elimination Blackjack Tournaments" or "Poker Tournaments" buttons. The first thing that'll pop up is a list of upcoming games. Be sure and check both the blackjack and poker tournament lists, because while you're waiting for a blackjack tournament to start, for example, you may have time to play a few rounds of poker (or vice versa).

The prizes for winners are listed under "Remarks" for poker tournaments and under "Name" for elimination blackjack.

Playing Elimination Blackjack

I've grown to enjoy blackjack (as you can tell from the beginning of this review), so I play this more than poker. To get in on a game, click the tournament you want to enter and register. A popup will alert you when the game is about to begin, and you'll be "taken" to your table, which means another window will open.

What you'll see before you is an aerial view of a snazzy blackjack table. The graphics are sleek and crisp, which makes it easy to follow the game. Each player has a chair, upon which your name is prominently displayed, along with your total number of chips and the amount you are currently betting. (Each player starts a tournament with $25,000.)

Instructions are simple and straightforward: You're prompted when you need to bet or make a decision regarding your hand, and your choices are clearly displayed at the bottom of the screen, on a dashboard.

The game moves fast, so be prepared to give it your undivided attention. When I played for the first time, I was so excited my heart was pounding. The reason is that this isn't just a game of blackjack: it's "elimination blackjack," a variation on the game devised by the producers of the "Ultimate Blackjack Tour," a very successful TV show.

In regular blackjack, you play against the house. In elimination blackjack you're also competing with other players. So, while you still have to beat the house, you also have to make sure you're winning more than the other people at the table.

Each tournament is made up of 30 rounds. Three of these - rounds 8, 16 and 25 - are "elimination rounds," which means the player with the fewest chips at the table is removed from the tournament. Therefore, you've got to make sure you're ahead of at least one other player at all times.

This makes for a much more intense game, as you're not only watching the cards, you're also seeing how many chips your competitors have, and you make your betting decisions based on what they do.

You can find a complete list of elimination-blackjack rules by clicking the "Rules" button on the lower left-hand corner of your screen (at the gaming table), or at the bottom of the ClubUBT.com homepage, under "General Game Rules."

If I have a complaint about the elimination-blackjack tournaments on ClubUBT.com, it's that I wish there were more of them. Sometimes you have to wait 20 minutes or longer between games, and I don't like to wait! Luckily, ClubUBT's poker tournaments are offered more frequently, so I play a few of those while I'm waiting for a blackjack table to open.

Playing Tournament Poker

Signing up for a poker tournament is much the same as with elimination blackjack: Click the "Poker Tournaments" button in the Main Lobby, choose the tournament you want to enter, and register. A few minutes before the game starts you'll be "taken" to your table.

The window that pops up features a round poker table surrounded by chairs, each with a player's name on it, and the amount of chips she/he has. When you bet, the amount is displayed on the table in front of your chair. You start with a thousand player chips.

I love the scenery depicted here. It looks like you're sitting in a palm grove on a Caribbean beach. The sky is clear, the beach pristine, the water a deepening azure. It's very relaxing, and makes you feel like you're on holiday. All that's missing is your Hawaiian shirt and a strawberry margarita. (Alternate backdrops can be selected by clicking the "Options" button.)

The poker game that's played here is basically Texas Hold 'em (featured in the film "Casino Royale"). Because this is a tournament, the winners at each table get to move on to the next round, where you compete with other winners until you vie for the ultimate prize.

The one complaint I have here is that the player's dashboard for poker is not as nice as that for elimination-blackjack. It's functional and does the job (you're beeped and a yellow money-counter pops up when it's your turn to bet), but it lacks the flair of the elimination blackjack interface.

A Useful Tip

If you like ClubUBT.com and want to tell your friends about it, be sure and use the "Refer-a-Friend" feature. You'll find it when you click the "Club" button on the Main Lobby screen. For every friend you refer, you get $20 (real money).

* * *

Time for me to get back to playing elimination blackjack. I just got an email from ClubUBT.com telling me that, due to my recent winnings, I'm now qualified to enter the next $10,000 Tournament. Wish me luck!