1. (a) If the certificate holder offers Ultimate Texas Hold ’Em Poker as described in Chapter 653a (relating to Ultimate Texas Hold ’Em Poker), the certificate holder may, if specified in its Rules Submission form filed under § 601a.2 (relating to table games Rules Submissions), offer to each player who has placed Ultimate Texas Hold ’Em wagers in accordance with § 653a.7(d)(1) (relating to wagers) the optional Ultimate Pairs wager.
2. (b) The layout and signage for the Ultimate Texas Hold ’Em Poker table shall be submitted to the Bureau of Gaming Operations for approval in accordance with § 601a.10(a) (relating to approval of table game layouts, signage and equipment). In addition to the betting areas designated under § 653a.2(b) (relating to Ultimate Texas Hold ’Em Poker table physical characteristics), the layout shall include a designated area for the placement of the Ultimate Pairs wager.
3. (c) After placing the Ultimate Texas Hold ’Em wagers as required in § 653a.7(d) and any optional wagers including the Ultimate Pairs wager, the dealer shall deal the cards in accordance with § 653a.11(a)—(f) (relating to procedures for completion of each round of play). If a player having made an Ultimate Pairs wager chooses to fold, the Ultimate Pairs wager shall be treated in the same manner as the Trips wager or Six Card bonus wager under § 653a.11(f)(2)(i) and remain on the table until settled.
4. (d) The dealer shall continue to deal the round to completion consistent with § 653a.11(g)—(n). Ultimate Pairs wagers shall be settled as part of the settlement of optional wagers prior to the removal of cards under § 653a.11(n).
5. (e) The Ultimate Pairs wager shall win and be paid in accordance with subsection (f) if the player’s two individual cards, or if Paytable F is selected the player’s two individual cards combined with the dealer’s two cards, form a hand comprised of a designated winning combination under the certificate holder selected paytable.

6. (f) The certificate holder shall pay out winning Ultimate Pairs wagers at the odds in one of the following paytables selected by the certificate holder in its Rules Submission filed in accordance with § 601a.2:

   Player’s Individual Two Cards	Paytable A	Paytable B	Paytable C
   Ace/ace and dealer ace/ace	N/A	N/A	N/A
   Ace of hearts and ace of diamonds	N/A	N/A	100 to 1
   Ace/ace	30 to 1	30 to 1	30 to 1
   Ace/king (suited)	25 to 1	20 to 1	20 to 1
   Ace/queen (suited) or player ace/jack (suited)	20 to 1	20 to 1	20 to 1
   Ace/king	15 to 1	10 to 1	10 to 1
   King/king, queen/queen or jack/jack	10 to 1	5 to 1	4 to 1
   Ace/queen or ace/jack	5 to 1	10 to 1	10 to 1
   Pair—10s or less	3 to 1	5 to 1	4 to 1

   Player’s Individual Two Cards	Paytable D	Paytable E	Paytable F
   Ace/ace and dealer ace/ace	N/A	N/A	1,000 to 1
   Ace of hearts and ace of diamonds	50 to 1	N/A	N/A
   Ace/ace	25 to 1	25 to 1	30 to 1
   Ace/king (suited)	20 to 1	20 to 1	25 to 1
   Ace/queen (suited) or player ace/jack (suited)	20 to 1	20 to 1	20 to 1
   Ace/king	10 to 1	10 to 1	15 to 1
   King/king, queen/queen or jack/jack	5 to 1	5 to 1	10 to 1
   Ace/queen or ace/jack	10 to 1	10 to 1	5 to 1
   Pair—tens or less	5 to 1	5 to 1	3 to 1

   Player’s Individual Two Cards	Paytable G
   Ace/ace and dealer ace/ace	N/A
   Ace of hearts and ace of diamonds	N/A
   Ace/ace	30 to 1
   Ace/king (suited)	20 to 1
   Ace/queen (suited) or player ace/jack (suited)	20 to 1
   Ace/king	10 to 1
   King/king, queen/queen or jack/jack	4 to 1
   Ace/queen or ace/jack	10 to 1
   Pair—tens or less	4 to 1

Authority

The temporary provisions of this § 653b.5 added and amended under 4 Pa.C.S. § § 1202(b)(30), 13A02(1) and (2) and 13A03.

Source

The temporary provisions of this § 653b.5 added March 22, 2024, effective March 23, 2024, expire March 23, 2026, 54 Pa.B. 1537; amended August 22, 2025, effective August 23, 2025, expire August 23, 2028, 55 Pa.B. 6050. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (419571) to (419573).