Bullet chess gives each player under three minutes for the entire game, most commonly one minute each.
The standard bullet control is 1+0: one minute per player, no increment. Anything under three minutes per side counts as bullet, and the extreme ends have names of their own: hyperbullet at 30 seconds and, on Lichess, ultrabullet at 15.
At this speed the clock outweighs the board. Premoves, instant recaptures and mouse efficiency decide as many games as tactics do, and flagging is a first class strategy. Strong bullet players run the same openings every game and steer toward positions they can play on autopilot.
Treat bullet as its own sport. It is genuinely fun, it drills reflexes and composure, and it is nearly useless for learning to calculate. Do not judge your chess by your bullet rating, and do not carry bullet habits into slow games.
Hyperbullet gives each player 30 seconds for the whole game, and ultrabullet, a Lichess specialty, gives 15. At those speeds nearly every move is a premove and games are decided almost entirely on the clock.
It sharpens reflexes, opening familiarity and nerve, and that is about it. The skills that raise your rating at slower speeds, calculation and planning, never get a chance to run in a one minute game.
BetterChess is a practice tool — we make no guarantee you'll reach 1800 or any rating. Definitions are standard chess terminology; every diagram position is checked legal with the same engine the board runs.