www.Bodog.com began as a bare-bones betting site in 1994. Since then, it’s grown to be one of the largest online gambling institutions around. Even outside of gambling, the Bodog brand is well-known; under the leadership of entrepreneur Calvin Ayre, the company has made successful ventures into the television, music, and mixed martial arts markets, just to name a few.
Bodog.com opened its poker room doors in 2004. Thanks to soft games and a heavy marketing campaign, the site saw a steady increase in sign-ups from the start. Bodog’s player base exploded when Jamie Gold, then a Team Bodog member, won the World Series of Poker Main Event in 2006.
When I’m considering playing at a poker room, I want to know that my money will be safe and secure. Thus Bodog’s history as a large and successful company was a huge selling point for me. I also want to be sure that a poker room runs lots of consistently soft games 24/7; Bodog’s relatively large player pool–with many players ‘just visiting’ from the casino–ensured both volume and competition were favourable to my terms.
If you’re like me and care about security, reputation, and great games, then it’s a sure thing–Bodog Poker is for you.
Bodog Poker Bonus Offers and Promotions
I like poker rooms that offer me free cash. The bigger the amount, the better. Bodog Poker’s first deposit bonus is one of the biggest I’ve ever come across, which made signing up a no-brainer.
You’ll get a 110% bonus on the amount of your first deposit up to a maximum of $1,100 at Bodog. That’s $1,100 free, released directly to your player account as you play. So if you make a first deposit of $1,000, you’re looking at a starting bankroll of $2,100 once your bonus clears. That’s pretty huge.
You’ll be issued 10% of your bonus immediately upon your first deposit. The rest will be released in increments as you earn Poker Points. Essentially all this requires is for you to play raked hands. For every $1-3 of rake you pay in a hand, you earn 1 Poker Point. At 100 Poker Points, you’ll be issued $10 of your bonus; at 500 Poker Points, you’ll get $40; at 1500 Poker Points, you’ll get $100; and so on. It’s easy to clear the maximum, and you’ve got 60 days to unlock your free cash. It’s really one of the best bonuses available online.
Bodog also runs some cool value-added games. The ‘King of the Felt’ promotion is one of them. The concept is simple: as you play Sit n Go tournaments, you earn ‘tickets’ to the weekly King of the Felt draw; the more Sit n Gos you play, the more tickets you earn. The winner of the weekly draw plays the previous week’s reigning King of the Felt in a man-to-man matchup. The winner of the game wins a cool $1,000. Win 5 weeks in a row, and you’re looking at a $2,500 prize. And 10 weeks in a row will earn you a shot at a free seat in the 2011 WSOP Main Event.
As a Bodog Poker player, you’re automatically part of the VIP Poker Points system. As you play raked hands, you earn Poker Points. Save up your points and trade them in for cash bonuses or tournament tickets. If you’re a high-volume player, it’s easy to stock up on PPs; when you earn 2000 or more in a month, Bodog automatically doubles your rate of PP accumulation.
I was obviously pretty impressed by the number and quality of value-added promotions available at Bodog Poker. As a player, it made sense for me to sign up simply because of the added earnings I was looking at via all these extras. I like free money because it helps my bottom line. If you’re after some easy cash yourself, you should give Bodog Poker a try.
Bodog Poker Cash Games -Traffic and Competition
I’m a cash game player, so the two most important factors for me when considering a poker room are games spread and softness of competition. Bodog Poker delivered the goods in both categories: tons of tables and lots of fish.
The Holdem and Omaha tables are busy, busy, busy at Bodog. Games are spread all the way up to $5/10, and traffic is heavy at all limits under $2/4. It’s pretty rare for a non-network poker site to have a decent player volume at medium stakes, but Bodog makes it happen.
If you’re a No Limit player, the action here is perfect for you. There are tons of players on the NL Holdem tables at all times, and man are they bad. It’s not uncommon to find 6-max games with 70% preflop call rates–that is super fishy and you really can’t such soft stats at many sites these days. The competition is passive and generally terrible–lots of calling stations and many players who obviously don’t know poker strategy. If you know even the basics, you’ll crush the games here.
Bodog also spreads Omaha 8, 7 Card Stud, and 5 Card Stud. The games aren’t nearly as popular as Holdem or Omaha Hi, but there are always some tables running at the micros. It’s pretty cool to sit in at a Stud table for a few orbits just to take a break from the grind; I know I get sick of playing the same game over and over, so the variety is nice to have.
If you’re more of an action junkie than a grinder, that’s cool–Bodog spreads heads-up tables just for you. In fact, most of the high-stakes action on the site is heads-up. There are players at the 2-max tables from the micros to the nosebleeds, so don’t worry about finding a game; there’s always one waiting for you.
Bodog.com Poker Tournaments – Traffic and Competition
As far as tournament traffic goes, Bodog Poker is about average for a non-network sites. There are lots of games running at any given time in both Sit-n-Go and Multi-Table Tournament form.
If you’re a SnG player, you’ll find lots of action from the smallest of stakes up through the $15+1 Holdem games. Bodog runs a nice mix of turbo, super-turbo, and standard speed games, so you’ve got lots of choice on that front. If you’re looking to get the blood pumping, there seems to be lots of action at higher-stakes heads-up Sit-n-Gos as well. The $110+5 turbo games register every couple of minutes, and look like a lot of fun.
As far as MTTs go, Bodog is great for guaranteed-purse tourneys. Many of these tournaments get fewer registrants than would be required to meet the purse, so large overlays are the norm. That’s another great reason to play Bodog–more value-added incentives for the profit-minded among us.
The Saturday $100k is Bodog’s flagship tournament. As the name suggests, the tourney features a guaranteed prize pool of $100,000. It’s a regular freezeout, meaning one buy-in per player, and is usually well-subscribed. That said, it’s generally not popular enough to avoid an overlay, so Bodog is almost always giving away money. Last Sunday there were around 557 registrants, which translated to about a $16,000 overlay. Great value.
Bodog Poker Software and Support
The worst thing about signing up for a new poker room is getting used to a new software client. It’s especially distressing at some smaller poker rooms where the software obviously wasn’t a priority in development. Luckily, Bodog Poker’s software is top-notch; as far as smaller rooms go, I’d say it’s one of the best clients around.
The name of the game at Bodog is simplicity. The lobby layout is super-logical, and you can get to wherever you want to go with just a couple of clicks. There are tons of game filter options–by poker variant, stake, table size, seated players, etc.–which makes finding your regular game a snap.
I love the tables at Bodog Poker because they’re simple. For me, there’s nothing worse than a cheesy, image-overstuffed poker table. I don’t want to deal with crappy MS-Paint graphics lagging up the client when I play; I want a sleek, easy to use design that helps me play my A game. Bodog Poker is pretty much perfect in this regard.
There are lots of options to help you customize your playing experience. Having instant hand histories accessible from directly on-table is a huge plus for me, personally. Being able to toggle bet sizing labels on and off is convenient, as is being able to hide player avatars.
The only negative aspect of Bodog’s client is that you can only play 4 tables at a time. This obviously isn’t an issue if you’re not a mass-multitabler–which I am–so take that for what you will. If you’re into playing fewer tables at higher stakes, or just a few tournaments at a time, Bodog Poker is pretty much perfect for you.
As far as support goes, Bodog’s staff has a reputation for excellence. You can contact support at any time via e-mail and expect a response within 24 hours. Further, you can call Bodog 24/7 with any queries you might have–even toll-free from certain countries! It’s really convenient to be able to speak live with a real person about your poker account; that’s a huge plus for me.
Bodog Poker Deposit and Withdrawal Options
There are tons of options for getting cash on and off of Bodog Poker, and U.S. players are welcome. What’s more, Bodog has a flawless track record of keeping player accounts safe and secure, as well as a solid reputation for paying out on time.
Deposit using any of these methods
Click2Pay, Neteller, MoneyBookers, Speed Card, eWalletXpress, MyPayLinQ, Credit Cards.
Withdraw using any of these methods
Neteller, MoneyBookers, Speed Card, Cheque via Mail or Courier.
Bodog Poker – Value, Quality, and Reputation
Let’s recap. Bodog Poker offers one of the best sign-up bonuses around, hosts a veritable army of fish at the tables 24/7, and runs software that’s second-to-none. It seems pretty clear that if you’re looking for an all-around great poker experience, Bodog is as good a place as any to try out.
Sign up today at www.bodog.com, claim your bonus, and enjoy the ride. I know I did.
