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Visit Bodog
Poker
INSTANT BONUS:
Visit Bodog
through any of our links and receive a 10% instant cash bonus plus
another 100% bonus earned as you play.
100% MONTHLY RELOAD BONUS:
Our new players are now eligible for a 100% redeposit bonus
every 30 days, good up to $500. Please note that players
must sign up with Bodog
via our links in order to qualify.
US players can use the growing e-wallet eWalletXpress at
Bodog,
which links directly to your checking account. Visa cards can also
be used through their proprietary VirtualPin phone card system, which can be set
up in about 10-15 minutes and has a very high acceptance rate.
Another quick alternative is the cash transfer service, which allows
you to send cash electronically. Transfer centers are located in
virtually every city in the country and automated machines are now
available in many 7-11 stores. Be sure to call the poker room to
receive proper transfer information. Also
accepted are paper methods like money orders or cashier's checks.
Overall:
4/5
In my opinion,
Bodog
is one of the most underrated poker rooms online and one that I certainly
commend for sticking to their rebellious guns and continuing to
accept US players. In terms of the
competition you'll face at the poker room, this site earns a top Fish Rating due to the
consistently awful ring game play.
With most online poker rooms becoming
increasing tight in the wake of ever-increasing deposit
difficulties,
Bodog
has maintained their extremely loose player base. If you adjust your style of play to
combat the multitude of maniacs you'll be facing at almost every
table, you should be able to do very well here with a
tight-aggressive style.
Besides
having insanely loose and beatable ring games, I also give
Bodog
high scores because of their quality software and good customer
service. It's also refreshing to see them stick with their "No BS"
instant cash deposit bonus in addition to the new 100% play-through
offer for our players. There are no raked hand requirements for the
instant bonus and no bizarre terms and conditions. Just cash upfront.
In
terms of banking, they're also one of the best with many deposit
alternatives and free express check withdrawals. While the poker
branch of Bodog
has floated under the radar since its inception several years ago it
remains a solid choice with one of the few remaining collections of
loose tables.
Bonus (100%
every month up to $500 plus instant 10%) and Promotions:
4.5/5
Bodog has
always offered a valued first deposit bonus at
10%. While very modest in size it was one of the few truly instant
bonuses in online poker. New players simply make a deposit and get a
little boost to their bankroll. The 10% bonus money will show up in
your cash account immediately, allowing you to use it on at the
tables or as a tournament buy-in. In addition to the instant bonus,
our visitors also receive an extra 100% play-through bonus, good up to $500.
While the initial deposit bonus at
Bodog is
on par with the largest online bonuses it becomes less important
because of the 100% reload bonus available every month to our
players. Please note that you must visit
Bodog via
our links in order to quality. The 100% bonus is valid on one
deposit every 30 days and also has a maximum cap of $500 per month.
The
Bodog
system is the best reload system available at the moment as
you're essentially earning a perpetual new player bonus every month.
Regular players with a stable bankroll might as well do a deposit
and withdrawal every month just to take advantage of this. After depositing, players then have a
month to earn enough
Bodog Points to clear the full amount. Points
are doubled if more than 2,000 are earned in a month. Other uses for
Points include free entries into promotional
tournaments or designated freerolls.
Most middle-stakes players can earn $10 or
more of the bonus per hour or two making it a fairly easy bonus to cash
out. In my experience,
Bodog
structures their point system better than comparable systems at
other sites. Other current promotions include a Bad Beat Jackpot and Royal
Flush Bonus of 50x the current big blind. The combination of the instant bonus, the large
play-through bonus, the monthly reload offer, and fairly easy
requirements puts
Bodog into
the top tier of promotional systems.
Fish: 
5/5
What
is unique about
Bodog is the fact that the table stakes seem to have
little correlation with player skill. I mainly play no-limit ring
games, and I often found that my opponents would play almost as badly
at the $5/$10 games as they would at the microlimits. These tables
feature some of the weakest players online, and if you protect
against draws, you can do very well. Expect to run into plenty of
trash hands and opponents that chase every possible draw so do not count out any holding when you
see a ragged flop.
The flop percentage is typically higher than
normal at Bodog, which means that you should raise your premium
hands more than usual to thin the field. I recommend using the "Pot"
raise button or manually raising 5-6x the big blind at this site. It isn't unusual to run
into 40-50% seeing the flop at the low stakes, and up to 40% at the
higher stakes. The pots here seem to grow very large very quickly.
Most of the
action is concentrated to no-limit hold'em with about a 2:1 ratio of
active shorthanded tables to full ones. You can
occasionally find a game of 5-card stud or Omaha going on. I mostly attribute
the loose play to the fact that
Bodog is a combination Sportsbook/Casino/Poker Room.
The site is highly
marketed to egomaniacal young guns so they attract a lot of
inexperienced crossover traffic.
Tournaments:
4/5
Bodog is
still a small poker room overall but their tournament traffic has
grown over the past 2-3 years. While the Sunday $100,000 guarantee
is hardly competitive with the largest weekly events it's actually
one of the best value tournaments online. As only about 600-700
players enter this $100 buy-in event,
Bodog
regularly has to add $30,000+ to the prize pool just to meet the
$100,000 guarantee. This is like starting a tournament with 300
players already knocked out. The buy-in is modest at $100 and
players actually have a realistic chance at getting into the biggie
by advancing a few steps from the $1 buy-in
satellites.
The Sit and Gos have also improved with the addition of
multi-table SnGs. Their freerolls are also better than average as they are limited to players with
enough player points to buy in.
Bodog
offers about 5 or 6 nightly guaranteed tournaments with buy-ins
ranging from $10 to $200. Some of the better events include a
$15,000 guarantee for $55 at 8:30PM and the $4,000 guarantee at
9:10PM for $10.
Bodog has also added a new Tournament Leader Board, which
rewards points leaders each week who've done well in their
multi-table events. The overall traffic has been receiving a big
boost lately so I expect their tournaments to continue to grow both
in frequency and attendance.
Software:
4.5/5
The recent Bodog
software upgrade has really made this package excellent. The
previous software always felt a bit disjointed with no set areas for
avatars or cards. Now, players are clearly separated, table graphics
flow very smoothly, and a spotlight on the active player helps
everyone follow the action. Each player is able to upload their
own avatar, which gives the game an individualized touch.
The Bodog
player
stats window also keeps up-to-the-hand details on your progress and
you can reset these at any time. This site also has a pretty
detailed hand history option, allowing you to see every player's
hole cards in a showdown situation. For me personally, a big positive of the software is the extremely quick game pace. You can usually get in 60-70 hands
per hour at full NL tables.
A big plus will also come
for multi-table players as the software has a "table-in-table"
view. Players can see up to 3 tables on one screen instead of clicking
around between multiple windows. Unlike the clunky mini-table views
at most sites, I found the
Bodog
layout to be the most logical and easiest to see.
US Payouts:
4/5
While payout times have
varied over the past couple of years
Bodog is a very
well-established casino and sportsbook and can be trusted to
eventually make good on all payments. Firstly, they offer a free express
check payout system, which is convenient. I previously received paper checks
from them within about 7-10 days but I've had to wait up to a month
or so more recently.
Checks from
Bodog are drawn on US banks for
hassle-free deposits into your personal bank account. If you're
withdrawing a substantial amount of money the site sends checks
through Fedex, which is preferable because of the tracking
capabilities and 3-5 day turnaround. Players can also withdraw once per week for free using
cash transfer for local pickups at thousands of locations.
Customer Service: 
5/5
Online poker rooms that give telephone support score high points
with me. Bodog publishes their support telephone number right in the
lobby window. If I'm too impatient to wait for an e-mail response,
I'll just call in and get an answer right away. I've also had
positive experiences using their phone support to guide me through a
cash transfer deposit. If you're using a deposit method that charges
fees, I recommend speaking to a live representative and attempting
to have them reimbursed to your poker account.
If you choose to use e-mail customer
service, responses are very fast.
I once wrote to them about a player that I suspected was abusing the
all-in feature, and they sent back a personal reply within a few
minutes saying that they would look into the account in question.
I've also been impressed with the promotional e-mail department as
they often offer me special reload incentives simply for asking.
Player Traffic
While
Bodog has
mostly been thought of as a niche poker site, they've been
aggressively advertising in order to expand
the poker room. Besides that, US players have been flocking here
since the corrupt legislation bumped them off of major sites. During peak hours, you'll find plenty
at least 8-10 shorthanded no-limit tables at each limit with about 4
or 5 full tables up to the middle limits.
Upper limits such as $5/10 and $10/20
usually have 2-3 full tables active throughout the evening.
Tournament traffic is lower than the most popular sites but has been picking up steam. Their
guaranteed events are their best tournament offerings as they typically fall short of
the guaranteed number of entrants. Most sub-$30 buy-ins attract at
least 300-400 players during peak hours.
Best Features
 Extremely loose and beatable
competition. I really like the action you can get here on your
strong hands. A good number of these players are absolutely
clueless.
High-stakes ring game action. The tables at this site are still busy up to $10/20 NL.
Fast software. Not a lot of frills, but
gets the job done and looks unique.
Growing traffic.
The number of active ring games has really grown over the past
couple of years.
Game Selection: Hold'em,
Omaha, Stud
Limits: Limit: 5c/10c up
to $20/$40 No-Limit: 5c/10c up to $10/$20
Deposit Methods:
Please see the top of the
page for "Easy US Deposits" for more information. In short,
Bodog
accepts eWalletXpress, VirtualPin, cashier's checks, money orders, and
cash transfer for US players.
Minimum Deposit:
$20
Tips: Similar to
many sportsbooks or casinos that also have poker rooms, the games
tend to be wild at
Bodog. Don't try to be Doyle Brunson or Daniel Negreanu at
these games - have a hand if you're going to be in the pot. I
wouldn't recommend bluffing at these players often as they'll call
you down most of the time with middle or bottom pair. Raise your strong hands, and don't forget
to keep an eye on the active pot.
There are routinely 5 or 6 players
seeing the flop, which means you're getting great pot odds to
play suited connectors or marginal hands from late position. Just
keep in mind that you'll
have to have the strength to release those hands if you don't flop at
least 2 pair or a monster draw. Overall, players who know how to handle calling stations
and the assorted maniac should do very well at
Bodog.
Visit
Bodog Poker
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