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Bodog
Poker
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Fast growing as the room of choice for
players today, Bodog
is quickly being recognized for its variety and clean interface.
Texas Holdem, Omaha Hi and Hi-lo, and variations of Stud
are all games you'll find at Bodog. There's a lot of traffic
at Bodog,
so you're certain to find something to tickle your fancy
if you're looking for a game.
Software-wise, Bodog
has a clean and uncluttered interface. Without all the graphics
and design, Bodog still doesn't miss any information and
seems faster than competing poker rooms on the market today.
Bodog's support system has also been cited to be the fastest
e-mail support there is, as well as providing a toll free
support number for US players to take advantage of. Without
a doubt, Bodog will quickly climb the ranks and become a
favorite poker room for anyone looking for a game, the site
is excellent!
Bodog
Pokerroom Bonus - 10% instant & 100% match |
About Bodog:
Bodog Pokerroom allows all players from every country in the world.
U.S. players can use the growing e-wallets eWalletXpress at Bodog,
which links directly to your checking account. 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.
In my opinion, Bodog
is one of the most underrated poker rooms and one that I certainly
commend for sticking to their rebellious guns and continuing to
accept U.S. 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. In fact, I went through a period where I
was playing here almost exclusively - the players were just that
bad and I was just doing too well. 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.
Bonus (100% up to $500 plus 10% instantly) and Promotions:
Bodog
has always had a valued first deposit bonus at 10%. While 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. In addition to the instant bonus, our visitors
now receive an extra 100% bonus, good up to $500.
New players will need to use one of our links to Bodog
and deposit $20 or more to be eligible for the full 110%. The
10% bonus money will show up in your account immediately, allowing
you to use it on at the tables or as a tournament buy-in. The
extra 100% is dispersed as you play.
Most middle-stakes players can earn $10 or more of the
bonus per hour making it a fairly easy bonus to cash out. The
combination of the instant bonus, the large play-through bonus,
and fairly easy requirements now puts Bodog into the top tier
of online bonus offers. As for other promotions, they offer regular
satellites into big live events as well as a weekly $100,000 guaranteed
tournament. You also earn "Bodog Points" as you participate
in ring games and tournaments. Points can be used to enter daily
freerolls and other promotional tournaments.
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 60-70% seeing the flop at the low
stakes, and up to 50% 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,
although 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:
Bodog
is still a fairly new poker room overall but their tournament
traffic is growing pretty quickly. They do offer a good weekly
tournament on Sundays with a $100,000 guaranteed prize pool.
You can actually earn your way into the biggie by advancing
a few steps from their $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 seems to be generous in terms of their guaranteed
prize pools, as they often fall short of meeting the minimum
guarantee. For example, I recently played in a $10 tournament
that had a $1,000 guaranteed minimum prize pool. Only 50 players
showed up, so the extra $500 was just added to the prize pool
resulting in higher payouts.
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:
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:
Bodog
is a very well-established casino and sportsbook so you won't
run into any financial problems when dealing with them. Firstly,
they offer a free express check payout system, which is convenient.
I used to receive paper checks from them within about 7-10 days
but I've had to wait up to a month or more recently.
Checks from Bodog
are drawn on U.S. 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. You can also withdraw
once per week for free using cash transfer for local pickups
at thousands of locations.
Customer Service:
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.
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.
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 of no-limit ring
games all the way up to the highest limits, and you'll still
find a few games going at each limit during the wee hours. Tournament
traffic is lower, 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.
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. They have a neat idea for $3/6
NL tables, which are called "Josh Arieh", "David
Williams", or "Jamie Gold" tables. When any of
these pros are online they'll be sitting here. 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. I've been impressed with the number of active
ring games lately.
Game Selection: Hold 'em, Omaha, 7 card stud, 5 card
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
U.S. Deposits" for more information. In short, Bodog now
accepts NUCharge, eWalletXpress, cashier's checks, money orders,
and money transfer for US players. I've personally used NUCharge
and funded my account in a few minutes. International players
can also deposit using Click2Pay, Moneybookers, and credit cards.
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.
Download:
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