Bodog Poker

Bodog Poker

OVERALL GRADE:

If online poker sites were judged on innovation and creativity, Bodog Poker would be the giant of the industry. Originally founded as a sportsbook and online casino in 1995, Bodog is the creation of billionaire and visionary, Calvin Ayre. On the strength of a successful marketing campaign, Bodog founded its poker room in 2004 to critical acclaim. Since then, Bodog has continued to grow steadily and build its reputation as an excellent, player-friend poker room.

Bodog Poker ranks among the leaders in offering signup bonuses to new players, and offering loyalty rewards like reload bonuses, accumulated points for “players only” events and even occasional points to cash promotions.

While other sites are familiar for flashy tables and cartoon character players, Bodog Poker has an elegant simplicity. The poker software is not the most elaborate, but it is well designed and very easy read and understand. Response on the site is very fast and the platform is stable, meaning that a player doesn’t have to worry about getting unexpectedly knocked off of a table. The system offers a variety of stats on the players at a table. Gamers are also allowed to play three tables at a time and can easily keep up with the action, thanks to an impressive picture in a picture feature.

Even though it is a modest-sized card room, Bodog Poker has a wide variety of games for its members. Limit tables and Sit’n’go Tournaments can be found for Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, 5 Card Stud, 7 Card Stud and 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo. Overall at Bodog, Texas Hold’em is the best represented game on the site, also featuring No Limit, Pot Limit and Scheduled Tournaments. The site features its $100,000 Guaranteed Tournament every Sunday and a number of freerolls that continue to attract eager players.

Bodog is not one of the monster sites in online poker, and consequently does not enjoy the tight play found at some of the other sites. While the numbers are smaller, there is still quality poker played on the site and enough fish for a good player to make money. There are top players lurking at the high limit tables, as evidenced by 2006 WSoP Main Event winner Jamie Gold (a Bodog player) taking the bracelet and lending credibility to the players on the site.

Since Bodog accepts players from the United States, it is important for potential members to review the company’s options for deposits and cash-outs. Bodog allows deposits from Visa, MasterCard and eWalletXpress. For cash-outs, the company uses eWalletXpress and paper checks.

Bodog Poker provides excellent customer service with rapid response to customers either by telephone, live chat or Email.

Smaller and more intimate than some of the giant card rooms, Bodog Poker is a very good site with a loyal following of players. The software, game selection and customer service are all excellent and the site offers a very comfortable feel. Players at all experience levels will enjoy playing on this site.