Bodog Poker - Best Sign-up Bonus and Review
Bodog Poker Bonus
| Sign-Up Bonus | $500 |
| Deposit Match | 110% |
| Bonus Expiration | 30 days |
You'll automatically get an instant 10% upfront cash bonus on your first deposit. For each 10 poker points earned (max 1 point per raked hand) you'll get $1 bonus up to 100% match of your deposit ($500 max). The bonus is issued after your first 30 days at Bodog Poker.
Bodog Poker Review
Bodog company was founded in 1994, the poker room was opened in September 2004. On August 2007 Bodog lost it's domain name due to a U.S. lawsuit, and now they have a new name: BodogLife.com.
Bodog is endorsed by a few professional poker players that regularly play at the tables:David Williams, Jean-Robert Bellande, Justin Bonomo and Evelyn Ng. Matt McCullough, another team player, finished third at WSOP 2007 Europe Main Event and won more than $750k.
There are many sportsbook and casino players around, you can feel it by the players/flop percentage: it's around 60% at $1/$2 limits. It's easy to play up to $0.50/$1 at Limit Hold'em tables, but at $1/$2 stakes Limit Hold'em it's different: players are more aggresive and waits for stronger pocket cards at the same time. But the real action is at NL Hold'em tables where much of the traffic is concentrated.
Bodog tournaments are more popular compared to their ring games. Novice poker players are advised to start with special Beginner Tournaments because you'll have up to twice the chance to get into the money. Here is why: a normal poker tournament pay around 8% to 15% of finishers, that means you need to outlast 85% - 92% of your opponents. Beginner tournaments will loose these limits and pay you if you are one of the 30% of finishers. These tournaments are available 24/7 with at least 10 players that buy in and can be found under the "Scheduled Tournaments" tab in the poker lobby.
There are also a series of freerolls: $500 PTS Freeroll with a requirement of 30 Bodog Poker Points only.
A popular tournament is the $100,000 Guaranteed held every Sunday. This tournament has two levels of qualifying tournaments during the week. You can qualify for $100K at a 'Cheap Seat' tournament with a buy-in of $1. This event has a separate panel in the poker lobby under the "Scheduled Tournament" tab.
By playing at Bodog you also have the chance to get you seat to the World Series of Poker(WSOP), World Poker Tour(WPT) and WSOP Europe
Bodog has a Poker Point System: you earn points by playing at real money tables and tournaments: max 1 point per raked hand and 3 points per $1 in tournament fees. These points can be used as buy-ins at special events and freerolls.
Software and Playability
Bodog constantly updates its software, and also offers a beta version (the beta version has a different icon: a yellow one instead of the usual red color). The beta version offers resizable tables and a modified placement of the chat and other informational panels.
The graphics are crisp and clear. With a well selected font, the lobby and table texts has a "readable handwriting". The interface has a Web 2.0 look and feel: most of the graphical effects are accomplished with color gradients. I would like to mention how accurate are drawed the cards at the table. Furthermore: at the smallest table size, there is a special set of card images that makes it very easy to read the cards. You can see from the screenshots that the seats (in form of chairs) are not painted at the table, thus making it very readable without graphical balast
A handy feature is the three-in-one mode that allows you to play/observe up to 3 tables within a single window using convenient mini views.
There are some annoying moments with the bodog software:
- When the table is not focused (when you switch to another application window), the sound is not turned off. The situation is aggravated if you a playing at multiple tables: you'll here a lot of betting/calling sounds and it will not be clear at which table that happened :)
- The lobby has a big area dedicated to ads in the left side, it makes the lobby wider compared to other poker rooms software.
- Hand History is very awkward to use: you have swith from the table to the lobby, then click Account and select Hand History tab. You'll find a filter there with today as the default date. The result of the filter is a list of hands you should click in order to see the hand details. The last drop is that you are unable to copy&paste it (in a forum for ex.).
Game Variety & Limits
Along with Texas Hold'em, Bodog offers Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, Seven-Card Stud, Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo, and Five-Card Stud. Most of the traffic is concentrated at Hold'em NL tables at small and medium limits (and especially at the tournaments). Games vary between No-Limit, Pot-Limit and Fixed-Limit. There is a special "1 on 1" tab in the Hold'em lobby section. Maximum stakes for Limit Hold'em are $30/$60.
Bodog Poker Promotions
$100,000 weekly guaranteed tournament every Sunday, $5 Million Guaranteed every Month, Heads up versus Bodog Pros.
Visit Bodog Poker for their complete list of promotions.Deposit Methods
Prefered methods are Rapid Transfer (MoneyGram) and Money Transfer.
This method is also known as RapidTransfer.
Min $100, Max $2500. Maximum of one Rapid Transfer deposit can be made each day.
Min $100, Max $5000
Maximum of one Money Transfer transaction (either a deposit or payout) can be made every 5 days.
deposit methods not available in U.S.
Moneybookers, Click2Pay, Bank Wire.
Withdrawal Methods
We suggest you to use Rapid Transfer to withdraw your winnings.
Min $100, Max $2500.
A maximum of one Rapid Transfer payout can be made each calendar week.
Min $100, Max $3,000
Ensure that the address registered to your Bodog account matches the city and state where you intend to pick up your transfer. A maximum of one Money Transfer transaction (either a deposit or payout) can be made every 5 days. It may take up to 5 - 7 business days before your transfer is available for pickup.
withdrawal methods not available in U.S.
Moneybookers, Bank Wire.
Bodog Poker on UIGEA
We are aware of the recent Internet gambling legislation passed by the U.S. This bill still has to be passed by the executive branch of government before it is enacted into law.
Regardless of the outcome this time, the online gambling industry will continue to flourish and Bodog.com will remain at the front and center of this digital entertainment industry for years to come.
continue reading