Bodog Poker Review

Pros

• • The website accepts players from the USA.
• • Bodog has very innovative live tournament promotions.
• • The competition from sports book players is relatively soft.

Cons

• • The Mac operating system version only supports cash game tables.
• • The website table layout design is very confusing.
• • Bodog has a low traffic volume of players.
• • The site lacks high-stakes online poker tournaments.

The Quick Summary

Bodog came on the poker scene in 2004. Bodog has brought a brilliant combination of gaming knowledge manifested in their sports book and casino that have been in action for a while and the wealthy lifestyle of owner Calvin Ayre. They have sent players to major international tournaments and 2006 World Series champion Jamie Gold once called Bodog his online home.

Bodog runs on a stand alone software. It is one of the few poker rooms that allows American players to access the website.The site is not just limited to United States only as you will commonly find players from Europe and Asia in the mix. since early 2008, Bodog has placed a bid in expanding their presence in other areas of the world.

Popularity

Bodog has been having low turnout of players during the past six months. They have peaks of around 1500 players in the early evening and then this figure fluctuates to lows of only a few hundred in the early morning hours in the US market. The expansion to capture the foreign markets is expected to see a surge in these numbers.

Security

Bodog has a formidable system on board. Transactions are executed smoothly on the deposit, but there have been problems with cashing checks. problems in the site are quickly sorted out by the sites staffs.

Player Competition

The site attracts a looser than normal player , perhaps because of their sports book , This can be a blessing and a curse to a pro players, who will be able to make quick bucks as long as they can avoid the bad beats along the way. Bodog also offers a range of disciplines of poker i.e. Omaha, Seven Card, Razz, etc. in both Limit and No Limit ring games, however there is little high stakes action. This is the only shortcoming in this particular department.

The tournament events are plentiful as well. The website hosts a weekly $100,000 dollar tournments as well as their own Bodog Poker Open.The guaranteed tournaments sometimes will have an overlay to them. The size of tournaments also tends to be in the smaller hundreds instead of the 500-1000 players you see on other sites.

Site Software

Bodog’s interface isn’t that flashy, but it gets the job done. The absence of a “player” at the table indicated as just a box with the critical information may be something that takes visitors sometime to get used to but is not a major problem as such. The lobby can be tiered to get the information that a player wishes to access on demand and is then filtered easily.

Customer Support

Bodog has toll free customer support numbers which are 888 and 866, provided to give their customers immediate attention in case of arising needs. They also have a dedicated email system in their website, though it takes a couple of days to receive feedbacks. If you decide to go the phone way, you have to exercise some patience as lines can sometimes be overwhelmed by call volume.

Company Ethics

Bodog lacks a clear cut objective because they run a host of other unrelated activities such as sports book, casino and horse betting systems. This leaves the visitor wandering how poker blends with the rest. The site puts more emphasis on the lifestyle of a player rather than his solid approach to the game.

Site Promotions

Bodog facilitates weekly $100K tournament events as well as availing the opportunity to play and watch some of their best pros i.e. Jean Robert Bellande, Justin Bonomo, Evelyn Ng and David Williams in heads up action. The site offer seats to major poker tournaments around the world and also their own online poker series in the Bodog Poker Open.

Newcomers deposits are eligible for a 110% matching amount, with the appropriate time played to accumulate points to release it. The site occasionally offers reloaded bonuses.

Overall Review

Despite the fact that Bodog looks more at the lifestyle of a poker player, they can’t be overlooked for their potential since loose players can translate into a growing bankroll and smaller tournaments can be very profitable as well. What may improve Bodog’s future prospects is their continued focus on the European and Asian markets to provide around the clock action. As it stands now the early morning hours in the US draws Bodog down.