Bodog Review (5 out of 5)
Overall: 5/5
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 US players. With Jamie Gold winning the 2006 WSOP Main Event under their banner I'm sure they'll also receive plenty of free advertisement in the coming months. 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 them 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. There are no raked hand requirements 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 (10% instant cash) and Promotions: 5/5
Bodog has a reasonable first deposit bonus at 10% up to $200, but I value this bonus much higher because of the way it is dispersed. The bonus money will show up in your account immediately, allowing you to use it on at the tables or as a tournament buy-in. As an online poker veteran I've seen my share of convoluted promotions and thus I respect bonuses that are given immediately. Minimum deposits start at $20 for the instant bonus. Many sites tout big signup bonuses, but good luck seeing any of it as a low or medium stakes player. Bodog gives you the cash upfront and doesn't mess around. As for other promotions, they offer regular satellites into big live events as well as a weekly $100,000 guaranteed tournament. They offer satellites into their own $100k tourney and they're fun to take a shot with buy-ins starting at $1. 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. Another popular promotion is their Refer-a-Friend deal, which allows you to earn 40% of whatever your friend deposits. Also, Bodog has added "beginner's" MTTs and SnGs, which pay twice the field as usual and the buy-ins are only $4. It's a good idea to get new players into tournaments without a big risk.
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 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 marketed to egomaniacal young guns so they attract a lot of crossover inexperienced traffic.
Tournaments: 4.5/5
Bodog is still a fairly new poker room but their tournament traffic is growing pretty quickly. They do offer a good weekly tournament 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 Goes have also improved with the addition of multi-table SnGs. I also appreciate their freerolls, as they are limited to players with enough Bodog Points to buy in. This helps to limit the field and keep opponents at a manageable size. 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. They've 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 actual graphics involved in the Bodog software are quite basic but I like the detailed stats features and the game speed. First of all, each player is able to upload their own avatar, which gives the game an individualized touch. The 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. Coming from a player who appreciates fast action, the biggest positive of the software to me is the extremely quick game pace. You can usually get in 60-70 hands per hour at full NL tables. Also, the software has recently been updated to give it a new look and add some functionality. I have grown to prefer the new table look as you can switch the felt color to your preference of rich blues, greens, or reds. I also found some new features helpful such as the ability to see your cards even after you've folded. They also place you at the bottom-center of the table now regardless of where you sit. The biggest plus will come for multi-table players since the software has a "table-in-table" view so you 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: 5/5
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 receive paper checks from them within about 7-10 days and they're 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. You 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. If you choose to e-mail them, 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 over the past 6 months 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
Tips: Similar to many sportsbooks or casinos that also have poker rooms, the games tend to be wild at Bodog Poker. 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 this site.
Artist/Author: Beat the Fish April 13, 2007 | |
