Bodog Poker
Bodog Poker is one of the oldest and most trusted names in online poker. With an array of Poker Tournament Series to choose from, such as Monster Stack, Mad Mondays and the Million Dollar Weekend, there’s never a dull moment in the Bodog poker room.
We found that there are some great Major Poker Series to play on the site including the Black Diamond Poker Open, the Golden Spade Poker Open and the Super Millions Poker Room. Bodog is a lot of fun to play on, has plenty of tournaments and cash games on offer and is safe and secure too. So we highly recommend you check out Bodog Poker today!
Bodog Information
About Bodog Poker
We were excited to review Bodog as they are the original Canadian online gambling brand. Formed in 1994 – they expanded from sports betting into online poker and, of course, online casino. The poker room links to other brands giving you a huge pool of players from the US and Latin America to play against.
As well as the huge choice of games, you’ll get some great bonus cash options. On top of a generous welcome bonus of up to $1000, we found that Bodog has some fun weekly promos for poker players and an ongoing point reward system that can be converted to playable cash. Bodog offers players the feature of anonymity at poker tables which is a nice privacy feature not offered by all poker sites-especially if you’re really racking up a big bankroll.
Pros
- Big Welcome Bonus: You get a matched welcome bonus which clears in increments as you earn poker points – this is up to $1000 max.
- Recreational Games: Bodog’s policies keep the games soft, with recreational / amateur players dominant on this network.
- Innovative Games: In addition to the big selection of cash games and tournaments, you can play Lottery Sit N Goes and a Fast-Fold poker variant.
- Mobile Poker: Zone Poker (the fast-fold game) works on your mobile devices, as well as through the downloadable software.
- Easy Deposits: You’ll have no concerns about banking restrictions with a large selection of easy deposit options.
Cons
- Limited banking methods: We wish there were more traditional payment methods
Expert Testimonial
At Bodog Poker, there are plenty of daily tournaments and a huge welcome bonus to get you started! All in all, Bodog Poker is one of the best poker rooms around!
Bodog Poker Welcome Bonus and Promotions
Welcome Bonus
Bodog Poker’s best casino bonus is undoubtedly the welcome bonus. New players can earn a 100% deposit match up to $1,000. This bonus is distributed in $5 increments for every 150 reward points you earn.
In order to claim the bonus, you need to make a minimum deposit of $10. You will have 30 days to fully claim the bonus but, fortunately, there are no rollover requirements.
Bitcoin Welcome Bonuses
While Bodog is very crypto-friendly, there are currently no bonuses for depositing with Bitcoin in the poker room, as there are for the Bodog sportsbook and Bodog casino.
Bodog Weekly Promotions
We like that Bodog rewards their poker players for both high hands and bad beats. If you get a royal flush in a cash game using both of your hole-cards, then you get 50x the big blind up to $200. You will need to e-mail Bodog to claim this bonus, as it is not automatically monitored. You’ll find details on the poker promotions page.
You can get even more for a bad beat. If you lose while holding aces full of kings or better, you have 48 hours to claim a 100x the big blind up to a $1,000 bonus.
Look out for one-off and special promotions. These come up when the big tournament events are close (the Super Millions or Black Diamond Open) and when there are qualifiers running for live poker events.
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Poker Games at Bodog
We were excited to discover that there are not only a lot of tables to choose from, but you’ll also find a great selection of poker game types. Here are some of the highlights:
- Cash Games: Texas Hold’em dominates as it does at every poker site. The list of tables is huge, with 6, 9 and 2 player games available from pennies to high stakes.
- Tournaments: Bodog Poker now offers $2 million in tournament guarantees every week. There is a regular Sunday event with its own $100k guarantee ($17k guaranteed for the winner). You will also find events with even bigger prize pools, and satellite qualifiers to live poker tournaments.
- Sit N Goes: Small tournaments range in size from 1 table to 5 tables. These games are kicking off every few minutes.
- Jackpot Sit n Goes: These are the Bodog ‘lottery Sit N Go’ format. 3-handed games with random prize pools, which are decided after you join.
- Zone Poker: Finally, you can play fast-fold poker. Bodog has a big enough player base to make this ‘pooled’ player format work. With no waiting time, once you fold a hand, Zone poker is excellent for mobile play.
- Omaha Poker: You will find the PLO and PLO8 real-money games get busy, especially at peak times of Canadian evenings.
How Bodog’s Recreational Player Model Works
We discovered that there are no screen names at Bodog. This innovative approach prevents 3rd party tracking systems from following players – and selling stats to poker pros. While you can take notes on opponents in-game, these disappear when the table closes. Combined with the ban on 3rd party advice tools, and a max of 4 tables (for cash games and sit n goes), this makes Bodog unsuitable for pro-grinders.
Tipping the balance in favour of recreational players has had a positive effect on the whole network. You’ll find the games are softer than at most of the big international brands. Add to this the cross-over traffic from the big Bodog sportsbook and casino – and you’ll find the most profitable games around on this site.
Banking Methods at Bodog Poker
With the often-frustrating banking restrictions for deposits at gambling sites, we were pleased to know that Bodog has 3 easy options.
This site is big on Bitcoin deposits. They offer bigger welcome bonuses for these deposits for Sports and Casino games. You will not play poker in Bitcoin. Instead, your deposit is switched to dollars. I recommend setting up a wallet – this is straightforward, and there is no need to hold any Bitcoin if you do not want to risk the volatility. Bitcoin Cash (an alternative cryptocurrency) can also be used.
Interac e-Transfer is a popular alternative. This is a 3rdparty system that links to your bank account and allows for payments at online shops as well as gambling sites.
Credit cards (Visa or Mastercard) will also work a lot of the time. These do sometimes get blocked by the banks. If this happens to you, the Bodog staff are very experienced and will find you an alternative option.
Withdrawals will depend on your deposit method. If you deposited with Bitcoin or Bitcoin Cash, these are simple & fastest ways to get your money out. If you deposited with a credit card, then the default is to receive a check. This will be sent by courier. Canadian banks will honour these checks.
Bodog Mobile Poker
While you have a choice of Bodog Poker download or instant-play software, I do recommend downloading the software if you are playing on a desktop. This gives you access to all the games – and is faster and smoother than the browser version.
Bodog allows access on mobile devices. This works in your browser, rather than via a mobile poker app. You will only be able to play at a single table at a time. The mobile poker app works with Zone Poker. This fast-fold game allows for a lot of action on small screen size.
Compared to some poker sites, the Bodog client is plain. It uses a distinctive black and red design and is light on graphics and special effects. To put it positively, we do not think that there is much that will distract you from the gameplay!
Bodog Canada Safety and Security
We always recommend checking the safety and security of any site, which is why we focus so heavily on security in our poker reviews.
We learned that Bodog are based in the Caribbean where they are regulated and licensed by the Antigua and Barbuda Financial Services Regulatory Commission. Game fairness is also certified, with the random deal tested by 3rd party auditors iTech Labs. All connections are secured by the latest SSL encryption.
At the time of writing this review, the responsible gaming page at Bodog.eu shows a stub with just a short sentence that links back to the same page. There is a link to Gamblers Anonymous in the footer of their homepage.
Customer Support Options
We found that Bodog has a very thorough FAQ section where you should be able to find your answer quickly enough. However, you can reach them via live chat, which is the most encouraged method. You can also email them, or ask your question in the always-busy Bodog Forum. We found that the customer support agents were quick to answer any and all questions we had.
