Bodog Poker Review

About Bodog:
Bodog.com has been around since 1994 and has its headquarters located in Antigua. They also take pride in being licensed in the United Kingdom and Kahnawake, Canada. In 2004, Bodog.com was the first company of its kind to have its name trademarked in the United States.

Bodog likes to refer to itself as a Digital Entertainment Company with online gaming only being one component of that. They also have a record label, TV, mixed martial arts fight promoters, and have recently been getting into fantasy sports.

The Software:

The poker software is exclusively Bodog's.  Bodog recently upgraded their software and added many nice features.  The new software is well organized, easy to use and very smooth.  The updated software was based on feedback that Bodog received from its players.  This includes everything from now including multiple table views to choose from, resizing dealer buttons, avatars (you can even include your own custom avatar) and fonts to grouping calls to action and information into intuitive clusters.

In other words, they improved how the software reacts, looks, and made it easier to use.

Bodog Poker's software allows you to take notes about the other players, gives you important statistics about the table and just as importantly on yourself.

With Bodog's Poker client you will always be seated in the center and that helps with the flow of the game. With Bodog you are limited to playing only three tables at a time.  While that is more than most people ever play, there may be some who want the ability to play at a larger number of tables at once. I like the four color deck.  This is where each suit is a different color and I find that helps you to quickly see if there is a flush or straight flush possible for either you or your opponents.

The hand strength viewer will also tell you the current strength of your hand which can be a handy little feature for some players.

In addition to Texas Holdem Bodog also offers Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, 7-Card Stud, 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo and 5-Card Stud.

Traffic and Players:
On average you will find about 9000 players at peak times.  You will even see traffic at the 10-11000 mark at times.  This is definitely up in the past two years that I have been playing at Bodog.  When I first began it ranged from about 5000 to sometimes as high as 6000.  I do expect Bodog to keep growing.

Much of their growth can be attributed to the many unique and interesting promotions that they hold.  But more importantly, they have an excellent poker client.  These two key factors are the big reason for the growth that Bodog has experienced.

At Bodog Poker, you will find plenty of players at the low and mid level limits.  Since this is the limits that most players play at Bodog should be a great choice.  However, if you like high stakes then you would probably prefer Full Tilt or PokerStars.

As with most poker rooms, the lower limits have the weaker opponents and as you move up in limits the competition improves.  You will find a decent number of opponents who try to move up to quickly in limits.  This definitely gives you a good opportunity to make some money from them.  But if you are in search of good players to go up against you can find those too!

Bodog's Tournaments:
This is where I really feel Bodog does a great job. Bodog has Sit n Go and multi-table tournaments for beginner, intermediate and advanced players.  Bodog offers $5 million dollars guaranteed in tournaments each week. As with many other online poker rooms you can win seats to the most popular tournaments around including the World Series Main Event.  They also have the most unique and intriguing tournaments around, including the recently held Calvin Ayre Wild Card Poker II where the top prize was winning your own reality TV show. Bodog is well known for these types of unique tournaments.

Some of Bodog's other great poker tournaments include their $100K Guaranteed tournament, The Bodog Poker Open which was a new event that just awarded over $75,000 to the winner and also the Player's choice tournament.

To get a complete listing of the latest tournaments and to check out Bodog's Tournament Tools and Info page.  To access all of their tournament info just click on the tournament tab after you have logged in to your account.

Customer Service:
Customer service is top notch. When I first signed up they were very helpful in getting my account funded quickly and I also have never had an issue withdrawing funds. In 2006, Casino Player Magazine ranked Bodog.com No. 1 for having the best customer service and best casino promotions in the online gaming industry. You can reach Bodog's Customer Service by phone at 1-888-263-0000.

Funding Your Bodog Account:
Bodog Poker has quite a few different methods to deposit and withdraw funds to your Bodog poker account.  A variety of deposit options are available for international players. However, not all deposit methods are available to every player because of factors such as geographical location.

You can fund your account using Credit Card, NETeller (non US only), Moneybookers (non US only), or Click2Pay (non US only).

The best way for players from the US to fund their Bodog account is by Credit Cards, Check/Debit Cards and Gift Cards branded with the Visa or MasterCard logo. These transactions are all treated as Credit Card purchases. Other methods for USA players include eWalletXpress (this is how I fund my Bodog account), Rapid Transfer Deposit, and Money Transfer Deposit.

I also recommend that you contact Bodog's Customer Service by phone at 1-888-263-0000 before you make a deposit.  Bodog's Customer Service team will help you select the best method for you.  I found them to be very helpful when I was making my first deposit.  They are a great resource and you should use them.

Withdrawing money from your Bodog Poker Account is also very easy.  If you deposit money into your Bodog account using NETeller (non US only), Moneybookers (non US only), or Click2Pay (non US only) you must also receive your payments through this same method.  If you have a Speedcard (Non US Only) account and if you have deposited money into your Bodog account using Speedcard, you can select this payout method. If you don't have a Speedcard account or would like to open one, after signing up with Bodog, visit the cashier and then and then go to the Speedcard deposit page. You will then be directed how to sign up.

You can also withdraw your money from your Bodog Poker account by Check.  Players from the US must use this option.  I have withdrawn money from my account on several occasions and have not had any issues at all.  The two check withdrawal methods are:

Check by Mail
All checks are mailed by first class post (Monday through Friday) after being processed from your eCash account.

Check by Courier

Most of all if you ever have a question about depositing or withdrawing from your account just call Customer Service by phone at 1-888-263-0000.  I really do think you will find them helpful.

Bodog's Deposit Bonus:
Bodog also recently increased their sign up bonus to a 110% bonus up to $500.  The nice thing about this bonus is that you get 10% of the bonus up front and you can play with it right away.  You then earn the other 100% based on how much you play over the next 30 days.

The Bottom Line on Bodog Poker:
My bottom line on Bodog is that it is my personal favorite place to play. The software is well designed and easy to use. There are many excellent reasons to play at Bodog from the large selection of tournaments to the fantastic 110% bonus (10% which you get as soon as you make a deposit). I think if you play at Bodog you will like it just as much as I do. Click here to sign up and make a deposit at Bodog Poker.