Bodog Poker Review
by
P5s Staff on 6/27/2005
18:31
Overview:
Led by mogul Calvin Ayre, many people associate Bodog with sports betting. However, Bodog’s poker room can’t be missed. Plus, Bodog Poker accepts U.S. players and offers a very lucrative $109 tournament every Sunday that guarantees $100k.
How to Download:
Click here to download Bodog. If you have a Mac, you’ll need a program like Parallels or Boot Camp that allows you to run Windows programs on your Mac. The huge overlay on the $100k Guarantee tournament is something to look forward to every week, so you’ll notice site traffic pick up on Sundays.
Customer Service:
E-Mail: poker@bodoglife.com
Phone Support: 866-909-2237
Bodog has its e-mail addresses posted all over the site and in the upper right corner of the poker software. In addition, if you click on the phone number in the upper right corner, you’ll be whisked away to a landing page with country-specific phone support options. You’re never too far from customer service. I asked a question of support and received a response in 14 minutes, which is exceptional.
Marquee Tournaments:
Bodog has recently pumped up its promotional tournament offering, but you’ll find PocketFivers primarily slugging it out in the site’s $100k Guarantee. You’ll also find a variety of $109 and $215 tournaments running throughout the week.
$100k Guarantee
While it may seem lower in comparison to guaranteed tournaments on Full Tilt Poker or PokerStars, the $100k Guarantee on Bodog nearly always has an overlay. Between 600 and 700 players typically enter this $109 tournament, meaning the true prize pool only approaches $60,000 to $70,000. This mean there’s typically a $20,000 overlay, which is solid gold if you’re an online poker pro. Dozens of ranked players and PocketFives.com compete every single week and many have a great deal of success.
Cash Games
The No-Limit ring games on Bodog are thriving and full of weak players. No limit is the game of choice for the gamblers that come over from the sports book. Log on any time to find multiple full tables at the stakes of your choice, from $0.05/$0.10 to $10/$20 no limit. There’s a $30/$60 fixed limit table as well. Bodog offers Omaha and Stud cash games, but it can be difficult to find an open seat in this section of the site depending on what your bankroll is. After all, it's a new site that attracts new gamblers, and many of these new gamblers just are not familiar with any form of poker that is not No Limit Hold’em.
Major Promotions:
Bodog Poker Open
Launched in 2008, the Bodog Poker Open was dominated by PocketFivers. It shows just how much skill can pay off at Bodog. PocketFiver rusostreet won the first ever Bodog Poker Open event, taking home just over $26,000. Then, phatcat followed up rusostreet’s performance with a victory in the first ever BPO Main Event, pocketing $76,280. It was Bodog’s first attempt at a high-stakes extravaganza and paid off for PocketFivers. Look for the details on future Bodog Poker Opens in the poker lobby. You won’t want to miss your chance at one of the few online poker series available today.
Player’s Choice Packages
Win your way in to some of the biggest live tournaments in the world with Bodog’s Player’s Choice Packages. You’ll get $10,000 to apply towards a live poker tournament and $2,000 for travel. This means you can play in many World Poker Tour, World Series of Poker, or European Poker Tour events. Why compete for entry to a live tournament you don’t want to play in? Buy-ins start as low as $1 for the Player's Choice Qualifier (re-buy), and top out at $270 for the Player's Choice Semifinal.
PocketFives.com, 2008