Bodog Poker is not on any poker network, but prefers to run independently. It is owned by the Bodog Group and has been operating since its creation under a license provided by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission. It is based in Antigua and continues to be one of the big industry names in the game.
Since September 4, 2009, Bodog Poker has started accepting Canadian players. This has removed one of the biggest marks against their website to date, allowing for them to receive a higher rating.
On the good side, Bodog Poker is an accepting website with excellent crossover traffic potential, good choices for payment and decent traffic numbers.
On the bad side, Bodog Poker has a somewhat antiquated software package and does not easily allow you to play a large number of tables at the same time.
| Cash Game Choice | 9.5/10 | Support Options | 8.5/10 |
| Cash Game Traffic | 7.0/10 | Financial Security | 9.5/10 |
| Cash Game Competition | 8.5/10 | Deposit and Withdrawal Choices | 9.0/10 |
| Rake Costs | 9.0/10 | Overall | 8.5/10 |
Cash Game Choice – (9.5/10)
When you are playing cash games at Bodog Poker, what you are going to find is that you’ve got lots of choice to pursue. The main game is No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em, but you’ll find that the game is frequently available in its Limit and Pot Limit forms as well.
As for other cash games that may or may not be available, here is a list of the games that are most commonly found online aside from Hold ‘Em:
Pot Limit Omaha
Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo
Limit 7-Card Stud
Limit 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo
Limit 5-Card Stud
Cash Game Traffic – (7.0/10)
As far as cash game traffic is concerned, Bodog Poker is ranked 15th in the world amongst poker sites and whole poker networks. This is not very impressive considering the fact that they allow players from the United States and Canada on their server. In fact, there are at least 10 sites that do not allow US players that have better statistics on average than Bodog Poker. That being said, the lower traffic numbers often lead to some soft cash game competition and therefore this site is still worth serious consideration.
On average, you can expect there to be around 800 players on the Bodog server. Of these, around 600 players will be involved in Hold ‘Em, 100 will be involved in Omaha or Omaha Hi/Lo and the remaining 100 will be spread out over all of the stud variants that they offer on their website. During peak periods, it is not uncommon for that number to nearly double as it does frequently reach 1500 during peak periods.
Cash Game Competition – (8.5/10)
The cash game competition available on Bodog Poker is intense at the higher limits and somewhat soft at the lower limits. This is in keeping with the difficulty expectation for lower traffic websites.
Rake Costs – (9.0/10)
Rake costs at Bodog Poker gravitate between 5% and 10% of the amount of money in the pot up to maximum amounts that range anywhere from $0.02 to $3.00 depending on the betting structure, the stakes and the number of players that have been dealt cards in the hand. Under no circumstances will the rake at Bodog Poker ever exceed $3.00 per hand.
Support Options – (8.5/10)
Support options available at Bodog Poker are threefold. The first is an extensive FAQ document that allows you to gain immediate answers to any common problems that players experience when playing online at Bodog Poker. The second is e-mail support that can be found by e-mailing service@bodog.com or by filling out the e-mail form on the website. General telephone customer service is available for select countries at different toll-free telephone numbers that are visible at most times on the Bodog website of your country.
Financial Security – (9.5/10)
The financial security situation at Bodog Poker is beyond reproach. Even though Bodog Group is an independent group, their overall casino operations have been reviewed and approved by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission. That is one of the hardest approvals to get in the world of online casinos and for that reason you can trust that Bodog Poker will have one of the best transactional security programs around.
Deposit and Withdrawal Choices – (9.0/10)
Depositing at Full Tilt Poker can be done with:
Visa
MasterCard
UseMyBank
eWalletXpress
Click2Pay
NETeller
Moneybookers
PaySafeCard
Withdrawing from Full Tilt Poker can be done with:
Click2Pay
NETeller
Moneybookers
Courier Check
Overall – (8.5/10)
Bodog Poker has all of the elements that you would expect from a good online poker website. They gained marks for recently accepting players from Canada into their ranks, but lost heavy marks for their low traffic numbers. With better traffic, Bodog Poker would have no problem getting an A+ rating from our review process, but will have to settle for an A- instead.