Bovada, which once operated under the Bodog brand, is one of the oldest and best trusted offshore operators which welcomes US players. The site is owned by the Morris Mohawk Group and licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission. Since their relaunch under the Bovada name in 2011, this poker room steadily gained ground on the competition, while not being afraid to bring in new innovations. They are now the is the No.1 US-friendly poker room – and even though non-US players cannot access the games, Bovada ranks among the top 10 sites in terms of traffic.
The Bovada software client can be downloaded directly to your Windows or Mac computer, although there is no Instant Play in-browser version available. Modern smartphone and tablet users can access the cash games via a dedicated the mobile client, which works great on iOS and Android devices via your browser. In addition to playing the real money poker games, your Bovada account will give you access to their excellent sportsbook and casino sites.
Here you can find out all about Bovada Poker. First of all below the cash games and tournaments are looked at, you can then discover the different promotions and Bovada’s banking options. Then at the end is a summary with the pros and cons of this poker room.
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Cash Games on Bovada
Bovada are not afraid of taking bold steps, and there were the first site to implement all anonymous tables. This was greeted with a lot of negativity among regular players at first, particularly as all their notes and tracking software was now redundant. However, it has attracted more recreational players to the site, believing they are safe from the sharks, and has resulted in considerably looser games.
Bovada offers a full range of games for No Limit Holdem players, with stakes ranging from $0.01/0.02 blinds up to $10/20 levels. In addition to this the Limit Holdem games have a decent amount of traffic and tables are available from $0.25/0.50 to $30/60. You can also find Omaha and Severn Card Stud games, both are spread in their High only and Hi/Lo variants.
The site was also the first US-friendly poker room to have fast fold games, with the introduction of Zone Poker. When you enter these games, you join a player pool according to which stakes you want to play. Then as soon as you fold or win your hand, you are moved to a new table and straight into a new hand. These fast paced games are compatible with Bovada’s mobile poker app – they are ideal if you want to get lots of hands in within a short time frame.
Bovada Poker Tournaments
The tournament schedule on Bovada features a number of $10k guarantees with buy-ins from $11, up to a nightly $30k for a $55 buy-in. Sunday is the busiest days for big prizepools, and Bovada’s Big Deal kicks off at 4pm ET, offering a $100k gtd for $162. Don’t worry if this is out of your bankroll, as you can find satellites from $1 running throughout the week. You’ll find even bigger tournaments when the regular ‘Golden Spade Open’ events run.
Away from the big tournaments, you can find plenty of low limit and micro limit MTTs running throughout the day, including some Omaha games. There is also a good number of freerolls.
Sit & Go players can find a large number of games running, from $1.10 to $215. These are played out on full ring tables, 6-max and heads up, feature single table tournaments, along with multi-table games with 2, 3 and 5 tables.
Like the cash tables, Bovada players remain anonymous on the tournament tables and play is also restricted to 4 SNG tables concurrently. While this is off-putting to grinders concerned about their hourly rate, it means recreational players are more likely to join the games. It is this focus on the casual player which has helped build Bovada’s success.
Bonuses & Promotions from Bovada Poker
New players on Bovada Poker can get a 100% matched Welcome Bonus on their first deposit. After this is activated you will have 60 days to release the funds into your account by playing real money cash games or tournaments.
Your bonus progress can be tracked in your account by using Poker Points, which are gained at 1 point for every $1 you spend in tournament fees or $1-3 you contribute in cash game rake. Your bonus is then paid out at a rate of $10 per 50 points gained. You Poker Points can also be converted into tournament tickets, or entries into Freerolls.
Bovada’s main Freeroll is the Weekly $5k, which runs on alternate Thursdays as a turbo tournament and Saturdays as a regular one. The buy-in is 1000 points, although you can qualify for as little as 25 points. These games pay out the $5k prize fund between the top 20% of finishers.
For Texas Holdem cash game players, Bovada includes some great promotions in the form of the Bad Beat Bonus and Royal Flush Bonus. The Bad Beat Bonus can get you 100x the big blind, up to $1000, and is triggered when you have a hand greater than Kings Full and lose to Quads or higher.
Meanwhile the Royal Flush Bonus pays out 50x the big blind, up to $200, when you get a Royal Flush using both your hole cards. In both cases at least 3 people need to be dealt into the hand, although the Bad Beat Bonus requires both hands go to showdown, where the Royal Flush bonus does not require a showdown.
Deposits and Withdrawals at Bovada
Bovada’s trustworthy reputation owes a huge part to their clear and hassle free payment policies. All deposits are free and you can quickly fund your account with your Visa or MasterCard, as long as this is authorized for international transactions. Alternatively Bovada also accept payments via Rapid Transfer.
All players at Bovada can claim a free cash-out once a month via couriered check, which arrives within a few business days. If you require further check payouts, or a withdrawal via bank transfer, then fees from $50 may be applied.
Bovada Poker Positives
At Bovada you can find the biggest selection of online poker games in the US, from a trusted operator with a long history in the market. The games are soft and withdrawals are fast and free.
Bovada Poker Negatives
The only negatives for Bovada Poker apply to serious online grinders. Using anonymous tables and limiting on the number of games a player can sit at has affected the tools and win-rates of this group. Although, in many ways this is a positive for the rest of the community, as it has led to the success of Bovada, by attracting many new recreational players.
Bovada Poker- Summing It Up
If you are a US player looking for a top poker room, then Bovada is it. The site is run by experienced and trustworthy operators, who have a strong reputation for quick, no-nonsense payouts. Bovada is now the leading US-facing poker room, attracting many casual players and providing soft games. Online grinders will have to make adjustments however, as tracking software and mass-multitabling is not an option.