Bodog Poker UK
Bodog Poker
Bodog Poker was established in 2003 and is part of Bodog Entertainment Group S.A.and operates on Bodog UK's own proprietary software platform. It is unique and differs from all other poker sites today. Calvin Ayre, CEO and frontrunner of Bodog, is a busy man and in the industry is something of a celebrity. Apart from running the Bodog Poker UK room/casino/betting operation, he's also involved in promoting music, martial arts and various charity organizations.
The Bodog UK Poker lobby is pretty ugly in my opinion, and graphically outdated, with a lot of the features not immediately apparent or simply non-existent. While the software is fairly resource-intensive and slower than many other Poker rooms (it really needs to be improved imho) , support is good and the bonus is easily cleared. That said, there are a hardcore of players here so I'd suggest having a look for yourself.
Games, Traffic & Tournaments
Bodog Poker UK has a different was of presenting cash games. Instead of the usual $2/4 for example, tables are labeled “$10 max”, “$25 max” and so on up to $2000 max for both NL/PL HE and Omaha PL. This signifies the maximum buy-in for the table in question. A decent amount of $10-$600 max tables, that's $0.05/0.10 with $3/$6 blinds, run frequently. There are usually a few lower stakes Omaha/Omaha Hi-Lo tables running but rarely will you find stud games.
The MTTs area is virtually deserted compared to other poker rooms. A few $1-$30 tournaments run every hour with no real highlights exept maybe the $100K weekly and a few WSOP/WPT qualifier tournaments. SnGs from $2 to $220 run 24/7, a fair amount of each on levels up to $110. Daily $500 or $1000 freerolls and Poker Points tournaments are held, free fun for the newbie or novice.
NB: Bodog UK's freeroll poker tournaments are now available in an RSS feed that you can use or bookmark on your personal Google or Yahoo pages, access via an RSS reader, or integrate into one of the social networking sites. Click here to access the feed. They are also available via the Poker Tournament Toolbar for IE or Firefox.
Promotions And Support
Bodog has a 100% up to $550 sign-up bonus which is easily cleared at limits $2/4 or above.
Bodog Poker UK support/customer service is very good. Emails are promptly answered, phone support is available 24/7 and the staff are courteous and knowledgable. Top of the line in this department. There is no doubt that Bodog does have a very good reputation among the player community - a good sign.
Banking
You can deposit at Bodog UK using any of the following methods; Neteller, Click2Pay, Moneybookers, Credit Card, Nucharge or eWallet Xpress. Cashouts to Neteller are fast, usually between 2-4 hours. Be very careful when requesting a payout by check, these are known to take several weeks to arrive and sometimes even months.
Conclusion
Bodog UK is IMO “just another poker room”. Poor graphics/slow software and low traffic are my pet peeves. Very fast cashouts to Neteller and excellent support, plus an easily cleared bonus do make up for it. Just about.
Footnote - Bodoglife
In August 2007, Bodog Poker UK was hit with a court order seizing their Bodog domain name. This arose from a suit filed in the USA by a company called 1st Technology claiming Bodog had infringed a patent on the way downloads of their software were handled. The court in the US awarded $48million to 1st Technology, but Bodog being offshore, a long legal situation ensued. To get round the temporary issue of web presence, Bodog had rebranded as “Bodoglife”.
Overall Rating: 2.5/5
Reviewed By: Pokersites.co.uk