Bovada Poker Review

  • Bonus CodeN/A
  • Sign-up Bonus100% up to $1,000
  • Rake Calc MethodNo RB
  • Bonuses DeductedNo
  • Tournament Fees IncludedYes
  • Rakeback PaymentsN/A
  • RakebackVIP
  • NetworkIndependent
  • Max Tables12
Play Right Now

Bovada is  an online poker room that accepts players only from the United States.  When Bodog left the US market in December of 2011, Bovada was soon established to absorb US market share.

Bovada is based out of Kahnawake, Canada, and is licensed and regulated by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission.  The internet poker room, online sportsbook, and Vegas style casino is owned by Meadway Leisure Limited, a company that has been involved in online gaming since 2007.

While operating under the Bodog name, Bovada had a decade plus of stellar service and has  continued that of excellence with virtually no hiccups since the change in ownership.

Bovada

VIP and Bonuses at Bovada Poker

Bovada.lv currently offers players a 100% bonus up to $1000 for new depositors.  Players will clear their deposit bonus using Bodog Points, which are accumulated by playing real money cash games or tournaments.  Poker Points can then be used to buy into multi-table tournaments or Sit N’ Goes.

Players will also earn points per hour of play, in addition to their rake rewards.  Also, players can earn up to $200 when they hit a royal flush and up to $1,000 when they qualify for the bad beat bonus.

Player Traffic and Competition

Bovada normally averages around 2,000 active players at peak hours.  Bovada is part of the Bodog Poker Network, so it shares its player base with European brands such as Bodog.uk and Bodog88.

Bovada is a clear 3rd in the US facing poker market, looking up at the Revolution Gaming Network and Merge Gaming.  However, the level of play at Bovada more than makes up for the smaller player base.  Bovada has some of the best games on the internet, not just for US players.

The room is marketed heavily to sports and casino bettors, and professional type players seem to shy away from the site for a number of reasons.  The four table maximum is not acceptable for most grinders, and the lack of tracking programs is another deterrent.

Bovada is one of the fishiest online poker rooms available online, it is almost shocking how bad the play is at times.  Usually, the games are filled with fish.

Cash Games

Bovada currently offers players Texas Hold Em’, Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, Stud Hi-Lo, Seven Card Stud and Five Card Draw.  The only two that have regular action are Texas Hold Em’ and Omaha.  No Limit Hold Em’ action is plentiful, from the micro stakes up to $10/20.  Limit Hold Em’ is actually decently popular as well, in the evenings stakes can get as high at $30/$60.  Pot Limit Omaha is consistent, with action going as high as $10/$20 PLO during peak hours.  All games are available in 9 handed, 6 max and heads up formats.

Tournaments

Bovada has many guaranteed tournaments throughout the week.  The Sunday $100k is the flagship tournament each week, and one of the largest MTTs available for US players.  Daily tournaments are offered with tons of variation, including deepstack and rebuys with varying speeds and many other options.

Sit N’ Go action is particularly good at Bovada considering its size.  SNGs from $5 and up $200 get regular action, and players usually won’t have to wait longer than a few minutes during high volume hours.  Bovada offers heads-up, 6 max and 9 handed SNG action.

Bovada Software

Bovada has fully anonymous poker tables. There are no screen names and players will simply receive a random name depending on which seat they take.  Screen names are simply “Player 1”, “Player 2” and so on.  Bovada has been criticized for this upgrade, as many players were not a fan of a fully randomized online poker room.  Bovada has defended this change, equating the random screen names to that of a live poker game, where players have a different set of opponents each night.

Along with the anonymous poker room, came a new software upgrade, as well.  Bovada’s software is nothing remarkable, but it gets the job done.  Resizable tables, an accessible lobby filter, and a fair bit of table options make it perfectly acceptable.  It doesn’t have the frills and options of advanced software, but it is stable and seemingly bug free.  It is also updated frequently, Bovada’s software team is always looking to improve their product.

Bovada is available both on PC and Mac.  Third party tracking programs are strictly against Bovada’s terms and conditions, so players won’t be able track their hands in databases like they are able to at many other online rooms.

Support

Bovada is one of the top online poker rooms on the internet for customer support.  Available 24/7 via phone and email support, Bovada is quick to respond to customer complaints or suggestions.  They’ll even call you at a time of your choosing to discuss your issue.  Email response is a speedy 4 hours!  They are a shining example of how a customer service team should be run in the online poker industry.

Cashier and Banking Options @ Bovada

Bovada is only for US players – international players are not accepted.  So, many international options are not available for deposit.  Bovada currently only has two deposit methods available for players.

Credit card deposits are available and come with a 4.9% fee.  The minimum deposit via credit card is $20, and the maximum is $1,425 per transaction.  The daily and monthly limits are $2,500 and $10,000, respectively.

Rapid Transfer is the other form of deposit.  These are simply MoneyGram transfers that take a few hours to reach your account after sending.  The minimum and maximum per deposit are $100 and $900, respectively.  Bovada will cover all fees for deposits over $300.

Payouts

Withdrawals at Bovada are certainly within the industry standard for US players, and are constantly improving.  They offer check, cash transfer and bank wire withdrawals.  Check withdrawals are just taking one to two weeks, and come with a $50 fee per check.  However, each player is allowed one free check per 30 days.  Players can request up to $3,000 per check.

Cash transfer is taking just over a week; players can request up to $800 per cash transfer.  Cash transfers have varying fees from $20 to $60.  Bank wires are the slowest form of payout and are currently taking $6-8 weeks to process.  The minimum amount for bank wires is $2500, and the maximum is $5,000 per transaction.  These come with a $50 charge, and players may incur more charges from their local bank.

Overall

Bovada is a terrific choice US poker players.  As the game quality of many sites has seriously dwindled over the past few years, Bovada seems to have been virtually unaffected by the UIGEA and other government pressure curbing online gaming.  Though, they just offer four tables, the action is super soft.  A strong company history and great payout record make Bovada an even more appealing option.