Bovada Poker Review
Poker Room Reviews > Bovada Poker Review
This Bovada review is intended to provide a multitude of information about the online poker and gambling website, www.bovada.lv. This review will cover the pros and cons of the site, Bovada’s history, software, traffic, poker tournaments, cash games, licensing, and much more.
Bovada Poker Pros
- Highest traffic among US-facing sites
- Fast cashout speeds
- Large welcome bonus
- Supports multiple cryptocurrencies
- Numerous recreational players
Bovada Poker Cons
- Four-table maximum playing cash games
- Anonymous tables create limitations for professionals or grinders
- No rakeback and poor rewards program for poker players
History
Bovada Poker has been a staple in the US offshore gambling market since its inception in 2011. Bovada is a spin-off of the Bodog brand created to service US players following the disastrous events of Black Friday. Bodog has been in business since 2004 offering multiple online gambling products, including poker, to customers all over the world.
The newly created Bovada brand quickly grew to become the largest online poker room serving players in the US. In 2016, Bovada decided to exit the online poker market, transferring its large US player pool to Ignition Casino. Bovada didn’t stay out of the online poker industry for long, however, relaunching its poker room within a couple of years. Ignition Casino stayed open as well, with both rooms now operating in tandem on the Pai Wang Luo network with a combined player pool. Bovada and Ignition Poker remain the largest poker rooms serving the US market today.
Bovada deploys a unique recreational player model as a part of its overall strategy. Under this policy, players are not identified by screen name and instead, referred to only by a random seat number. This means that Heads-up Displays (HUDs), like Poker Tracker, will be unable to track any long-term statistics. Players also do not have the option to choose which table they will sit at. Players can select their preferred stakes and game type and then Bovada will automatically find them a suitable seat. This takes game selection out the window for experienced or professional players, thus acting to level the playing field.
Software and Traffic
Bovada Poker offers a downloadable poker client for PC and Mac users. Bovada Poker can also be played from any tablet or mobile device, but there is no app available for download. Instead, players can access Bovada’s web-based poker software from almost any device. Be advised that there are numerous fake Bovada and Ignition apps available for download across multiple platforms. Bovada does not offer any mobile app whatsoever, so make sure to only access the web-based version on your mobile or tablet device.
Bovada Poker operates as a member of the Pai Wang Luo poker network, also known as PWL. This network serves to combine the player pools and streamline the user experience. Bovada, Bodog, and Ignition are all members of the PWL network.
Bovada and the other sites on the PWL combine to form the largest poker network serving US players. The player pool is quite large and consistent, so you should have no trouble finding action at any time. Micro-stakes grinders and high-stakes gamblers alike can enjoy the busy cash game tables and bustling tournaments.
Tournaments
Bovada Poker boasts a large variety of tournaments across a wide variety of buy-in levels. Numerous game types and blind structures are available. Many tournaments offer guaranteed prize pools and re-buys. Tournaments are on offer with buy-ins as low as $1 up to $1,000 + $55. Daily tournaments with buy-ins of all levels run with consistency.
Knockout bounty tournaments and satellites are also featured on Bovada. Satellites allow players to win entries into larger tournaments with increased prize pools. Some of the larger tournaments will offer multiple-step satellite tournaments. This gives players a chance at winning even more with very small buy-ins.
Bovada also offers a wide range of special and recurring tournaments. The Sunday Major is a weekly tournament featuring a $150,000 guaranteed prize pool. Buy-ins are $150 + $12. Other impressive tournament offerings include the Black Diamond Poker Open series and the Monthly Milly. The Monthly Milly, as the name implies, is a monthly event featuring a $1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool.
Bovada Poker Tournament Lobby
Sit and Gos
A wide range of sit and go tournaments run with regularity on Bovada Poker. Some of the variants offered include turbo, hyper, and double up. 9-max, 6-max, and heads up (2-max) table sizes are offered. Sit and go buy-ins generally range from $1 + $0.05 up to $200 + 14. Multi-table sit and goes are also available in 12-player, 18-player, and 27-player formats.
Jackpot Sit & Gos
Jackpot Sit & Gos are a 3-player sit and go variant that awards a random multiplier between 2x and 1,200x as the prize pool. Jackpot Sit & Gos are offered with buy-ins starting at $0.50 all the way up to $100. Players will start with 300 chips and the blinds increase every three minutes. This creates a fast, lottery-type of poker experience. This is usually a winner-take-all affair unless one of the largest jackpots is awarded. If one of the three highest multipliers is awarded, all three players will receive a portion of the prize pool. The winner will receive 80% of the funds while second and third place will earn 10% each.
Cash Games
Bovada Poker offers numerous cash games across multiple poker variants, table sizes, and stake levels. Bovada spreads Pot Limit Omaha, Pot Limit Omaha/8, Fixed Limit Hold’em, and No-Limit Hold’em. Table sizes on offer include the standard 9-max, 6-max, and heads up (2-max). The lowest stakes available to play are $0.02/$0.05 with the highest stakes offered being $10/$20.
$0.10/$0.25 No-Limit Hold’em Cash Game on Bovada
Playing cash games at Bovada is a bit different than most other sites due to its recreational player model. Players are not able to select specific tables to play at. Instead, players can choose their preferred game type, table size, and stake level, and the software will assign an appropriate table. The players at the table will only be listed by their seat number, so player tracking and utilization of HUDs will be limited or nonexistent.
Bovada Poker Cash Game Interface
Zone Poker
Zone Poker is a fast-fold cash game variant offered by Bovada. In Zone Poker, players have the opportunity to fold their hands immediately and be moved to a new table, immediately receiving new cards. This allows for cash game players to play more hands at a faster rate. Zone Poker is offered with blind levels starting at $0.02/$0.05 available up to $2.50/$5. All Zone Poker games are 6-max. Game types offered include No-Limit Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha, and Pot Limit Omaha/8.
Bonus
Bovada Poker extends a first-time poker bonus worth 100% of your first deposit up to $500. This bonus is released incrementally as Bovada Rewards Points are accumulated through poker play. You will earn 15 points for every dollar paid in tournament fees and rake, except when playing Jackpot Sit & Goes. Jackpot Sit & Go points are accumulated based on the entire size of the buy-in. For every $1 paid in buy-ins, 1.5 points will be earned. The bonus will release in $5 increments each time 150 points are earned. You will have 30 days to clear the poker bonus.
Players will continue to earn Bovada Rewards Points after the welcome bonus is complete. Unfortunately, there is next to no value in these points for poker players. The total earned amounts to around 1% effective rakeback. Bovada does not offer any rakeback.
Bovada also offers a separate casino bonus worth 100% of your first deposit with traditional banking methods, or, 125% with a cryptocurrency deposit. The required play-through is 25x the total deposit and bonus amount.
There is also a 50% sports welcome bonus available up to a maximum of $250. This bonus increases to 75% with a maximum of $750 if cryptocurrency is used for the deposit. This bonus requires you to wager the total deposit and bonus amount 5x.
Licensing
Bovada was previously licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission until the commission decided to stop licensing US servicing brands in 2016. Bovada continued operating reliably without a license until acquiring a license from Curacao eGaming in 2020. Bovada maintains licensing from Curacao eGaming as of today.
Cashier
Bovada Poker offers a wide variety of deposit and withdrawal options for players. Some of the available deposit methods include debit cards, player transfers, MatchPay, and cryptocurrencies. Withdrawal methods on offer include cryptocurrencies, bank transfers, and MatchPay. Most deposit methods offer a low, $10 or $20 deposit minimum. The main exception to this is Ethereum, which necessitates a $50 minimum deposit.
Cryptocurrencies utilized by Bovada for deposits and withdrawals include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and Bitcoin SV. We recommend utilizing one of the aforementioned cryptocurrencies for both deposits and withdrawals for the best experience. Payouts are generally quite fast and reliable using cryptocurrencies and most customers receive their withdrawals the same day, or at worst, within a few days.
FAQ
Question: Does Bovada Poker accept US players?
Answer: Yes, Bovada has been welcoming US players since the brand was launched in 2011. There was a brief period of time where poker was not offered at Bovada, only being available at Ignition. Since then, Bovada has relaunched its poker and the player pools have been combined.
Question: What is the best deposit method to use at Bovada?
Answer: We recommend utilizing cryptocurrencies for deposits and withdrawals. Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and Bitcoin are all recommended deposit methods. These are simple, fast, and fairly inexpensive to buy and send.
Question: Does Bovada offer other casino games or a sportsbook?
Answer: Yes! Bovada operates a large online casino featuring numerous slot machines, table games, and specialty games. Bovada also features a large sportsbook offering bets on all major sports as well as parlays, props, and live betting.
Question: Is Bovada licensed as an online casino?
Answer: Yes, Bovada has secured and maintains a valid gaming license out of Curacao. Curacao is known to be a slightly lackadaisical regulatory environment, but rest assured that Bovada and its sister casinos have been operating with trust for nearly 20 years.
Question: Does Bovada allow me to play multiple tables at once?
Answer: Yes, Bovada allows players to sit at up to four tables at a time.
Question: Does Bovada offer any rakeback?
Answer: No, Bovada does not offer any rakeback. The welcome bonus is equivalent to around 50% effective rakeback, but after the welcome bonus, the rewards program offers very little value, amounting to less than 1% effective rakeback.
