Bovada Poker Review

Bovada Poker is another US-facing skin of the PaiWangLuo poker network. Most known as a trusted sportsbook, the site shares traffic with Ignition Casino. The online poker room features a unique "amateur-friendly" pool with restrictions we'll describe in this review.

Bovada opened its doors in 2011 and focused on being a sportsbook and racebook, adding poker later to its portfolio. Our team has reviewed this site in detail and wrote this 101 review:

• Is Bovada Poker legal in the United States?
• How soft are the poker tables?
• How can I deposit and withdraw from Bovada Poker?
• Is there any rakeback?

Bonuses and promotions

All new players get a 100% poker welcome bonus of up to $500. To get it, use the code PWB500 when depositing the first time.

You'll get up to 70% rakeback while clearing the first deposit bonus (50% for playing cash games and tournaments and roughly 70% in Jackpot Sit & Go). However, the wagering time is only 30 days.

Bovada Poker rakeback

You earn points while playing at Bovada Poker under the Rewards program. However, please note you will be able only to exchange those for tournament tickets, so don't expect any fixed rakeback percentage to your account.

Overall, after clearing the welcome bonus, you won't get any significant Bovada Poker rakeback. It's the price regs have to pay to get access to its extremely soft field.

Bovada Poker rake

Bovada charges a standard rake: of 5% across all cash games with different caps.

Rake at limits up to NL25 inclusive:

Rake at stakes above NL25:

• Jackpots Sit & Go rake: 7%
• Regular SnG: 5%
• Tournaments: 7% to 10%

We consider the Bovada Poker rake structure fair at cash tables and regular SnG, standard and low-stakes MTTS, and high at Jackpots and expensive tournaments. Recall rakeback doesn’t not exist in the long term here.

Games and traffic

Bovada Poker features massive and soft traffic. Such a unique combination places it five in the PokerScout ranking with over 2,000 players on average.

Let's take a closer look at what players can expect in the lobby.

Cash Games

Exotic formats are trending at Bovada Poker, thanks to the presence of American fans. Besides the traditional No-Limit Hold'em and Pot-Limit Omaha, you will find Fixed Limit, Omaha Hi/Lo, among others. Another good news for regs is the availability of HU tables.

The action starts at $5 up to $2k ($60 at limit tables).

Fast-fold poker (Zone)

Amateurs hate wasting time while playing. Hence, the fast-fold poker variant, Zone, is trending at Bovada. Available at stakes from $5 to $500 across action can be found virtually at any time, although most of the tables are played in Hold'em.

Tournaments and SnG

Bovada features one of the most attractive tournament grids in the modern industry: a millionaire tournament held every month and regular series with hundreds of events. The regular schedule offers events from $1 to $300 and massive weekly tournaments with over $150k guaranteed.

On the other hand, regular SnGs are also popular, and the offer includes from HU to 9-max games and buy-ins up to $200.

Jackpot Sit & Go

Another design for casual players. The popular Spin & Go is called Jackpot Sit & Go, and in the beginning, a spinning wheel defines the prize pool, which could be affected by a maximum multiplier of 1,200 the buy-in.

Six buy-ins up to $100 are available, and we must highlight over 70% of the games are x2 multipliers.

Bovada Poker is one of the best platforms to play online games in the United States. Regulars and casual will find enough action: the first ones will be delighted with the softness of the field, and the second group will feel comfortable with a platform designed for them.

The softness of the field

Bovada inherited the Ignition Casino "rules" about ecology. All usernames are anonymous, table selection is forbidden, and third-party software is severely restricted.

Also, Bovada is better known as a bookmaker than a poker room, which is why it attracts many wealthy gamblers to the tables.

Attitude toward professional players

• Trackers – yes
• Auto-seating scripts – yes
• Pre-flop charts – yes
• Bumhunt – yes
• Data-mining – no

Rakeback machines have no reason to play Bovada Poker after clearing the welcome bonuses, and with multitabling restrictions, it's hard to call it the main site to play. However, due to the softness of the field, many pros join BP.

Predatory regs are not welcome here, but anyone playing by the book will be allowed to swim with the fish. The terms include third-party software restrictions, anonymous usernames, no rakeback, random table seating, etc.

Bovada Poker software

The BovadaPoker platform is no different from any other site from PaiWangLuo; however, it's unique compared to other sites. Its lobby shows only a quick seat feature for cash games, and only the tournaments section (MTTs - SnG - Jackpots) resembles a regular site. There are native clients for macOS, Windows, and HTML5 compatible with websites.

However, after opening any table or event, you'll only see tags "player1", "player2", etc., as all players are anonymized. However, there is a "secret" formula to use a HUD at the tables, at least for the current session.

Companies like AcePokerSolutions or Holdem Indicator sell hand converters catching hands from the current session and displaying a HUD in cash (Zone included) and tournaments. It's not a perfect solution, but it's better than nothing.

Overall the platform is user-friendly and runs without lags even on older computers.

Mobile client

There is no Bovada Poker native client for iOS and Android, but the development team has created a mobile-friendly version via the website. All formats are available, and you don't need to download or install anything to your gadget. In our tests, the mobile app worked very well with different sizes of phones and tablets.

Reliability and trustworthiness

• Year of foundation – 2011
• License – Curacao
• RNG certificate – iTech Labs
• Identity verification – necessary
• Guarantees from WPD – no

Bovada was founded in December 2011 by the Morris Mohawk Gaming Group, and since then, it has become a trusted gambling company in the United States. Poker is only a side business to the management, but they have joined a highly reliable PaiWangLuo Network.

Bovada operates under licenses from both Curacao and Anjouan. Although we were unable to find any information on their RNG certification. This is a common situation among US friendly online poker rooms.

Overall, Bovada has built a reputation in over a decade, and we consider it a trusted poker room.

Deposits and withdrawals

Bovada Poker offers many deposit and withdrawal options in the cashier, but we strongly recommend using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Such transactions have no fees (credit cards are charged a 15% fee) and have no restrictions (besides regular caps). Also, withdrawals are only sent via cryptos or check by courier. Other methods include MatchPay, Voucher, Zelle, or Cards.

Withdrawals hit the players' wallets within 24 hours and usually less.

The minimum deposit is $10, while there are no limits for crypto cashouts.

Pros and cons to play at Bovada Poker

We highlight the following features of the site:

• US-friendly poker room.
• Incredibly soft traffic with casino fans at the tables.
• Amateur-oriented design.
• Cross-platform software.

Minuses:

• Multitabling cap.
• Anonymous games.
• Geographical restrictions.
• No rakeback.

If you live in a Bovada Poker-approved country (United States), you should definitely test the field. The weakness of the lineups is a powerful reason to play any format, from cash games to tournaments.

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For more information on the Bovada Poker, write right now. We are online seven days a week!

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