+1 for Bodog poker

I've been playing on Bodog a bit lately. They emailed me about a $5 free play bonus for some reason so I decided to play cards with the house money. That's just enough to play $5 NL so I did that.

The Bodog card room is very good. The first thing you notice is the anonymous tables. Everything is Player1, Player2, etc. Which is different. It takes a bit of getting used to but you quickly do. The lobby is also different. It doesn't show full tables. So it's more like a casino card room where if you want to play you are escorted to a table with empty seats. You can't refuse action and camp out and cut into what looks like a better game.

I decided to give the Rush poker a try. In Bodog it's called Zone poker. The Bodog implementation of Zoom is very good. There's usually 50+ players action at levels between $5NL and $100 NL. The combination of anonymous and Zoom was interesting. I got used to it and came to like it. It makes you think about strategy as you are playing against a "field" instead of individuals who you may have reads on, or who have reads on you. So I found it was good to have a strategy thought out and try to stick to it.

I know it's still $5 NL so I shouldn't expect too much of my opponents. I was fortunate to run well over a small sample size and win a little. I'd forgotten during the PLO time about actually winning at poker and it does make the game enjoyable.

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I think of Bodog as the anti-PokerStars. They definitely try to cater to the recreational player, and reduce some of the unseemly and predatory and (to the casual player) uncomfortable aspects of Stars. Anonymous tables, hiding full tables in the lobby, sensible limits on multitabling, no rakeback, no HUDs. All these things make Bodog different and in many ways friendlier and more comfortable than Stars. The software is pretty smooth and definitely good enough.

It's funny and apropos because recent changes at Stars are moving in the Bodog direction with elimination of SuperNova and higher VPP status, normalizing the value of FPPs, and supposed incoming restrictions on HUDs.

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Well I guess Bodog's $5 ploy was a success. I've recovered a bit of bankroll the last few months so I think I'll give maybe $10 NL Zone on Bodog a go with my own money. If I run well and build up some more bankroll then $25 would not be inconceivable. I've played $25 NL online long in the past and it wasn't a disaster.

It's fun to be playing cards again. Over on Stars at $10 PLO though I'm down nearly 20 buyins, I noticed at Zoom I'm only down 1 buyin over less than 1,000 hands. So maybe Zoom PLO is something as well. Will think about that one a bit.