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Bovada is a fairly well-known online gaming site, which contains a few different platforms. As well as its popular casino and sports betting options, it’s also responsible for a poker offering too. And speaking of this, the company moved its online poker platform to Ignition Casino in August of 2016. However, it returned to Bovada about a year later, meaning that it’s still a relatively new re-addition to the site. The good thing about all of the Bovada gaming options, is that they’re available to US players. And this is no small feat, as getting recognition and acceptance as a gambling site in the US is difficult in any case. Fortunately, with its good choice of poker games and a great set of tournaments, this poker platform appeals to many. And we’re not talking solely about desktop players either. There’s a mobile version of the site that caters to those of you who enjoy gaming on the move.

As far as the design of the poker platform goes, this has a wonderful layout and overall setup for you to experience. And this also relates to the mobile version of the site. Everything is very easy to navigate your way around, and the mobile version is optimised for your viewing pleasure. However, one thing that Bovada doesn’t have, is a downloadable app. So, you need to enter the website address into your mobile device’s browser to access the platform. This is not specifically a bad thing though. It means that you don’t have to download an app to your home screen. The navigation menu for the poker site can be seen down the left-hand side of the screen, as can links to the other Bovada gaming sites. And the hottest tournaments can also be seen from the homepage too.

Games and Providers

The Bovada poker site utilises the PaiWangLuo network to provide its players with games. This is actually the second largest network that accepts US citizens, with Winning Poker only being ahead of it. Therefore, the site does contain some intriguing enough games and interesting tournaments for you to participate in. And this also means that the poker games all feature high-quality graphics and gameplay for you to experience. Plus, if you’re a newcomer to this world, there are guides on how to play it. And in this instance, you’ll never find yourself lost and confused by the different gaming options.

Upon completing your sign-up and making your first deposit, you can begin playing the games. And simply put, you can access these by navigating your way to the ‘Tournaments’ section. There, you’ll find multiple different options, including Sit & Go games. In fact, there’s the Jackpot Sit & Go section to join first of all. If you want to play for serious cash amounts, but don’t really have the time to sit around and play poker for hours, this one is for you. Jackpot Sit & Go is a three-players Texas Hold’em tournament format. This is great for casual players who want to try for a big boost to their bankroll. These are only available via the downloadable poker software though. Therefore, they are not accessible via mobile devices. You can play standard Sit & Go tournaments as well, which are available in both Texas Hold’em and Omaha versions. These tournaments can have anywhere between two to 45 players in them. Buy-in levels can range from $1 to $200 as well.

And there are several other alternative tournaments for you to join and enjoy. These include options like Nightly Majors – available in the evenings throughout the week – and the $250K GTD tournament. This allows you to play for a share of the huge $250,000 guaranteed amount. So, you see that the Bovada platform has many available gaming options for you to participate in.


Payment Methods

Adding those vital funds to your poker account is something that you can only do via one or two different methods. The regularly seen Visa and MasterCard options are available first of all, and this relates to both credit and debit cards. Additionally, you can utilise a Visa Gift Card if it is set up for international and online purchases. However, aside from these options, the only other payment methods that Bovada accepts is bitcoins. Therefore, if you have a preference for utilising an eWallet or a fast bank transfer, for example, it’s not possible at Bovada. Withdrawals are only possible via bitcoins and Check by Courier too. So, it’s a very minimal selection of payment methods that you can make use of at this site.

Promotional Offers

If you’re anything like us, then you’ll know how nice it is to receive an appealing welcome bonus at a gaming site. Bovada does cater to you in this area, with offers available for all of its gaming sites. As far as the poker platform goes, there is a bonus of 100% available to you on top of your first deposit. This bonus has a maximum value to it of $500, so you can really benefit from such. However, this is not given straight away. You need to download the poker software and start earning Poker Points over the proceeding 30 days. The welcome bonus funds are actually given to you depending upon how many of these Poker Points you earn within that time period. So, while you have the potential to receive up to $500, you’ll need to gain 5,000 Poker Points within 30 days for this.

There are additional rewards that you can claim as a regular poker player at Bovada too. However, these are generally always sent to you via email. That’s why it’s beneficial to you to keep a check on your email inbox. As well as this, if you’re intending to utilise bitcoins to fund your account, then you will benefit from the bitcoin welcome bonus too. You’re able to actually receive a 150% bonus on making your first deposit with this cryptocurrency. And this bonus has a maximum value to it of $1,500 in total. And this is redeemable three time over! Therefore, you can receive up to $4,500 in bitcoin bonus funds, as well as a 50% match bonus up to $500 to use at the Bovada sportsbook!


Support Options

We know that it’s quite possible for players to come across problems when gaming at online platforms. If this should happen while playing poker at Bovada, you can find many pieces of information in the FAQ section. However, if this doesn’t provide the help that you need, you’ll need to speak to the customer support team. They are contactable via Live Chat first of all. Of course, this is not something that extends to mobile devices. Therefore, you will need to either send an email or call them on the telephone. There’s a form to fill in that allows you to send an email to them. Meanwhile, the telephone number is 1-888-263-0000.

Safety and Fair Gaming

The entire Bovada company first came to light several years ago, and at that time it held a gambling licence from the Kahnawake Gambling Commission. However, this licence has since been rescinded for reasons unknown. What’s unfortunate though, is that Bovada has had ample time to secure a new licence from one of the many other commissions. This is not something that the platform has done as of yet though, so it remains in operation without one. We don’t recommend joining such sites usually as you cannot guarantee fair gaming and safety. This is due to the site not having to adhere to strict regulations that come with a gambling licence. Therefore, you join Bovada and play there at your own risk for the time being.

Conclusion

While this online poker site does have some intriguing features, there’s also quite a lot of disappointment along the way. We enjoy the fact that it offers up multiple different poker games and tournaments to players. And the welcome offer is quite nice at the same time. However, the lack of a gambling licence and the minimal payment methods that the site accepts both combine to dissuade us.