How to Play Poker at Bodog
Poker is such a universally loved game around the world that it often feels more like a friendly exhibition match than a highly competitive game capable of arousing real intensity – particularly when you’ve got some serious cash on the table.
You used to have to go to a land casino (or your secret connection’s basement lounge) to compete for the prize pot, but nowadays the internet takes care of all the logistics and sets the game up nice and easy. You’re very welcome.
At Bodog Casino, we’ve got multiple poker games to try your skills, even for free in practice mode so you can get familiar. No experienced player would advise you to dive in empty-handed and empty-walleted, so it’s worth your time and money to first review the basics of poker, and gather up some tips and strategies to ensure you start off on the right foot… or hand, as it were.
Here’s how poker is done at Bodog.
Poker Basics: Understanding the Game
There are several variations in the poker library, each with its own set of rules, but the fundamental purpose is the same. The aim of poker is to win the pot of money that grows in the centre of the table. You do this by either making the other players quit (fold) or having the best hand yourself. Here are the basics of how a poker game goes down:
- There’s at least one other player seated at the table
- You start with a certain number of poker chips that you use to place your bets
- Players take their turn clockwise around the table; each will make decisions based on the cards in their hand and the cards on the table (among other factors)
- After each bet, chips are pushed into the middle. This forms the prize pot that every player is playing for.
- Your aim is to try to get every other player to fold, or have the best hand of the bunch, then the pot is yours.
Bodog Poker Pro Tip: It’s easy for some players to believe that every hand must be defended to the death, even when it’s a sure thing to lose. Experienced players will tell you to avoid that trap, and to understand that sometimes you’ll simply get a bad hand, and it shows the skill of a measured player if you know when to fold it and let it go.
Steps to Start Playing
Anyone can play poker at Bodog right now, as long as they have an account (and they’re of legal age). It’s just three steps to the felt:
- Open a free account at Bodog – just a few questions and you’re in.
- Download the free Bodog poker software (both Mac and Windows).
- Select a table from the lobby
Now you’re at the table, and you’re ready to play. But you may want to hold off for just another second, and there’s a very, very good reason why.
Grab a Poker Bonus
Before you start just about any game at Bodog, including poker, you’ll want to see if there are any eligible bonuses to get you started off right. Luckily for poker players, there are tons.
The Poker Welcome Bonus can earn you up to $1,000, and Refer a Friend can get you up to $100. There are also game-specific bonuses like the Bad Beat and the Royal Flush bonus, so take a few minutes to meander through the promotions page to see which ones call out to you.
Practice First
You wouldn’t jump into a competitive football game without any practice, and we wouldn’t expect you to throw your money into a poker game without first learning the ropes. In other words, a warm-up, sans the stakes.
That’s what Play Money poker is for.
We give you $1,000 in faux funds so you can scope out the lay of the land and get comfortable with the games before putting on the uniform and playing for real money. You can switch to “Real Play” whenever you’re ready.
The Best Poker Games to Play
Most people think of Texas Hold ‘Em when they think of poker, since that’s the most popular type out there. Bodog has Hold ‘Em, of course, but you could also branch off to Omaha Hold ‘Em (more often just called Omaha) or Omaha Hi/Low. The main difference between the three comes down to the number of hole and community cards you play with.
Cash Poker is available as well as online poker tournaments where you compete with other players to see who can last the longest and take most of the pot. Poker tournaments online are the best place to start for beginners since you can’t lose any more than your buy-in and the entrance fee, making it a great playground to practice with real money.
Understand the Stakes
The term “stakes” in poker refers to the cash value size of the games. In a poker tournament, the stakes refer to the amount of money for the buy in.
Understand Betting Limits
If you’re playing Texas Hold ‘Em, you’ll most often see “No Limit”. That means you could bet or raise your entire stack when it’s your turn if you wanted to. You might also see “Pot Limit” which means you can only bet or raise the size of the pot, or Fixed Limit where your bet or raise can only be 1x or 2x the size of the big blind.
Poker Tips: the Best Way to Play
Doyle Brunson says it right when he advises players to play aggressively, and we’d be remiss not to pass along his advice.
That’s not to say you should play aggressively with just any hand, however. A new player should have a tight pre-flop strategy that confines their play hands to a narrow range – a mix of super good and simply good enough to play. When you get those hands in the game, play them aggressively no matter what, and the table will be none the wiser about whether you have a truly awesome hand or just a meh one.
The poker tables are open at Bodog Casino, and there’s an empty seat with your name on it. Grab a bonus, try your game in Play Money before you commit, then practice your new poker tips to get going in the game. Just a few more sessions should do it, and you’ll be well on your way to getting that weekend splash money from much deeper pockets.
Once you’ve enjoyed your fix of poker at Bodog Casino, why not mix it up with some Hot Drop Jackpots action? Available to play on Golden Buffalo, 777 Deluxe and A Night With Cleo, Hot Drop Jackpots have not just hourly and daily jackpots that must land, but a super jackpot that must be won before a certain amount is reached.
Back to poker, and we all know it can’t be played alone. That’s where our Refer-a-Friend bonus comes in handy. If your friends sign up using your referral link, you can enjoy some online casino fun with them and also receive extra funds as a result. On the topic of deposits, have you looked into crypto betting? More and more people are, and it is clear to see why.