Poker Experiences

I like playing poker. And I play online quite a bit. There's really only one problem with it.

I'm not that good a poker player.

That's not to say I'm a bad player; I'm just not that good. I'm probably giving myself too much credit when I put myself in the category of merely average. Which is the other reason why I've never funded an online poker account.[1]

Which is why I'm really enthused about playing poker at Bodog.[2] Because they literally pay you to play. Admittedly, it's only a penny an hour and it takes 500 hours of play to reach the first payout; but it's there. Let me back up.

I found Bodog because they have play money online blackjack. I'm better at blackjack than I am at poker[3]. I played there a while and then tried out their poker client. While most poker sites I've been to have real money and play money; Bodog accounts have a four-'currency' structure: Play Money (PM), Poker Points (Pts), Tournament Credits (T$), and eCash ($). Play Money is just that. eCash is your real money balance, and you can withdraw it by check or have it deposited into your bank account. Tournament Credits are a dollar equivalent that are usually awarded to winners of qualifier tournaments[4] can be used to pay entry fees for scheduled tournaments.

The interesting part of Bodog's structure are the Pts. Pts are basically Bodog's loyalty program, and can be earned in 3 ways: rakes, fees, and time. Playing in a raked pot gives you up to 1 point depending on the amount of rake (the fee taken out of the pot by the house). Paying an entry fee also nets you poker points, for every $1 paid in fees, you get 3 pts. And the best part, for every hour you play, you get a point. So what are they good for? Entry fees for one; there are both sit-and-go and scheduled tournaments that use poker points instead of cash. They're also transferrable to bonus cash, which you have to roll over into real cash by betting/paying fees.

I worked the play money sit-and-gos for about two weeks before cashing out in a guaranteed freeroll.[5] It wasn't much - $3.00 - but I placed in the mid-30s in a 2000+ player tournament. Right now, I'm sitting at $3.22; I cashed in a sit-and-go, then missed the money in another, and conned myself into a rebuy and an add-on after losing the last hand before break in another free roll. Missed the cut by about 100 (in a 3000+ field) in that one. So, I'm back to the freerolls.

Tell you what; rather than me trying to explain it; go sign up for an account. Hit http://www.bodoglife.com/ , sign up for a free account (use referral number P10F115A), download the client, and boom, you're on your way. Or, to paraphrase a commercial...

I'm "DJay Hogan", and I play on Bodog Poker.



[1] The primary reasons being that A) I'm a cheapskate, and B) I've always found other things to do with my fun money.
[2] And no, this isn't a paid advert. When I find something I like, I tell other people, simple as that.
[3] It's the only game I've actually won money in a casino on.
[4] 'Qualifiers' are tournaments where the prize is a seat in another, usually more expensive or exclusive tournament.
[5] 'Sit-and-Go' is a type of tournament that starts when a certain number of players have joined; as opposed to a 'scheduled' tournament that starts at a certain time. 'Cashing out' refers to winning money in a tournament; usually this means finishing in the top 5-10%, depending on the tournament's payout structure. A 'freeroll' is a tournament with no entry fee. Most freerolls have the option of re-buying (obtaining an additional starting stake) or adding-on (buying additional chips) within a certain time frame. The prize pool is determined by the number of re-buys and add-ons. In a 'guaranteed' freeroll, the host guarantees a minimum payout, basically pocketing the re-up cash up to the guarantee level.