BetOnline vs. Bovada for Poker: Which is Better?

BetOnline and Bovada are two of the biggest online poker sites available to U.S. players. 

Both sites offer a solid lineup of game formats at a variety of stakes. BetOnline and Bovada each offer their services as offshore gaming sites, operating in the United States in somewhat of a legal gray area.

Which is better for poker – BetOnline or Bovada? Let’s compare these two popular poker sites side-by-side.

BetOnline Poker Overview

BetOnline is a U.S.-facing online poker room, sportsbook, and casino. The brand has offered online poker for more than 20 years, making it a mainstay in the U.S. poker scene.

BetOnline’s poker room ranks in the top three in terms of player traffic among U.S.-facing poker rooms. You can find the following poker formats at BetOnline:

BetOnline Poker Formats

• Cash games
• Tournaments
• Sit & Gos
• Windfall (aka Spin & Gos)

Let’s take a look at what BetOnline has to offer in each of these poker formats.

BetOnline Cash Games

You can find the following poker variants available in cash game format at BetOnline:

• No-Limit Hold’em
• Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO)
• PLO Hi-Lo
• PLO 5
• PLO 6
• Open-Face Chinese Poker
• Boost Poker (fast-fold/”Zoom” poker)

No-Limit Hold’em Cash Games At BetOnline

The world’s most popular poker variant, No-Limit Texas Hold’em, runs 24/7 in cash game format at BetOnline. 

Here’s a look at what you’ll find on the NLHE cash game menu at BetOnline:

• Lowest stakes – $0.05/$0.10
• Highest stakes – $5/$10
• Six-Max games 
• Full-ring games 
• Straddle games
• Run it up to three times
• Boost games
• Bad Beat Jackpot

BetOnline’s NLHE games get plenty of traffic at the micro stakes, and you’ll generally find at least 1-2 games running for the higher stakes at peak hours.

The Straddle, Bad Beat Jackpot, and Run It 3 Times options some of the games give BetOnline some unique features that Bovada doesn’t currently offer.

Pot-Limit Omaha Cash Games At BetOnline

PLO cash games at BetOnline include the following features:

• Lowest stakes – $0.05/$0.10
• Highest stakes – $5/$10
• PLO 5 (five-card Pot-Limit Omaha) 
• PLO 6 (six-card Pot-Limit Omaha)
• PLO Hi-Lo
• Straddle games
• Run it up to three times
• Boost games

BetOnline Poker Tournaments

You can find the following poker variants available in cash game format at BetOnline:

• No-Limit Hold’em
• Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO)
• PLO Hi-Lo

As you might expect, the majority of BetOnline’s tournaments are NLHE. You can find a few PLO and PLO Hi-Lo tournaments in the mix as well.

Sunday is the biggest day of the week for tournaments at BetOnline. The centerpiece of the Sunday slate is the Main Event, with a $109 buy-in and $150,000 guaranteed.

Look for even bigger guarantees to regularly appear on the BetOnline schedule as well.

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Bovada Poker Overview

Much like BetOnline, Bovada (also known as Ignition) is a fixture of the U.S. online poker scene. Bovada/Ignition is also among the top three U.S.-facing poker sites in terms of player traffic.

The brand debuted as Bodog more than two decades ago. The online gambling site is now known as either Bovada or Ignition.

Note that Bovada and Ignition are different skins for the same platform. Like BetOnline, Bovada/Ignition offers online poker, sports betting, and casino gaming.

Bovada Poker Formats

• Cash games
• Tournaments
• Sit & Gos
• Jackpot Sit & Gos (aka Spin & Gos)

Let’s take a look at what Bovada has to offer in each of these poker formats.

Bovada Cash Games

You can find the following poker variants available in cash game format at Bovada:

• No-Limit Hold’em
• Limit Hold’em
• Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO)
• PLO Hi-Lo
• Limit Omaha Hi-Lo
• Zone Poker (fast-fold/”Zoom” poker)

All games at Bovada run as Anonymous tables. While Bovada and BetOnline offer many similar features, the Anonymous tables at Bovada are probably the biggest differentiator between Bovada and BetOnline.

With Anonymous tables, you can’t “bumhunt” or in any way scout your opposition, at least in the long term.

All Bovada cash games use the Quick Seat feature, meaning you’re sat at the next available table when you sit in for a cash game session. You can’t choose a particular cash game table at Bovada.

No-Limit Hold’em Cash Games At Bovada

No-Limit Hold’em cash games run around the clock at Bovada 

Here’s a look at some of the features you’ll find on the Bovada NLHE cash game menu:

• Lowest stakes – $0.02/$0.05
• Highest stakes – $10/$20
• Six-Max games 
• Full-ring games 
• Zone Poker (fast-fold poker)
• Anonymous Tables

Bovada’s NLHE games get solid traffic at the micro stakes, and you’ll often find at least 1-2 games running for higher-stakes games at peak hours.

Pot-Limit Omaha Cash Games At Bovada

Omaha cash games at Bovada include the following features:

• Lowest stakes – $0.02/$0.05
• Highest stakes – $10/$20
• PLO Hi-Lo
• PLO Hi-Lo
• Limit Omaha Hi-Lo
• Zone Poker

Bovada Poker Tournaments

You can find the following poker variants available in cash game format at Bovada:

• No-Limit Hold’em
• Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO)
• PLO Hi-Lo
• Seven Card Stud

Like BetOnline, most of Bovada’s tournaments are NLHE. 

The weekly tournament guarantees and special event prize pools generally aren’t as large at Bovada as they are at BetOnline.

The Verdict

Both Bovada/Ignition and BetOnline have plenty to offer for U.S. poker players. 

The Anonymous tables at Bovada make it a great choice for players not looking too much into tracking opponent tendencies. 

You can get in, play some poker, and get out quite easily at Bovada. Your opponents don’t know who you are, and if you’re a good player that’s likely a good thing.

If you’re a cash game crusher, you might want to play at Bovada and enjoy the juicy games available there.

BetOnline gets the nod as the better overall poker client, however. The software is superior to Bovada, as is the selection of available payment methods.

If you’re a tournament player, BetOnline is the better choice. Tournament traffic and prize pools at BetOnline are as good as you’ll find at a U.S.-facing poker site.

 

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