Bodog or UltimateBet

Hi all,

As some of you know I am looking for a poker room to play at for 2009. I wanted a fresh poker room, one that I never played on before.

I have accounts at the following:

Poker Stars
Full Tilt Poker
Poker Heaven
PKR
Ladbrokes Poker
Doyles Room
Bet365 Poker
Stan James Poker

There arn't that many known poker rooms left after all that lot, however, after looking around my mind was split in four between the following rooms:

Aced Poker
Carbon Poker
UltimateBet
Bodog Poker

After trying all of these, I found that both Carbon and Aced do not offer much in tournaments and the traffic is very low, so there would be a lot of waiting around for a tournament player, I feel this room is more for cash game players imo, also there guarantee's are still quite small.

Then it comes to UltimateBet and Bodog, and I dont know which is better I have been trying to weigh up the pros and cons of each and found this:

Bodog Pro's

Nice and unique poker table layout
Good slection of games/stakes
Easy to follow action
Weak sportsbook players willing to take gambles

Bodog Con's

Not much on offer in tournaments (esp. low stakes tournaments)
Hard to navigate lobby
Average Traffic
Bad reports of cash outs (sometimes taking months)
Unusual deposit bonus (wagering requirements)
Attached casio, easy to get carried away

UltimateBet Pro's

Easy to navigate lobby
Decent deposit/reload up bonuses with no expiry
Excellent Selection of games/stakes
Very large traffic (even bigger with cereus network)
Great selection of tournaments/guarantee's for all stakes

UltimateBet Con's

Outdated table layout and function
Tainted due to the Super User scandals

Which of these two rooms would you recommend and why, also if you like please recommed a room which is not mentioned in this post for me to try.

I want a poker room with decent tournament selection, good player traffic, good software that is easy on the eye and ears, good bonuses/reload bonuses, preferably no casino attached.

Thanks

JamesGodfrey

You're a member of all those sites, some I haven't even heard of...but instead of joining both you're going to choose between bodog and UB

Well I have joined both but I will only be depositing on one, and that will be the poker room I will be playing on for 2009

Have you considered Absolute Poker instead of UltimateBet? Both are (or will be) on the Cereus network. Absolute has a much nicer layout than UltimateBet, though it also has an annoyingly prominent blackjack button.

I like Bodog as well, but if you're looking for software without a casino that will be one to avoid. If you can keep yourself away from the casino Bodog > UltimateBet IMO.

Oh, I see...well I wouldn't be too excited about sending either of them my money. I can't answer since I don't have Bodog, but I am really tempted by the Cardschat freeroll with the T$ added. I'm probably going to break down and deposit at Ultimatebet with the no expiration bonus offer.

Ultimatebet bonus big plus, also known as a soft site (as is bodog), but bodog interface, also rumours re financial troubles and payouts, would keep me away now (dont deposit much there). I deposited a bunch at UB and then took it out; my bonus is still there.
Yes Absolute Poker has better interface and good bonuses also... on a regular basis.

LOL thats a lot of poker sites. You got me doubled up. Like others have said Ultimate Bet doesnt have as nice a layout as other places, but everything else seems ok to me.

Yep UB would be my pick also, but I've made more money at BD, but theres more action at UB, its kinda like picking the cute fat one or the skinny ugly one?

dont go with ultimate bet... its been proven they have bots playing and other garbage like that... id otn like bodog either

i dont play on either. good luck on both.

I got sent a decent instant deposit bonus that tempted me at carbon- plus freerolls look worthwhile...

Have an account with, but dont particularly like Ultimatebet- doesn't seem to offer much after initial deposit bonus

bodog has decent tournaments, with fields of a few hundred players. a big plus is the soft play, cons are low volume in multi table sngs, low volume in games besides nl holdem, and can only play 3 tables at once (if oyu multitable. I like their table and lobby layout.

Nobody can top the 500 Freerolls 3x daily at bodog. But with saying that bodog and ub are 2 of my three favorite sites with PokerStars being the best out there hands down.

Crazy how many sites u play. How do u have time 2 play them all? I guess if ur good u can rack up a lot of bonuses. i may try a few more now. Thanks!

Hey all,

Thanks for your feedback. It seems that players prefer UltimateBet, but for easy money the option is Bodog. I think what I will do, because my main grunt with UB is the table layout, I will wait and see there new table look/features when the Cereus platform is released at the end of November.

Thanks all

JamesGodfrey

Yo man i have all of those programs as well. If youre looking for a new one of 2009. I would go with Carbon poker. Its up to date. Good People. Lots of games. Nice Setup. Go try it out. Its my fav. by far of 2008.

I play UB a lot. I like it over bodog because I like to play tournys and ring games both and there is enough traffic there to never have to wait long.They also have freerolls every hour if you play those.

imo yo should have a something in Bodog becase the best eV CC tourneys are there. Not that I want any more competition, but the money and tourney added dollars make them a great deal.

Another plus for Bodog is that the competition is truly very soft. Also a plus is their guaranteed MMTs, which almost always have a good overlay. Customer service is great - get them right on the phone. I'd take Bodog 100% over UB any day, but Bodog's shaky legal situation makes me nervous, so I wouldn't leave MUCH money in there.

UB is OK. It's one of the few sites where you can't see your folded hole cards. I kind of like to be able to see them.

I like Carbon a lot. Used to be soft, although not so much any more. Low traffic makes it hard to find SNGs and Omaha games. But the software and game features are good, and the freerolls are excellent and frequent.

With Bodog and Carbon being my favorite sites, they both have some downfalls. Hand history sucks on both of them. Can't use PokerTracker with Carbon, nor the version 3 with Bodog. I'm at a point where I'd like to track my play better, probably with Hold 'Em Mnager from the recommendations I'm reading on CardsChat, so will probably be moving more to a mainstream site like PokerStars or FullTilt.

Why would anybody play at Absolute with their tarnished reputation?