Online casino and sportsbook Bovada has reopened its poker service, almost a year after apparently selling it to Ignition Casino. The reopening was first announced on August 22 with the following tweet from Bovada Poker's official twitter account.
Since then, Bovada Poker has been actively tweeting about their reopening and the array of promotions they are offering, including a 100% first deposit bonus of up to $500 and a refer-a-friend bonus of up to $100.
Since then, Bovada Poker has been actively tweeting about their reopening and the array of promotions they are offering, including a 100% first deposit bonus of up to $500 and a refer-a-friend bonus of up to $100.

There has been much speculation as to the reason for the sudden return of Bovada Poker. It's possible that Calvin Ayre, the founder of Bovada's parent company Bodog, may have decided to reopen Bovada Poker after felony charges against him for money laundering and operation of an illegal gambling service were dropped by the US Department of Justice. Or it may be because users of Bovada's sports betting and casino services have been vocal about the unavailability of poker on the website.
Whatever the reason, the return of Bovada Poker will inject a dose of much-needed competition into the US online poker market. Although Bovada Poker will share the same network and software as Ignition, it will operate independently from it. This will allow current Bovada users to play online poker without having to create an account elsewhere. It will also give poker players a chance to take advantage of the slew of promotions Bovada Poker is offering while still being able to play on the Pai Wang Luo Poker Network alongside Ignition and Bodog players.
If you havn't used Bovada Poker's (or Ignition’s) software before, it's arguably the best available to US players right now, both for desktop and mobile. It's the main reason why Bovada was able to rise to the top of the US online poker market following the departure of PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker in 2011. The in-game interface is smooth and responsive with a clean, simple design, and the action is easy to follow. Likewise, the lobby is easy to navigate, so finding a game shouldn't take you long.
Action junkies will be pleased to hear Zone Poker is back. For those who don't know, Zone Poker is a fast-fold poker game in which players will be dealt a new hand as soon as they fold. Playing one table of Zone Poker is roughly equivalent to playing four regular tables, so you'll rarely have to wait long before getting dealt a hand.
Other welcome features include the Quick Seat function, which automatically finds you a game of your chosen type (particularly useful for mobile users) and the inclusion of anonymous tables which hide your identity from your opponents, eliminating any advantage they may gain from using tracking software.
With all this and more being offered, it will be interesting to see whether or not Bovada will be able to regain their place at the top of the US online poker market. No doubt it will be a challenge with Ignition offering essentially the same service. Brand loyalty, however, is a powerful thing, so we wouldn't be surprised to see former Bovada Poker users flock back to the site now it has reopened.
Whatever the reason, the return of Bovada Poker will inject a dose of much-needed competition into the US online poker market. Although Bovada Poker will share the same network and software as Ignition, it will operate independently from it. This will allow current Bovada users to play online poker without having to create an account elsewhere. It will also give poker players a chance to take advantage of the slew of promotions Bovada Poker is offering while still being able to play on the Pai Wang Luo Poker Network alongside Ignition and Bodog players.
If you havn't used Bovada Poker's (or Ignition’s) software before, it's arguably the best available to US players right now, both for desktop and mobile. It's the main reason why Bovada was able to rise to the top of the US online poker market following the departure of PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker in 2011. The in-game interface is smooth and responsive with a clean, simple design, and the action is easy to follow. Likewise, the lobby is easy to navigate, so finding a game shouldn't take you long.
Action junkies will be pleased to hear Zone Poker is back. For those who don't know, Zone Poker is a fast-fold poker game in which players will be dealt a new hand as soon as they fold. Playing one table of Zone Poker is roughly equivalent to playing four regular tables, so you'll rarely have to wait long before getting dealt a hand.
Other welcome features include the Quick Seat function, which automatically finds you a game of your chosen type (particularly useful for mobile users) and the inclusion of anonymous tables which hide your identity from your opponents, eliminating any advantage they may gain from using tracking software.
With all this and more being offered, it will be interesting to see whether or not Bovada will be able to regain their place at the top of the US online poker market. No doubt it will be a challenge with Ignition offering essentially the same service. Brand loyalty, however, is a powerful thing, so we wouldn't be surprised to see former Bovada Poker users flock back to the site now it has reopened.