Ignition Poker Review

Ignition Poker is the newest U.S. friendly online poker room
on the Internet. Because of a strategic partnership with Bovada,
Ignition Casino has been allowed to take over Bovada’s poker
room. If you’re familiar with how the software and games at
Bovada work, you’ll easily be able to adjust to the new playing
experience at Ignition.

Ignition Casino is, itself, a relatively new player in online
gaming. They launched their casino product in 2016, too, but
since then, they’ve made a good reputation for themselves.
Searches for “Ignition Casino complaints” bear little fruit in
the search engines, which is always a good sign.

Ignition Poker focuses on the United States market and
prefers BitCoin as a deposit and withdrawal option.

The Poker Experience

You’ll find plenty of new players and “fish” at Ignition
Poker. Part of that is because it’s an online poker room that
caters to United States players—that’s just the kind of customer
base that such a site is going to have. The other part of that
is because of the site’s nature as being primarily a casino. A
percentage of players there got bored playing slot machines and
decided to give poker a shot.

They have a larger player base than you might expect,
although it doesn’t compare to the volume of players you’re used
to if you were playing at Full Tilt or at PokerStars prior to
Black Friday. That’s because they migrated most of the player
base from Bovada Poker in the summer of 2016. This wasn’t the
largest player base in the world, but since they’re one of the
only legitimate online cardroom catering to U.S. players, it’s
still a significant player pool.

Don’t be misled into thinking that all the players at
Ignition Poker are unskilled, either. If you want to find
sharks, look where the fish are. That’s the nature of the game.
You’ll still need to pay attention to the other players’
tendencies to discern which ones are soft competitors and which
ones are more skilled. You will find a reasonable volume of
players regardless of what time of day you’re logging into the
site. Poker players keep odd hours, even when they play online.

Probably the most distinctive and popular feature offered by
Ignition Poker is called “Zone Poker”. This was also a feature
at Bovada’s poker room.

Here’s How Zone Poker Works:

It’s an online playing style that feeds into a gambler’s
desire for adrenaline by speeding up the action of a normal
online poker game. (Keep in mind that online poker is already
twice as fast as traditional brick and mortar poker, by the
way.) By increasing the number of hands you’re able to play per
hour, Ignition has made poker into a game that plays almost as
fast as a slot machine or video poker game.

When you fold in a “Zone Poker” game, you’re immediately
moved to another table. You have new cards and a new set of
opponents. Contrast this with what normally happens during
poker. You fold. Then you wait for the rest of the hand to play
out. This makes for an almost totally different experience.

You have a “check/fold now” and a “fold now” button available
on your computer screen. This makes the action even faster for
you, because as soon as it’s your turn to act, your move is
resolved almost instantly. This allows you to see more hands and
cards per hour.

It’s not as confusing as it sounds, either. There’s an
on-screen animation of a table sliding which signals your
movement to a new poker table. Each game begins as soon as the
table fills up, which doesn’t take a lot of time at all in this
format.

The site’s frequent player points system works exactly the
same when you’re playing Zone Poker as it would when playing
regular poker. The main difference is that you’ll earn more
points per hour because you’re able to play more hands per hour.

The blinds work differently because players are shifting from
table to table. Normally the blinds move around the table along
with the button, but Zone Poker uses a prioritization system. If
you haven’t paid a big blind yet, or if you’re playing your
first hand, you’re at the top of the list for playing a blind.
The next player on the priority list is the one who has gone the
longest time without having to play a blind—they measure this by
number of hands rather than seconds or minutes.

Sometimes multiple players will fit into one of those
categories. In that case, the computer randomly assigns the big
blind to one of those players.

In a normal cash game, you have 30 seconds to decide what
you’re going to do. Zone Poker cuts that amount of time in
half—to 15 seconds. 30 seconds doesn’t sound like a long time,
but if you’re playing at a full table with 9 players, it’s
longer than you think. Cutting the time in half speeds up the
game even further.

The same games (Texas holdem, Omaha, etc.) are available in
Zone Poker that are available in the regular cash game format.
You’re even allowed to multi-table in this format, although you
are limited to just 2 tables. There is no downgrade in quality
when it comes to sound effects or graphics in this format.

But Zone Poker isn’t the only format available at Ignition.
You can still play regular cash games and tournaments if you
prefer that format (and many players do).

Which Poker Site Network is Ignition On?

Ignition Poker is part of the Bodog Poker Network. It’s a
relatively large network of poker rooms that averages between
1000 and 3000 players at any given time. It’s also one of the
largest poker networks online, although it doesn’t even come
close to having the volume of players available as competitors
that PokerStars has. But their player volume is comparable to
most of the other top networks in the world, including 888Poker
and Party Poker.

What Special Features Do They Offer?

The most unusual feature at Ignition Poker is their use of
anonymous tables. At most poker sites, players use a handle and
sometimes a unique image to identify themselves. These sites
usually have note-taking functions, too, so if you’ve played
with someone before, you can consult your notes from last time
you played. This has useful implications for your playing
strategies.

But it’s a two-edged sword. Other players are also able to
make note of your tendencies. If you decide you’re not
interested in taking notes, you’re putting yourself at a
distinct disadvantage to the players who do take
notes—especially the ones who have taken notes about how you
play.

The anonymous poker feature at Bovada eliminates this. You’re
given a number when you’re seated—player 1, player 2, player 3,
etc. That number changes when you change tables. You’re able to
take notes about a particular player while you’re at the table,
but once they move—or once you move to a new table—those notes
disappear.

In effect, you and all your competitors start each game with
a clean slate. No one has an advantage over the other players
based on any kind of data they’ve collected.

When you and other players go “all-in”, the games at Ignition
have a “percentage feature”. This is similar to the graphic you
see on television during the World Poker Tour, where the
percentage chance that each player’s hand will win is displayed
on the screen. It has little practical advantage, but it’s a fun
feature that adds to the entertainment value of the game.
(Actually, if you’re a new player with little knowledge, it does
have a practical advantage for you, because you’ll star to learn
how the percentage chance of winning works.)

You also have the option of changing the look and feel of the
cards and the poker table. Some players might enjoy the look and
feel option of having animated flaming playing cards. Others
prefer a more stripped-down interface. Both are available at
Ignition Poker.

Tournaments

Ignition Poker offers over $2 million a week in tournament
prize pools. These tournaments are scheduled throughout the
afternoon and evenings.

Daily tournaments are scheduled from 2pm to midnight. The
prize pools for these vary from $3000 to $12,000. You can buy
into these daily tournaments for as little as $11.

Nightly tournaments are similar. They’re scheduled
between 8pm and 11pm. They have buy-ins ranging between $55 and
$109 and prize pools ranging from $5000 to $30,000.

Turbo tournaments are offered between 2:30pm and midnight.
These are smaller tournaments with lower buy-ins, starting as
low as $2.20. The prize pools for these tend to run lower than
$5000, but they do have a nightly tournament with a $10,000
prize pool at 10pm every night.

Sit n Go tournaments are also popular at Ignition Poker.
These are tournaments which start as soon as the requisite
number of players have signed up. These are available in the
following games:

• 7 Card Stud
• Omaha
• Texas Holdem

Some sit n go tournaments are single table tournaments which
start as soon as that table fills up. Other sit n go tournaments
are multi-table tournaments. All of them are clearly labeled in
the lobby so you can choose the tournament format you prefer.

Banking Options

You can make deposits at Ignition Poker in multiple ways, but
the company is heavily invested in using BitCoin as a deposit
and withdrawal option. If you haven’t tried BitCoin, you can
expect the site and the customer service department at Ignition
to encourage you to try it.

You can also make deposits using a Visa or MasterCard,
although some players report difficulty with their cards
accepting a transaction with an online gaming site. We recommend
trying this option if it’s one that you prefer, but have a
backup plan in place in case the transaction won’t go through.
The minimum deposit using this method is $20, and the maximum is
$1000.

Rapid Transfer is another deposit option available at
Ignition Poker. It’s a service that enables you to deposit money
at a local Moneygram location. It’s easy to use, too. You start
by selecting “make a withdrawal” from the dashboard inside the
player area of the site. You’ll be given multiple deposit
options, and you’ll select “rapid transfer”.

The site then gives you the transfer details. You visit
Moneygram with those details and your ID, and the deposit is
sent to the site. You’ll get a confirmation number from
Moneygram, which you’ll then provide to Ignition. Within 15
minutes, you’ll see the funds credited to your account.

Welcome Bonus

The poker room at Ignition Poker offers a $2,000 bonus on your
first deposit of $2,000. That’s a 100% matching bonus. This is not
an impressively sized bonus, but we’re not going to turn it
down, either. In an Internet poker environment where United
States players have limited options, the size of a sign-up bonus
is icing on the cake. We’re just glad to be able to find a place
at which to play for real money with other American players.

As with most sites, you have to “clear” this bonus by earning
the funds via “poker points”. Your bonus is released based on
the following schedule:

You earn points by playing in tournaments and by playing in
cash games. You get 3 points for every dollar you spend in
tournament fees. You also earn points based on how much money
you’ve contributed to the rake, as follows:

• 0.05 points for $0.01 to $0.04 in rake
• 0.1 points for $0.05 to $0.24 in rake
• 0.25 points for $0.25 to $0.49 in rake
• 0.5 points for $0.50 to $0.99 in rake
• 1 point for $1.00 to $3.00 in rake

So as soon as you’ve earned enough points, the amount of the
bonus is released automatically into your account.

What About Wagering Requirements?

Unlike a casino signup bonus, you don’t have a “wagering
requirement” per se. The requirements to earn points before the
bonus is released is the poker room version of wagering
requirements. But once you’ve earned the bonus, you’re allowed
to withdraw it or use it to play poker or even use it to play
casino games.

Other Promotions

During cash games at Ignition Poker, you can earn a bonus for
hitting a royal flush. This is called, aptly enough, the “Royal
Flush Bonus”.

Here’s How It Works:

When you get a royal flush, you get a bonus payout of 50X the
game’s big blind with a maximum bonus of $200. You have to use
both hole cards in order to be eligible for the bonus payout.
There also have to be at least 3 players in the hand.

This bonus is only available in Texas holdem cash games.
You’re also required to request this bonus within 48 hours. You
request the bonus payout by submitting your hand number and
table number to the site via email or by calling their toll free
number.

This is a straight bonus payout, too—you don’t have to
fulfill any kind of wagering or rollover requirements, and you
don’t have to unlock the bonus by earning poker points, either.

The bad beat bonus has similar requirements to the royal
flush bonus. There have to be at least 3 players, and in this
case, you have to be involved in a showdown. (The royal flush
bonus doesn’t require a showdown). You also have to use both
your hole cards.

You’re ineligible for the bad beat bonus if you tell the
other players what’s in your hand. You’ll also make yourself
ineligible if you tell the other players how to play their
hands.

The bad beat bonus is only available in Texas holdem cash
games. There is no bad beat bonus in other game types or in
tournament situations.

As with the royal flush bonus, you have to submit your hand
number and table number to the site and request the bonus. Like
the royal flush bonus, you don’t have to fulfill any kind of
wagering requirements with this bonus.

Poker Points at Ignition are used for more than just clearing
bonus requirements, too. They can be converted at any time into
money you can use to play with. The exchange rate is 200 points
for a dollar. You can then use those funds to enter tournaments
at the site.

You can also use these funds to play in the casino, but there
are 20X rollover requirements if you do so. These points expire
on June 1 of each year, so don’t forget about them.

Final Opinion

We’re unabashed fans of Ignition Poker, just like we were of
Bovada Poker before the acquisition. Ignition has all the
selling points we look for in an Internet cardroom. The company
has an excellent reputation. There are plenty of opponents of
varying levels of skill at the tables. And you can find all of
the most common poker games (along with some more unusual games,
like 5 card stud).

United States players have a limited number of options when
looking for a real money poker site at which to play. Ignition
is probably the best of the bunch. We’d prefer to see a larger
signup bonus than $100, but the good news is that such a small
bonus is easier to clear than a larger bonus.

The game selection and opponents’ skill levels are equal to
or better than the game selection and opponents’ skill levels at
Ignition’s competitors in the U.S. real money online poker
market. With between 1000 and 3000 players online at any given
time, it’s hard to say that you’ll have trouble finding a game
that suits your needs.

The tournament selection is also excellent, especially
because of the $2 million in prize pools available each week.
There are buy-ins at every imaginable level, too, with the
exception of extreme microstakes. But anyone who can’t afford
$2.20 to buy into a poker tournament might need to be doing
something other than playing in a poker tournament. (We’re just
sayin’.)

Zone Poker is a fun option, too. We’re also fans of the
anonymous nature of the poker play, there. We’re not as serious
as some of the players who keep extensive records on every
opponent they’ve ever faced. So we prefer playing in an
environment that doesn’t punish us for this.

We’re also impressed with the deposit and withdrawal methods
available here. We were skeptical about BitCoin at first, but it
has quickly become our favorite banking method in the online
gaming space. Before that, we were happy to use the “Rapid
Transfer” option with Moneygram.

At any rate,