Beating the Bovada Casino

NunyaBidness

Active Member
Oddsb Poker Champ
When Bovada did their recent software update, one of the things they crushed (among many) was their extremely lucrative casino bonuses. It turns out they're still profitable, although not nearly as good as they once were.

We're going to beat it by combining offers, just like an extreme couponer.

We are going to exploit three bonuses:
https://www.bovada.lv/promotions/casino-benefits
https://www.bovada.lv/promotions/blackjack-weekends
https://www.bovada.lv/promotions/table-mania-tuesdays

Step 1) Make a $100 deposit into your account using the BCBCASINO code (which renews weekly), giving you a bonus of $100, unfortunately bovada charges a credit card fee which eats into our profitability. We now have to complete $8000 in rollover to clear this bonus. At a house edge of approximately 0.5%, and including the deposit fee, this bonus is worth around $35 in EV. But we're not playing yet.

Step 2) Every Tuesday we will exploit the TMT promotion by playing $250 on blackjack and accruing another $10 bonus. Look up a blackjack strategy chart and play CORRECTLY.

Step 3) Every weekend we will exploit the BW promo. We will wager $8000 on blackjack, giving us 800 casino points, which will give us another $40 bonus, as well as the 800 casino points which will be converted into $8 cash automatically. We have now cleared our initial bonus.

Step 4) Next week we active one or both of our bonuses and use it to play through the Tuesday promotion again. Redepositing with the new weeks BCBCASINO code when we have exhausted these. Rinse and repeat.

Value is:
Initial Deposit Bonus $35
TMT Bonus $9
BW Bonus $38
Casino Points $8

$90/week = an extra $4,680 a year from bovada

Enjoy!
 

Napes21

Active Member
Too bad you can't deposit if you live in NY and you can only withdraw $400 per month with a $50 withdrawal fee. How do I beat those deals?
 

NunyaBidness

Active Member
Oddsb Poker Champ
So this fucker gives us all 5k a year, which is like a free 5% raise, and no one is going to thank him?

No doubt. I figured maybe the post wasn't clear and no one wanted to be the dumb-dumb to ask a question.

Anyway, the promo has been seriously nerfed. Until the software redesign, the bovada casino promos were worth about 16k/year and didn't require redeposits.

There are also some slightly shady ways to squeeze more ev out of this with less risk, but I wouldn't do them, might make them unhappy with you. I haven't tried it. I'll let the brain-heads figure out the method.

Also, if you can't redeposit, NYC players, you can still do the entire thing other than the BCBCASINO bonus and still make a profit, although your EV goes down, and your variance goes up. Might as well max out the Blackjack weekends promo to get the full $100 (and thus $20 in comp as well).
 

FFF

Member
Thanks!!!
I'm at Bodog, so not sure I can, but how much time does it all take, and how difficult is it to learn to play blackjack correctly?
 

NunyaBidness

Active Member
Oddsb Poker Champ
The time it will take will depend on your risk aversion and how much variance you can handle.

At $25/hand 3 hands at a time it should only take a few minutes, but you could be +/- $1000 with that level of variance. At $1 a hand your variance is going to be quite small, but it'll take several hours to roll through.

I have basic strategy memorized so, I can just pound through it. I guess if you have to look at a chart it'll be slow at first, but you'll figure it out pretty quickly.

I do it absent-mindedly while playing poker or watching TV.

The EV is identical at any amount however.
 

FFF

Member
Is the Ev identical if in the variance scenario, you go broke and then forfeit some of your bonus money, where in the low variance scenario you get it almost every time? The Ev is the bonus money in this case where the ev of actually playing is same. No?
Looks like same on Bodog.ca except for the BW promo, which sucks. That was the big one. Match bonus same rollover, but 250 max.
They also have a 10$ mobile bonus for 100$ wagered that runs weekly and entry into a 210$ draw every time you hit a blackjack. Hard to say the value of that.
 
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NunyaBidness

Active Member
Oddsb Poker Champ
If the mobile bonus is the same as the US its not weekly, its a one and done.

In the chance that you can go broke, then playing a higher variance style does in fact increase your EV. And the old styles of bovada bonuses permitted this, you could play with only bonus money. Which indicates playing an EXTREMELY high variance style. When it was that style of bonus the proper way to play it was to put the entire bonus on one number in roulette. 97% of the time you bust, but when you don't you've made out huge, and your rollover is almost nothing.

You should send me the link to the bonus terms for the canadian site, you may still be on this older style of bonus.
 

NunyaBidness

Active Member
Oddsb Poker Champ
You can also add some EV by throwing in the Wednesday Video Poker promo, but video poker variance is so gross.
 

NunyaBidness

Active Member
Oddsb Poker Champ
Ok, so the thing you want to check is after you take the bonus, do you have a separate casino funds, or does your entire balance change when you place a bet?

If its the former, or if your balance was at zero when you started the bonus, you should take an extremely aggressive style.
 

FFF

Member
Fuck me. I deposited 25$ to check, and it is in my full balance, and I now may have to play through 2000$ to complete rollover before i withdraw my sportsbook funds. Edit: I Can withdraw. But yeah, It is in my general account, but apparently only 25$ of locked funds. I'll go lose it and see if it refreshes my rollover. Is that whats important here, I'm lost atm.
 

NunyaBidness

Active Member
Oddsb Poker Champ
You shouldn't have to rollover anything to withdraw anything but the $25 + Bonus.

Click your balance on the upper right hand side of the screen.

It should say:

Cash Balance: xxxxx

Locked: Withdrawable
50 xxxxx - 50
 

FFF

Member
Exactly. The idea then, is take the match bonus, play to lose and reset, or win big and then complete the rollover in a safe manner. The balances aren't separate, but I don't need sportsbook money in there anyways with 25$ limits.
 

NunyaBidness

Active Member
Oddsb Poker Champ
I have mid five figures on there and its difficult to move money around on that site, can only deposit with credit cards, and can only withdraw about 3k/mo. So, basically becomes impossible to bust the bonuses unless I do something shady, which isn't worth the risk.
 
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mmaed

Member
This was pretty cool of you to post. If it makes you feel any better I have no card playing experience and I was a little confused by this at first.

One question, how do you know Bovada's edge is .5 percent?
 
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