Badugi Poker is possibly the most unique form of poker to ever reach mainstream success. This poker game remains very popular in South Eastern Asia, particularly South Korea, where the game was first invented. badugi could be described as a four-card version of lowball triple draw with a twist. Not descriptive enough? Read on as we delve into the details to see how the game works, and what exactly makes it so different from anything you have ever played before.
Card Game Badugi
- Badacey is a low-ball draw poker variant that many elite poker players are taking to, now that games like Pot Limit Omaha and No Limit Hold’em have become ‘solved games’.
- Badugi is similar to traditional poker games except that it uses 4 cards and ranks hands differently. In order to win a hand in Badugi, players want a hand with the lowest rank cards that are neither from the same suit or the same rank. Therefore, the best possible hand is A-2-3-4.
Early Position: Play any 3-card badugi of six and under, and play 3-card seven-low badugis that includes two wheel cards (A,2,3,4). Mid Position: Play all 3-card badugi of seven and under, and two card hands five or under that include an Ace or a Duece.
Rules for Playing Badugi Poker
The underlying structure of a badugi game is just like traditional draw poker, but the goal is very different. We’ll cover hand rankings in greater detail in a moment, but for now you should know that each player wants to get the lowest cards possible without having any cards of equal rank, or any cards from the same suit. A hand with four cards of different ranks and suits is known as a “badugi”.
For this explanation, we will assume that you are playing at a $2/$4 fixed-limit table. badugi, just like most poker games, requires that a dealer button is used to mark the dealer position. After each hand, this position moves clockwise around the table, which is important for rotating player position. To start the hand, the player to the left of the dealer position must pay the small blind, which in this case would be $1. The player to the left of the small blind must post the big blind ($2). Once these blinds have posted, the dealer proceeds to deal four cards, faced down, to each player at the table.
The players can look at their own four-card hand, but no one else’s. Once all cards have been dealt the first round of betting, known as the pre-draw round, can begin. This betting round is started by the player to the left of the big blind who can choose to call the big blind (bet $2), raise (bet $4), or fold his hand. Play continues clockwise around the table until each player has bet as much as every other player, or folded. In these fixed limit games there can be no more than three raises per round.
After the first round of betting has come to a close, the first draw begins. Starting with the first player to left of the dealer position, each player can choose to discard any number of cards and receive the same number of replacement cards. After this there is another round of betting with the same limits, and the pattern continues. In total, there are three draws, and four betting rounds. The first two rounds of betting utilize the low limit ($2), while the second two rounds upgrade to the high limit ($4). If at any point only one player remains in the game, then that player wins the pot.
After the fourth betting round comes to a close, all remaining players must discard any cards necessary to ensure that they have no cards of duplicate rank or suit. The remaining cards constitute the players hand, which must be revealed at this point in the showdown. The player with the best hand wins the entire pot, but if two or more players have equal hands, then they split the pot equally.
Badugi Poker Hand Rankings
The hand rankings in badugi poker are not quite like anything else, but they do resemble lowball rankings, To start with, throughout the game you are trying to form a ‘badugi’. This means you have four cards of different suits and ranks. There are two criteria for ranking hands. The first is the number of cards each player can play. Not every player will play a four-card hand, because they must discard any cards with duplicate suits or ranks after the last round of betting. In the end, no matter what cards you are holding, the more cards you have, the better. If one player has more cards than all of the other players, then that player automatically wins.
Example:
| Player | Final Four Cards | Final Hand | Number of Cards |
| Tom | 4 9 J K | 4 9 K | |
| Jane | A 5 7 8 | A 5 7 8 | 4 |
| Bob | 2 3 9 T | 23 9 T | |
| Lisa | 2 3 7 8 | 2 3 7 8 | 4 |
| Charles | A 9 Q Q | A Q |
In the example above we can see what four cards each player ended with, and what hand they played after discarding duplicates. Jane, Bob, and Lisa did not have any duplicate cards (suits or ranks) so they kept all four cards for their final hand. Tom’s 4 and his J are of the same suit, but since low cards are better, he discarded his J and was left with a three-card hand. Charles had duplicate queens, so he discarded one of them. He also had A and 9 which are of the same suit. Because you want low cards, and aces are low, he discarded his 9, leaving only 2 cards for his final hand. Jane, Lisa, and Charles are tied for having the most cards, so Tom and Charles are out.
If two or more players are tied for having the most cards in their hand, which is quite common, then you use traditional lowball rankings to determine the winner. Quite simply, the player with the lowest hand wins. To determine who has the lowest hand, you start by comparing only the players’ highest cards. If these are tied, then you compare their second highest cards. You may have to compare all four cards to determine the winner, but if at any point, one player’s card (first, second, third, or fourth) is lower than the other player’s corresponding card, then the lower card wins the hand. Remember, just like in other lowball poker games, aces are low!
Example (cont):
| Player | Final Hand | 1st Card | 2nd Card | 3rd Card |
| Jane | A 5 7 8 | 8 | 5 | |
| Bob | 23 9 T | – | ||
| Lisa | 2 3 7 8 | 8 | 3 |
Out of the three players that had ‘badugi’ (four-card hands), we need to find the lowest hand. When we compare their highest cards, Jane and Lisa are tied with 8’s, but Bob knocked out with his T. Jane and Lisa also have the same second card (7’s) so we go straight to their third card. Jane’s 5 is beaten by Lisa’s 3, so Lisa wins the entire pot.
Other Limit Structures for Playing Badugi Poker
In the above explanations we were using fixed-limits. While fixed-limit badugi is extremely popular, there are three other ways to structure the limits in a badugi game.
No Limit Badugi
No limit badugi, as the name suggests, does not employ any betting limits. Any bets greater than the big blind are accepted, and players can consequently choose to go all-in. No limit badugi probably isn’t the best game for new players to start with because of its unpredictable nature. A hand that starts tame can quickly spiral out of control, and playing all but the strongest hands to the showdown can be very expensive. If you feel you are ready grow out of fixed limit badugi and take your game to the next level, then you may want to consider playing without limits.
Pot Limit Badugi Poker
Pot limit badugi offers something of a compromise between the fixed limit and no limit variations. In pot limit poker, the size of your maximum bet is determined by adding the sum of all past bets as well the wager needed to call the bet at hand. Early on, the bets are kept relatively low, but as you get further into a pot limit game, and the size of the pot increases, the game begins to resemble no limit badugi. Pot limit is great way to add some excitement to your fixed limit game without having to deal with the insanity found in no limit badugi.
Half-Pot Limit Badugi
If pot limit still sounds a bit too aggressive for your tastes, you may be able to find some games playing with half-pot limits. You tally up the pot exactly as if you were playing pot limit badugi, but your maximum bet is restricted to one half of the pot size. This is the perfect set up for risk averse players who are tired of fixed limit badugi.
OBJECTIVE OF BADUGI: Win the pot by having the lowest hand with no two cards of the same suit or rank.
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2-8 players
NUMBER OF CARDS: 52-card decks
RANK OF CARDS: K,Q,J,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,A
TYPE OF GAME: Casino
AUDIENCE: Adult
HOW TO PLAY BADUGI
Badugi is similar to traditional poker games except that it uses 4 cards and ranks hands differently. In order to win a hand in Badugi, players want a hand with the lowest rank cards that are neither from the same suit or the same rank. Therefore, the best possible hand is A-2-3-4.
Comparing Hands
How To Play Card Game Badugi
Since Badugi hands aim to have all different ranks and suits, if there are repeats of either some cards must be eliminated. Here are some examples:
- a hand with 5 (hearts) – 9 (hearts) – J (spades) – 2 (clubs), one of the hearts must go. This will give a player a three card hand: 5 (hearts) – J (spades) – 2 (clubs)
- 6 (diamonds) – 5 (diamonds) – 3 (diamonds) – Q (diamonds), only one card may be used since they are all from the same suit. Only the 3 (diamonds) will remain in hand.
- 8 (diamonds) – 10 (spades) – 4 (clubs) – K (hearts), this hand is known as a badugi since all the cards are of different ranks and suits (although, perhaps, not a good hand).
Basic Rules:
- Hands with more cards beat hands with fewer cards, so a three-card hand beats a two-card hand, and so on.
- When comparing hands of the same size, compare their high card. The hand with the lowest top card is the winner. If they are equal, compare the second highest card, and so on.
- Hands can be equal, there is no suit ranking.
Dealing, Drawing, & Betting
Card Game Badugi
Badugi may be played as pot limit, fixed limit, or a half pot limit game. Deal passes to the left as with most poker games. Player to the left of the dealer pays the small blind and the player to their left pays the big blind (typically double the small blind). A blind is a forced bet.
Dealer passes each player four cards clockwise, face-down and one at a time. Players may look at their cards after the deal has finished. Betting begins with the player to the left of the big blind, the minimum bet begins at the same amount of as the big blind. If all the players just call, the big blind may place a bet.
Players can improve their hands by drawing cards. Beginning with the active player to the dealer’s left, players declare how many cards they would like to exchange. Players discard the unwanted cards in a pile, face-down, and the dealer passes them new cards. Players may exchange between all or none of their cards (0-4). Choosing to not exchange is called “standing pat.”
There are four rounds of betting. The initial round and one after each draw. There are three draws per hand. if you are playing fixed limit, the bet doubles after the second betting round so that the third and fourth are played with big bets.
Showdown
If at showdown only one player remains they collect all the stakes in the pot.
If there are multiple players still active at showdown, players show all four of their cards (even if there are multiples in rank or suit) starting with the last player who bet in the previous round. Lowest hand with the most amount of cards is the winner. If there is a tie the pot is split.
REFERENCES:
https://www.pagat.com/poker/variants/badugi.html
https://www.pokerstars.com/poker/games/badugi/?no_redirect=1