Badugi fundamentally fits into the category of draw poker and is probably not at all familiar to most poker players. It is a very interesting game though for its odd betting structure and method of play. It is a four-card game consisting of three drawing rounds in which the players place their bets and begin the task of building the winning Badugi hand into showdown. In Asia, the game is widely played and is trickling slowly into North America. Badugi is for the most part played as a fixed limit game with two blinds, from then on it is similar to many other poker variations. Tournament play will often include pot and no limit games.

The Mechanics of Badugi Poker

To begin the game, the dealer deals to each player four face-down cards, after which the first round of betting occurs, starting with the player directly before the large blind. At this point the players will call, fold or raise up to the house limit. Any player remaining in the game after the betting round can now draw from zero cards on up to four of the cards remaining in their hand. These cards are not to be replayed. Therefore, it behooves every player to heed closely the kinds of discards they make and update their pot odds accordingly. You will find some games where the rounds are named as the time of day much like streets in Texas Hold'em.

Do not discount the fact the hands that win in Badugi, will get you nowhere in traditional poker. It is essential that you master the composition of hand rankings in Badugi. Do not play without a thorough knowledge of this. In this game dual suits and duplicate cards are of no use, only discrete suits and values are of any worth to your hand. As a matter of fact, the name Badugi is in reference to a hand comprised of distinct suited cards. At the end of the game, while everyone is comparing hands, the first item to look for is the active card count followed by the lower value of the highest card keeping in mind that aces are low. Ergo, the best of the best Badugi hands will consist of ace, two, three, and four, all unsuited. The worst of the worst would be four kings.

Winning Badugi Strategy

The three drawing rounds in Badugi make it somewhat similar to 2-7 triple draw poker, of course the hand rankings set it apart as duplicate cards, whether two, three or four count for nothing. In all of the poker games, a player's position at the table is very important. In Badugi, however, it is critical. When a player is able to observe his opponents' draws from the catbird seat, he can determine the value of his hand relative to theirs. If an opponent draws many cards, the indication is that his hand is weak, the opposite for very few draws.

Assume you have a complete hand of four cards, i.e. a Badugi and are curious about the odds of your opponents drawing to a Badugi themselves. The odds can be calculated thusly. If a player swaps a card, he must hit upon the one that does not match a suit already in his hand. The odds in this case are 10 to 52 as the player will be unable to match any of the three cards present in his hand. Also to be considered are the odds of the player drawing a card with a lower high value.

Suppose you hold in your hand a four-card ten high. In this case, the player has a 6 in 52 chance of hitting a lower, discrete value as any card higher than ten in the correct suit will not make his hand better than yours.

As the first betting round is starting up, a player has little better than a 50% chance of drawing to a unique four-card hand over each round, and little better than a 20% chance in each round.