Poker Variations Badugi

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Badugi is one of lesser-known forms of poker that many players haven't had a chance to play before. It is an interesting poker variation that takes basic rules of lowball games but adds some twists to them, creating a poker variation that's unlike any other game out there. In poker there are three main game variations; Flop games (i.e. Texas hold’em and Omaha) Stud games (i.e. Seven-card stud, Razz) Draw games (i.e. Five card draw, 2-to-7 Triple Draw).

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.

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:

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):

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.

Rules & Strategy for Badugi & Badeucy Poker

Badugi is a draw game gaining popularity in the poker world these days and for good reason - it's a very fun, action-packed poker game.

Although it shares many aspects of its structure with other draw games, such as 2-7 Triple-Draw Lowball, Badugi uses an entirely distinct system for evaluating the winning hand.

A hand in Badugi is aptly named 'a Badugi.'

What is Badugi?

The origin of the card game Badugi is somewhat undetermined although many people have noted the similarity to the South Korean word 'baduk,' which means 'black and white pattern' - similar to what you might find in the game Go.

In North America it was reportedly played as 'Offsuit Lowball' in the 1980s in Winnipeg and a comparable high-low game was played in Toronto.

Poker Variations Badugi Games

In Vegas some say it originated with poker pro Paul 'Eskimo' Clark, who reportedly brought the game back with him from his military service in Vietnam. These reports are unconfirmed, though.

How to Play Badugi

1. Badugi is a 'blind game,' meaning the player to the left of the dealer puts in the small blind and the player to the left of the small blind puts in the big blind.
2. Starting with the player on the left of the dealer and moving clockwise around the table, every player is dealt four cards facedown, one card at a time.
3. Once all players have their four cards the first betting round starts with the player to the left of the big blind.
4. Once the betting round has completed the players enter the first drawing round.
5. Starting with the player on the dealer's left the player announces how many cards he would like to throw away from his hand and receives new ones in return.
6. The dealer deals all of the cards to that player at once and moves on to the next player.
7. A player can choose to throw away no cards, keeping their hand intact. This is known as standing pat or rapping pat.
8. Once all players have received their new cards the second betting round begins, starting with the player to the left of the dealer.
9. This pattern repeats until either:
   • Only one player is left, the rest having folded.
   • The players have completed the betting round after the third drawing round.

If you'd like more information on things such as betting rounds or blinds, head to this article:

Badugi Hand Rankings

Once all betting is complete the best Badugi wins the pot.

1. A Badugi must be made up of the lowest one to four cards from a player's hand.
2. Hands are counted from the highest card down; the value of the hand is based on how low the highest cards in the hand are.
3. Aces are low.
4. All cards used must be of different suits and ranks.
5. Any four-card Badugi beats any three-card Badugi.
6. A two-card Badugi is beaten by any three- or four-card Badugi.

How to Read Badugi Hands

• A♥2♣3♦4♠ - This is the best possible Badugi, known as a 'four-card 4.'
• A♥2♣3♦3♣ - Since you cannot have a pair this hand can't use the second three, making the hand a 'three-card 3.' This hand would lose to any four-card Badugi.
• 2♣3♣7♥9♠ - This is a three-card 9. Since the 3♠ is of the same suit as the 2♣, the higher of the two cards cannot be used.
• A♥2♣3♦10♠ versus 4♥6♦7♣9♠. The second hand wins with a four-card 9 beating the four-card 10.

Any two players holding the same hand split the pot. Once the player with the winning hand has received the pot, the player who was to the left of the dealer becomes the new dealer for the next hand.

Play Badugi online, free

The best way to get a proper handle on how to play Badugi poker (and how to play it well) is to play some actual Badgui hands, either live or online.

Poker Variations Games

The best way we've found to get some free Badugi poker in is on PokerStars, where you can create an account and access the play-money games. You can play free Badugi poker online until your heart's content; then, when you're ready to try it out for real-money you can easily add a deposit to your account.

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How to Play Badeucy Poker

Two poker games that have exploded in popularity over the last couple of years are Badugi (as explained above) and 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball. Both are draw poker variants and tend to produce a lot of action.

Somewhere along the line someone also decided to make a split pot game by combining the two games. Badeucy was born.

Aces Are Bad

As a quick refresher: In 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball you're looking to make the lowest five-card hand. Straights and flushes hurt your hand and an ace is always high.

In Badugi you're looking for a four-card hand with one of each suit. This is called a Badugi. If more than one player has a Badugi, the lowest hand wins.

Normally the lowest Badugi is A-2-3-4. However, in Badeucy, aces are also high for the Badugi hand. This makes the best Badugi hand 2-3-4-5.Most Badeucy games run six-handed.

In Badeucy the goal is to scoop the full pot by taking half with the best 2-7 hand and the other half with the best Badugi.

Playing Badeucy

Most Badeucy games are played six-handed and fixed-limit betting is generally used. A button will determine the dealer position and the two players to the left of the dealer post the small and big blinds.

Once blinds are posted each player is dealt five cards. After a round of betting the remaining players may exchange cards or stand pat.

Players can exchange up to five cards, but this is not typical.

There are three draws in Badeucy with a round of betting after each round. Betting on the deal and after the first draw is in the small bet amount, or the size of the big blind.

Betting on the second and third draw is done in the big bet amount, typically double the big blind. After the third draw and final round of betting the remaining players go to showdown.

The player with the best 2-7 lowball hand wins half the pot and the player with the best Badugi hand wins the other half. In the event the same player wins both hands, he or she scoops the pot.Play Badeucy Now!

Basic Badeucy Strategy Tips

Like most split-pot games you want to focus on starting hands that give you the best possibility to scoop.

First, stay away from higher Badugis when possible. Since everyone is getting five cards instead of four the odds of improving to a lower Badugi increases.

For starting hands try and focus on playing hands requiring just two cards to complete a hand. Preferably you want at least three suits to start with. That way you have three draws to your Badugi and you can focus on your 2-7 hand.

Pump Your One-Way Hands

Unlike Stud 8 or Omaha 8 this is one game where you want to pump your one-way hands.

Let's say you get dealt 2s-3s-4s-5h-7d. You have the nut 2-7 hand but no badugi. In this case, don't worry about the other half and try and pump the pot.

Odds are that you will have multi-way action to the end and win half of a nice pot. Yes, there is a chance you could get quartered by someone else hitting the same 2-7 hand.

However the odds of that happening are not the same as in Omaha Hi-Lo. If there is a lot of action in a pot after the first draw and you have to draw more than one card it might be time to abandon the hand.

Unless your game is very loose a lot of action after the draw is usually being driven by one or more players with at least half a made hand. These players are freerolling and pumping the pot. You're drawing and should wait for a better spot.

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