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.

One important facet of Badugi to be aware of is that the hand that wins is not your usual poker hand. Before attempting to actually play Badugi, you must be very familiar with the card ranking in hands. Oddly, the duplicates have no value in a hand, just suits and single cards, and not even dual suits. The name Badugi is in reference to a hand comprised of distinct suited cards. When all is done and hands are compared, the first thing to look at is the number of cards, then the lower value of the highest ranking card (aces are low in Badugi). Ergo, the epitome of a winning hand would be ace, two, three, four, unsuited. The big loser would consist of four kings.

Badugi Strategies to Win

Like 2-7 triple draw poker, Badugi has three drawing rounds. Unlike it, and very much so, is the difference that duplicates play in hand ranking. And with all poker forms, position at the table is important, but in Badugi it is critical. It serves as a very important observation point to watch your opponents draws, many cards indicate a weak hand, few a strong one and you can determine your own strength in relation to this.

A badugi is a hand complete with four cards. Imagine that you have a Badugi and desire to calculate the odds of your opponents hand while he draws. If the player swaps one card, he must draw the suit that is not represented in his hand. Odds here are 10 in 52 because the drawing player also does not want a match on any of the three cards in his pre-draw hand. Factor into your calculations also that the poor guy may draw one of the lower high value cards to his great dismay.

To illustrate, should you have a four-card ten-high hand, the drawing opponent has a 6 in 52 chance of drawing a lower, distinct value. This is because a card or cards above ten in the right suit cannot beat your hand.

Before beginning that first betting round, the player has a little more than a 50% chance of drawing to a discrete four-card hand during each round, which adds up to a 20 % chance of doing so in each round.

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