The Rules

Traditionally played throughout Asia, Badugi is now with the aid of online poker spreading across Europe and the USA.  There is no published literature on the subject; all the usual poker writers have not yet spread the secrets of the game.  So now is clearly a great time to learn!

If like most new players you are coming from a background of Hold’em and Omaha then Badugi will be most unlike any game you have played before.  It is a form of draw poker in which the best hand contains 4 cards, 4 different suits and the overall lowest combination wins.  Aces are low so the best hand in Badugi is A-2-3-4 of the 4 different suits.  If you do not have 4 different suits then your lowest combination of 3 suits plays eg. A-2-3 is still quite a strong hand and will have showdown value in lots of situations.  In the drawing rounds if you have A-2-3 and everyone else is drawing you have the nuts so bet aggressively!

Pre Deal

Forced blinds are paid in the same way as Hold’em or an Omaha game.  The player to the left of the dealer will pay the small blind; the next player to the left will then pay the big blind.  Badugi is usually played in limit, pot-limit or half pot limit.

The Deal

Each player is dealt 4 cards face down, starting with the small blind being dealt 1 card and then dealing continues clockwise until each player has 4 cards.  Like Hold’em the first person to act is to the left of the big blind, if a player wants to play his hand he must either call the amount of the big blind or raise it.  Once every player has had a chance to act then the first draw is dealt.

Each player now has the option to change between 1 and 4 of their cards, which is again dealt face down. There is then a betting round, the 2nd draw, another betting round, the 3rd draw followed by the final round of betting.  If the last bet is called there is then a showdown in which the player still in the hand will turn their cards face up.  The value of Badugi hands is from the top down so an A-2-3-K would be beaten by a 5-6-7-Q.

The top 50 x 4 Card Badugi Hands

1. 432A
2. 532A
3. 542A
4. 543A
5. 5432
6. 632A
7. 642A
8. 643A
9. 6432
10. 652A
11. 653A
12. 6532
13. 654A
14. 6542
15. 6543
16. 732A
17. 742A
18. 743A
19. 7432
20. 752A
21. 753A
22. 7532
23. 754A
24. 7542
25. 7543
26. 762A
27. 763A
28. 7632
29. 764A
30. 7642
31. 7643
32. 765A
33. 7652
34. 7653
35. 7654
36. 832A
37. 842A
38. 843A
39. 8432
40. 852A
41. 853A
42. 8532
43. 854A
44. 8542
45. 8543
46. 862A
47. 863A
48. 8632
49. 864A
50. 8642

Top 20 x 3 Card Badugi Hands

1. 32A
2. 42A
3. 43A
4. 432
5. 52A
6. 53A
7. 532
8. 54A
9. 542
10. 543
11. 62A
12. 63A
13. 632
14. 64A
15. 642
16. 643
17. 65A
18. 652
19. 653
20. 654

Basic Strategy

The general object of the game is to have 4 low cards of 4 different suits, Badugi hands are ranked from the top down so you want to get rid of high cards as soon as you get them but do not underestimate the strength of a made Badugi.  You can learn your odds of completing draws here: Badugi Odds Chart

Position is your best friend when you are playing Badugi the information you receive is much more valuable than your cards, so you should tighten up when you are in an early position & loosen your ranges when you are last to act.

Check out Badugi Basic Strategy