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Badugi originated in Asia and is a variant of draw poker. It shares many similarities with Lowball, as it’s the lowest hand that wins. It differs significantly from most popular poker variants however, as the hand ranking system is different. The strongest hands are those that have four low cards of each suit - this is known as a Badugi.  

Blinds

Badugi is played using forced bets known as blinds, with the player sitting to the left of the dealer button posting a small blind, and the player to their left posting the big blind. The small blind is usually equal to half the size of the big blind.

The Deal

Each player is dealt four cards face down. The first round of betting then takes place, where you can call, raise or fold. Players still left in the hand after this first betting round now have the option to draw. The idea of the draw is that you can choose to discard any cards that you don’t want, and have them replaced with new ones that you hope will improve your hand. Click the cards you want to discard, and then click the ‘Discard’ button. You can opt to discard all four cards if you want to. A second round of betting then takes place, with players having the option to bet or fold, unless there are no bets, in which case you can check. Once this round of betting is complete, another draw and betting round takes place. This is followed by a final draw and betting round, after which a showdown occurs if more than one player remains. The player with the best hand takes the pot.

Basic Strategy

The object of the game is to make a Badugi - a four-card low hand with four different suits. The best possible starting hand therefore is 4-3-2-A (with each card a different suit).

Badugi hands are ranked by their highest card, with aces playing low and straights ignored. A player holding 9-8-4-3 of different suits would lose to an opponent holding 8-7-3-2 of different suits. Likewise, 6-3-2-A would lose to 5-4-3-2.

If a hand reaches showdown and no player has a Badugi, the player with the best three-card or two-card hand wins the pot. For example, 6h-4d-3s-Ah is known as a ‘three card four’ (4-3-A-x), and would lose to any Badugi, but it would beat 7h-5d-4d-3s (a ‘three card seven’, 7-4-3-x), which would beat Ad-As-2d-2c (a ‘two card deuce’, 2-A-X-X).

It’s important to think about position, as the player last to act is able to gain information on what hands their opponent may have, based on the number of cards they have discarded. If a player who acts before you does not discard any cards, it’s likely that they already have a strong hand.