Badugi

What is Badugi?

Badugi is a variant of poker where the aim is to have the lowest four-card hand. It is a triple draw, lowball game, meaning that after cards are dealt, each player has three opportunities to discard a chosen number of cards from their hand and draw new ones in pursuit of making the best hand possible. 

Players

  • A full Badugi table seats a maximum of 6 players

Deck

  • Badugi utilizes a standard 52 card deck. 

Dealing and Betting

  • Each player is dealt four face-down cards, and a round of betting begins with the player immediately to the right of the big blind.
  • This player can either call (match the big blind amount), raise (increase the bet, obligating other players to match the new amount to stay in the game), or fold (discard their cards and forfeit their chance to win the pot). 
  • This cycle of call, raise, or fold continues around the table until all players have either matched the highest bet or folded. 

Rounds

  • After all participants have either contributed an equal amount to the pot or folded, the game advances to the draw phase.
  • This stage commences with the player immediately to the dealer’s left who remains in the game, allowing each player in turn to discard and replace any number of cards from their hand equivalent to the number they discard. 
  • The first draw is followed by a second betting round. Here players are free to check until someone bets.
  • After the second betting round ends, there is another draw followed by a third betting round. After that there is the final draw, followed by a fourth betting round and the showdown, if necessary
  • If at any time all players but one have folded, the sole remaining player is awarded the pot. If there is more than one player remaining at the conclusion of the final betting round, the hands of those players are compared and the player with the best badugi hand is awarded the pot.

Hand Evaluation

  • In Badugi, cards are ranked from low to high, but with aces considered as low.
  • Unlike traditional poker, Badugi features a unique hand ranking system where hands composed of cards with differing ranks and suits are more desirable.
  • When two Badugi hands have an equal number of cards, they are assessed by comparing the highest-ranking card in each, considering aces as low.
  • The hand with the lower high card is deemed superior, following lowball rules. In case of identical high cards, the next highest card is compared.

 

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