Poker guide - Badugi Poker Game

Badugi The Hottest New Poker Card Game

This variant of lowball draw poker is also known as Badougi. Badugi is one of the most popular card games being played on-line for millions of dollars. It is lowball draw poker version with different hand values than traditional poker.

The biggest difference between traditional poker and Badugi is that you only receive four cards instead of five, at the beginning of the hand. Plus, in traditional lowball draw poker you draw one time; in Badugi you draw three times. This game should not be confused with Paduki; there are similar elements between the two, but they have different rules.

The Best Hand

During each of the three drawing rounds, players can trade zero to four cards from their hands for new ones from the deck. The objective is to end up with the very best hand and win all the money.

The very best hand in Badugi would be A-clubs, 2-hearts, 3-diamonds, and 4-spades. Yes this is a four card straight, but all four cards have to be in different suits. You should be able to figure out the next best hands starting with A-2-3-5 off suited and so on.

History

Most Badugi historians agree that the card game originated in Korea. This game requires the player to think a lot more than in traditional lowball poker because there are three draws instead of just one and also because of the off-suit nature of the game.

How the Game is Played

I am sure the main reason Badugi is seeing such a surge in popularity is its close resemblance to Texas holdem. Both games seat ten players and a dealer at each table. Big and small blinds are used instead of each player anteing every hand. Players are dealt their initial cards, and the betting begins with the player to left of the big blind. In subsequent rounds the betting begins with the small blind.

Of course, in Badugi you start with four cards instead of the two you get in Texas holdem. After the first round of betting has finished, then you may stand pat and don't draw any cards, or draw one, two, three, or four cards. After the second round of betting has taken place then you either stand pat or draw cards for the second time. After the third round of betting is complete then you draw for the third time and the final round of betting occurs. Follow this next link to learn more about how to play badugi.