Online Badugi Poker Guide 2022
Badugi poker is a variant of draw poker with the goal of getting the lowest four-card hand possible. While Badugi shares many similarities with Lowball, the differences are significant. For instance, the hands are ranked differently.
So, read this comprehensive guide to learn about online Badugi poker rules, hand rankings, and odds. Plus, we’ll recommend the best Badugi sites to visit.
Best Badugi Poker Sites
What is Badugi?
You need to know is that a hand in Badugi poker is known as a “Badugi.” Plus, Badugi is a draw-card game. Two to eight players can play the game using a normal 52-card pack like all draw games. The number of cards is ranked from low (Ace) to high (King).
No one knows where the game originated from, but there are speculations. Some believe the name is derived from the South Korean name “baduk,” which means “black and white.” In contrast, others believe that it came from North America, where players played it as an “offsuit Lowball” in the 1980s. Similar games were played in Toronto.
If you have been to Vegas, you might have heard stories that Badugi came with Paul “Eskimo” Clark, the professional poker player. Legend has it that he learned the game when he was in Vietnam for his military service.
Badugi Rules
- The player to the left of the dealer has to place a small blind, and the player placed to the left of the small blind has to place the big blind. That’s why Badugi poker is called a “blind game.”
- The dealer will deal four cards face down (one at a time) to each player, starting with the player to his/her left.
- Once all the cards are dealt, the betting round will begin with the player placed on the left of the big blind.
- When all the players have wagered, the drawing round will begin.
- The player on the left side of the dealer will alert the other how many cards he/she would like to exchange for new cards.
- The dealer will hand out the requested cards to the player all at once and move on to others.
- As a player, if you decide to keep your cards and not exchange them, you can do so. It’s known in the game as rapping pat or standing pat.
- When all the players have received all their new cards, the second betting round will begin until final betting is reached.
- The betting rounds will start and restart until a player has a Badugi or other players have folded.
How to Play Badugi Poker Game
When everyone has wagered the player with the best Badugi will win the prize.
- A Badugi hand is made up of the lowest four cards from a player’s hand.
- Hands are calculated from the highest card down to the lowest card. The value of the hand is based on how low the highest cards are in a hand and cards of the same suit are discarded.
- So, Aces are ranked low.
- All the cards in a hand must belong to different suits and ranks.
- A four-card Badugi beats a three-card Badugi hand.
- However, a two-card Badugi hand is beaten by three or four-card Badugi.
Hand Rankings & Odds
| Hands | Cards | Description | Odds |
| Badugi | 2 of Clubs, 3 of Diamond, 4 of Hearts, Ace of Spades. | Four cards of different suits unpaired. The player with the lowest high cards wins, if many players have a Badugi. | 6.3% |
| Three-card Hand | 3 of Diamonds, 4 of Spades, 5 of Spades, 8 of Spades. | Three unpaired cards belonging to different suits. In this scenario the fourth card belongs to the same suit as one of the other 3 cards. Since two cards belong to the same suit, only one of them counts. | 57% |
| Two-card Hand | 5 of Diamonds, 3 of Diamonds, 4 of Spades & 4 of Hearts. | Only two of the cards in this hand will be counted because they are unpaired and belong to different suits. | 35.6% |
| One-card Hand | 7 of Spades, 2 of Spades, 3 of Spades, 5 of Spades. | Three highest cards in this hand won’t count because they belong to the same suit. If other players have the same type of hand then the player with the lowest second, third or fourth lowest card will win the pot. | 1.1% |
Badugi Poker Strategy
As a player, it’s important to think about your position. For example, the player who wagers last is able to gain knowledge of what hands other players have based on the cards they have exchanged. If a player does not exchange any cards in the drawing rounds should indicate to you that they have a good hand.
Exchange three or more hands if your hand is weak in the final drawing round. You need to remember that Badugi is played with pot-limit, limit, and half-pot limit betting because they affect your payout.