Hello, and thanks for tuning into this video
guide on how to play Badugi poker.
Badugi, the often mispronounced korean form
of lowball poker, is a 4 card draw game.
Up to 6 players can play, and the goal of
the game is to make the best "Low hand" out
of your 4 cards.
The game is typically played as a limit game,
but can also be played pretty much any other
limit.
Badugi is a Blind game, meaning each rotation,
1 player pays a small blind, with the person
next to them paying the big blind.
It should also be noted, Badugi is usually
NOT played with antes.
Basic Rules:
In this game, straights do not count against
you, but suited cards and pairs do.
Therefore, the lowest possible hand is A234
1 of each suit.
If you have 2 cards of the same suit, or rank,
only one would count.
For example, if you have AH 2C 3C 4S, the
3C would not count, since it's the same suit
as your 2.
If you had a hand of AH 3S 3C 4S then your
hand would actually be AH 3C 4S.
It's important to know, that any 4 card badugi,
will always beat a 3 card hand.
A 3 card hand beats a 2 card hand, and so
on downwards.
To begin a hand, the players in the blinds
post their blind, and action starts with the
person to the right of the big blind.
Blinds are typically half the tables small
bet for the small blind, and 1 small bet for
the big blind.
Betting rotates clockwise, ending with the
big blind, and players may elect to call,
raise or fold.
Once betting is done for that round, each
player is given an opportunity to draw up
to 4 cards, or elect to draw no cards, referred
to as standing pat.
For the first 2 betting rounds, bet sizes
are limited to the tables small bet.
The 3rd and 4th round bet sizes are limited
to the tables big bet.
Once the final betting round is complete,
the remaining players show their hand, and
the best hand wins.
In the event that 2 or more players tie, then
the pot is split equally amongst them.
Misc rules
It's quite possible, that during play the
deck may run out of cards.
In this scenario, the discarded cards are
shuffled, and draws continue as normal.
In online games, some rooms make it so that
a player will not recieve the same card they
had discarded in previous rounds.
For example, if a player discards a 2H, and
the deck is reshuffled before they draw again,
they would not get the 2H again for that hand.
This is typically not done in live games.
Basic strategy:
One of the most important things you need
to remember, is to pay attention to how many
cards each players draw in each round.
It's safe to assume that if a player draws
1 round, and then stands pat and begins betting
in later rounds, that they likely have a strong
hand.
Another quick tip to remember, is that if
a player draws 1 card, they have a 1 in 10
chance of making a badugi hand (based on 1
card that doesn't pair 1 of their cards, and
is of a different suit of their other 3 cards.
1 Final tip, if you have a 4 card hand, and
other players are drawing, it's often best
to elect to stand pat, even if you've got
a relatively high 4 card hand.
This is because the chances are relatively
low of improving your hand, and you're betting
off making your opponents draw to try and
beat you.
