How do u play badugi poker

The ace only counts as a low card in this game and your aim is to achieve the lowest four-card hand to win the pot. Pairs, as well as two cards of the same suit, are bad in Badugi, and any hand containing these cannot qualify as a four-card Badugi.

If there are no four-card Badugis, the best three-card hand wins the pot, and so on. These hands are ranked from best to worst as we scroll down in this article:. Straights do not exist in Badugi, so four cards in a row do not hurt your hand, and Aces are always low. If you have two or more cards of the same suit, only the lowest one counts. The same goes for paired cards. If you have a pair, only one of those cards count. Badugi Four unpaired cards of different suits. The minimum bet is normally equal to the big blind.

If none of the other players does more than call, the player who placed the big blind is allowed to bet. The players have three opportunities to improve their hands by drawing cards. Starting with the first active player to dealer's left, and continuing clockwise around to the dealer, each player states how many cards he or she wishes to exchange, discards that number of cards face down to the muck discard pile , and is immediately given an equal number of replacement cards face down by the dealer.

Players can exchange any number of cards from zero to four: exchanging no cards is known as "standing pat". After each round of drawing, when each active player has had an opportunity to draw cards, there is a new betting round, begun by the first active player to the left of the dealer. There are therefore up to four betting rounds altogether: before the first draw and after each of the three rounds of drawing.

In a fixed limit game, the size of the bet doubles after the second draw, so that the third and fourth betting rounds are played with big bets. If at any stage only one active player remains, that player takes the pot without showing any cards.

If there is more than one active player at the end of the last betting round, there is a showdown in which the active players display their cards in turn, beginning with the last player who bet or raised in the final betting round, or with the first active player to dealer's left if all checked in the final betting round.

Players show all four cards, even if because of duplicate ranks or suits they only have a three-card, two-card or one-card hand. The player with the best hand takes the pot.

The object of the game is to make a Badugi - a four-card low hand with four different suits, and no pairs. The best possible starting hand therefore is A with each card a different suit. Badugi hands are ranked by their highest card, with aces always playing as a low card, and straights ignored. If the top cards in the hand are tied, then the next-highest card is considered, and so on. 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, if you hold 6h-4d-3s-Ah, you have two hearts, so the highest one is ignored, leaving a A-x. This makes poker positions even more of a factor than it would be in a game like No-Limit Hold'em, where you can see the community cards and have some ideas and opportunities which don't exist in Badugi. Being in position means you get to draw last and bet last. While making a strong Badugi poker hand is the easiest way to win, bluffing is also very much a part of this game.

Against weak opponents, who you will frequently face at the lower stakes, you will often be in position and up against someone who is drawing several cards. Remember, when a player draws more than two cards, there is a very low chance of them making an actual Badugi. Instead, they will often end up with two or three-card hands. As the action approaches the third betting round, you will start getting an idea of whether their hand has improved, as they will now draw fewer cards if it has.

Conversely, your opponents may try to bluff you by standing pat or drawing only one card and then betting, regardless of their holdings.

You can use this same strategy to bluff them, and if you also hold position, you will be in great shape to get your bluffs to work. Yet, remember that in a limit game, players without much experience will rarely fold, which makes bluffing less valuable and going for value with your big hands even more important. So you have learned about the hand values, basic Badugi rules, and a bit of strategy. My hand is good for a three-card Badugi, which is solid to start with. I am sitting in the cutoff and the players to my right fold.

The button folds and the blinds both call my raise, taking us to the first draw. I am forced to discard my Js and 9s after my opponents also discard two cards each. I end up with this hand:. I now have a three-card seven, which is a very solid holding. Both players discard two, and I discard my 3h. I am dealt the 5d, which is one of the best cards I could have hoped for, giving me a monster.

I now hold:. The final draw ensues, and my opponent now draws one, indicating that he doesn't have a Badugi yet, but rather a strong three-card hand.

I stand pat.