Badugi Poker

Badugi poker, also referred to as Badougi, Paduki or Padooki, is a type of draw poker. Draw poker for those unfamiliar with the term is referring to the type of poker where the entire hand is dealt to each player, and then as the game progresses the player exchanges their cards for new ones; depending on the type of poker and its rules. Badugi is a type of draw poker, similar to Triple Draw. The entire game is very much like regular poker, such as its betting structure and the overall play. It is a fun game that has spread into card rooms and online poker sites, yet, still pretty rare to locate.

Badugi Poker History

Badugi poker is a relatively new type of poker game. Many people speculate that it was originally from South Korea, where it was invented in the 1960's, but that is still just a speculation as no one truly knows where it originated from. The man credited with inventing the game is Paul Eskimo Clark, whom served in the army and was said to have brought the game back to the US with him. It was not that popular to begin with, but after a while it caught on in Las Vegas. However, the game was viewed as a more competitive game, thus it was mainly played at high limits. Time went on, and by 2000 Badugi was now a popular poker variant that is now being played in casinos and online. Many enjoy playing it, but it still has not become famous enough to be an official tournament in any of the big time poker tournaments.

How to Play Badugi Poker

Badugi is a draw poker variation, and it is played very similarly like regular poker; same blind and betting scheme. The difference between Badugi and regular poker is the fact that Badugi is played with only four cards instead of the regular five. It is also played like Lowball, where the hand with the lowest card is the winner. There are a total of four betting rounds, with three rounds where players can draw or exchange anywhere from zero to four cards.

The first round of betting happens after the cards are dealt face down in front of each player; this round is the pre-draw bet. After the round of betting, players can look at their cards and make the first round of card exchanges; after which there is another round of betting. This step happens another two times, where the fourth round of betting is the last, and this is where the showdown occurs. If more than one player remains after the fourth round is over, then the players would show their cards in order to see which player has won. It is important to know the rules of Badugi in order to play better.

Badugi Poker Rules

As mentioned before, Baudig is played like Lowball is played; where the hand with the lowest card wins. A Badugi hand is made up of one to four cards, which is determined by the cards in the player's hand. There are different card ranks, which are determined by the suit of the cards in the hand. In Badugi, if a player has more than one card that is of a certain suit, then only one of the cards is used and the other is discarded. This is where the ranks come in, where there is one, two, three, or four card Badugi ranks. A hand containing four cards of different suits is considered a four-card hand, and is called a "Badugi".

A four-card hand beats a three-card hand, and the pattern continues one until the one-card hand. The best possible hand in Badugi is the Ace-Two-Three-Four combination of different suits, and the worst is the four Kings; Ace is the lowest card and King is the highest. If there are two or more hands with similar rank, then they are consequently compared; the cards in each hand are placed from lowest to highest and the highest cards are compared first. If the highest card of one hand is lower than the others, then the hand with the lowest card wins.

Badugi is a fast paced type of Lowball, draw poker. It is getting more and more popular, and players have found that it brings a highly competitive environment.