Badugi Rules and Basic Method

Guidelines of the Game
Badugi is Korean for a black and white spotted canine and the objective of the card game is to get a hand with all different spots. It is a triple-draw lowball card game where the gamers are each dealt four cards and the objective of the card game is to get the most affordable hand possible with cards in various matches and of different ranks. If you obtain a hand with four unpaired unsuited cards you have a Badugi e.g T♣ 9♥ 5♦ 2♠.

.Aces are considered low, so the very best possible hand is A234 of all different matches (e.g A♣ 2♥ 3♦ 4♠) and is called a 4 high Badugi or simply a four Badugi. Then your hand is considered incomplete, if you do not have a Badugi. There are differing degrees of incomplete. , if you have 3 unpaired unsuited cards (e.g. J♠ 8♠ 5♥ 2♣ or 8♠ 5♥ 2♣ 2♦) you have what is understood as a three-card badugi or tri hand. The terminology is interchangeable and the hands revealed are described as either a three-card eight or an eight high tri.

Any badugi beats a tri hand, thus the worst possible Badugi K♠ Q♦ J♥ T♣ beats A♣ 2♥ 3♦ 4♦. In the gameplay the tri hand would discard the 4♦ and want to get one of the following 10 cards to pull ahead: 4♠, 5♠, 6♠, 7♠, 8♠, 9♠, T♠, J♠ Q♠, or K♠. Since pairs do not enhance the hand (of course the K♠ is dead in this specific example), the A♠, 2♠, and 3♠ are unhelpful.

You look to the next cards to break any ties if the greatest card is the same. For instance, 9♥ 7♣ 6♦ 2♠ would beat both 9♠ 8♥ 2♦ A♣ and 9♠ 7♥ 6♦ 4♣. When you compare tri hands to each other you only look at the 3 least expensive unpaired unsuited cards and break any ties similarly. For example, A♠ 5♣ 6♦ K♦ beats 3♠ 5♥ 6♣ J♠.

The game is had fun with blinds and generally is played fixed limit although it is in some cases also played pot limit.

Quick Facts
Prior to the very first draw, the probability of being dealt certain kind of hands is as follows:

Badugi 6.3%.
Tri 57.0%.
2 Card 35.6%.
1 Card 1.1%.
On the first draw, if you have a three-card Badugi ten cards will make you a Badugi amongst forty-eight unseen cards. Therefore the chances are (10/48) or approximately 21% chance that you will make a Badugi on the very first draw.

Over the course of three draws, you have around a 51% possibility to acquire a Badugi. This suggests that a common tri hand is around 50/50 to extract on a king-high badugi by the end of the hand.

More than half of dealt pat Badugis are kings or queens and the average is a good queen. As we kept in mind in the past, ten different cards will give an A23 a Badugi.

It is possible to enhance your hand without making a Badugi. If you are holding A ♠ 2 ♥ 6 ♦, in addition to your ten Badugi outs you might also draw the 3 ♦, 4 ♦, or 5 ♦ which would give you a stronger tri hand. This is called minimizing your incomplete.

A weak Badugi is an underdog in a multiway pot because when two gamers hold tri hands and each of them draws three times at least among them will make a Badugi around 75% of the time. With 3 gamers the odds are around 88%.

With one draw remaining the best hand is a large favorite. A tri hand that is going after a Badugi has at many 10 outs or a 22% chance of making the very best hand. An A23 is around 81% preferred over both an A24 and 678.

Standard Technique.
The most profitable hands in Badugi are the uncommon dealt pat monsters (eight Badugis or lower) and the premium three-card Badugis such as A23, 234, A34, A25, etc. These hands can be played highly before the very first draw in many situations.

9 or 10 high dealt Badugis pay versus a couple of players however in large multi-way pots even Badugis as strong as these can be cash losers. These hands suffer from reverse implied odds.

If no one has a Badugi, a premium tri is extremely strong and must be bet throughout. Do not provide free cards on the larger wagering limitation after the second draw. As was formerly kept in mind, the finest hand is a big favorite with one draw to go so there is a great deal of value in betting.

Given that Badugi are hard to make you must typically make a play at the pot if you feel that you probably have a worse three-card Badugi than your opponent. The play is called “snowing” and is implemented by raising, staying pat, and betting the hand through. Obviously, an aggressive player might attempt and make this play versus you so you must often just call down with strong tri hands. Some gamers do this typically while others don’t even realize the play exists. As in all types of poker, it is extremely important to get a kept reading your opponents.

Beginning Hand Standards.
A reasonable set of opening requirements at the majority of tables would be as follows:.

Early position: 10 high or much better Badugis; Smooth 7 high tris or better.

Hijack: Jack high or much better Badugis, Smooth 8 high tris or better.

Cut-off: All Badugis, 8 high tris or better, A2 and A3.

Button: All Badugis, 9 high tris or much better, A2, A3, 23, A4.