Badugi, in a nutshell, is triple draw lowball. Played with four cards, you need four low cards – all different – of every different suit to make a badugi. If there’s another badugi at the table, yours needs to be lower. The ace is low and straights don’t count against you.
The game is new online to places like Poker Stars, and it can be rather profitable if you know some tips and tricks:
1) Most people play badugi poorly. If you know the basic rules, you’re already ahead of the game.
2) Pick your hands. Just because the game is triple draw doesn’t mean that you can go and play every single hand. Make sure you have at the very least two cards of different suits 5 and under. If you’re looking to maximize profitability, however, wait for three unsuited cards 7 and under.
3) Badugi hands, like razz and the low portion of Omaha are counted backwards. For example, an 5,4,3,2 beats a 7,5,3,A. The best badugi hand, therefore, is 4,3,2,A rainbow.
4) Don’t chase. Three chances to make the best hand seems enticing, but remember you’ve got three betting rounds too. You can lose a lot of cash or tournament chips chasing a hand that may never materialize. Err on the side of caution. If you don’t improve your hand on a given round, fold.
5) Watch your opponents. If a dude next to you is STANDING PAT (not taking any cards in the draw portion of the round), and you only have two cards to a badugi, FOLD. If it’s on the last round and you draw one, but he/she doesn’t draw any and you don’t get a low badugi (8 or under), also fold.
Got that? Good. Now go earn some cash playing badugi at PokerStars today!