Now that's good badugi(credit: Wikipedia)
Badugi is a form of lowball. Popular in Asia (the game is believed to be Korean in origin), players get three draws to make the best, low hand. Unlike in triple draw 2-7, aces are considered low. Suits matter immensely. A ‘badugi’ is secured when a player has four cards, each of a different suit.
Players are each dealt four cards, face down. Usually blinds are used as in Texas Hold’em and play moves clockwise. Players get to fold, check their option (if in big blind) call or bet. Once all the betting is done for this first round, players will get to draw new cards should they need them. You can draw all four cards (but this is a poor strategy unless you’re in the big blind and … no one bets the pre-draw.)
If you want to keep all your cards in the draw, then just “stay pat.”
Then, players go through through the process for the next two rounds of betting and drawing unless of course only one player remains at a given time (or…all but one opponent is all-in — every single bit of his/her chips in the pot). At that point, there is a showdown. Players show their hands if they believe they’ve got a winning one or muck their cards into the dead card pile.
The winner is the one with the best hand. A badugi beats all even if it’s a K,Q,J,10. Competing badugis are counted backwards with lowest overall winning. If there is no badugi in play, then the lowest three card wins. If no 3-card combo wins, then it’s a 2-card (but that rarely happens).
Editor Note: Poker Stars spreads badugi games....head on over there now to practice what you just learned.