Random Poker Thoughts

Badugi fundamentally fits into the category of draw poker and is probably not at all familiar to most poker players. It is a very interesting game though for its odd betting structure and method of play. It is a four-card game consisting of three drawing rounds in which the players place their bets and begin the task of building the winning Badugi hand into showdown. In Asia, the game is widely played and is trickling slowly into North America. Badugi is for the most part played as a fixed limit game with two blinds, from then on it is similar to many other poker variations. Tournament play will often include pot and no limit games.

The Mechanics of Badugi Poker

To start the game, the dealer deals four face-down cards to each player, round one of betting follows starting with the player right ahead of the large blind. One can call, fold or raise up to the house limit. Players who stay with the game post-round one betting can then draw no cards at all or up to four cards. These drawn cards are not played. All players must be very cognizant of their discards and update their odds accordingly. Interestingly, similar to the streets used as terms for rounds in Texas Hold’em, Badugi uses the time of day to describe rounds.

One important facet of Badugi to be aware of is that the hand that wins is not your usual poker hand. Before attempting to actually play Badugi, you must be very familiar with the card ranking in hands. Oddly, the duplicates have no value in a hand, just suits and single cards, and not even dual suits. The name Badugi is in reference to a hand comprised of distinct suited cards. When all is done and hands are compared, the first thing to look at is the number of cards, then the lower value of the highest ranking card (aces are low in Badugi). Ergo, the epitome of a winning hand would be ace, two, three, four, unsuited. The big loser would consist of four kings.

Winning Badugi Strategy

Badugi is somewhat like 2-7 triple draw poker in it shares with it the three drawing rounds. The hand rankings are nothing alike as the no duplicate rule in Badugi is certainly not the rule in triple draw. Most poker variations will stress the importance of the player’s position at the table and with Badugi position is even more critical in determining the strength or weakness of opponent’s hands. If a player can see the draws his opponents make, he can determine the value of their hands relative to his own, many draws show a weak hand, few draws a stronger one.

Assume you have a complete hand of four cards, i.e. a Badugi and are curious about the odds of your opponents drawing to a Badugi themselves. The odds can be calculated thusly. If a player swaps a card, he must hit upon the one that does not match a suit already in his hand. The odds in this case are 10 to 52 as the player will be unable to match any of the three cards present in his hand. Also to be considered are the odds of the player drawing a card with a lower high value.

Suppose you hold in your hand a four-card ten high. In this case, the player has a 6 in 52 chance of hitting a lower, discrete value as any card higher than ten in the correct suit will not make his hand better than yours.

Before beginning that first betting round, the player has a little more than a 50% chance of drawing to a discrete four-card hand during each round, which adds up to a 20 % chance of doing so in each round.

For more information on how to play other poker games like 7 Card Stud or 5 Card Stud please visit Rakeback Solution.

To learn how to build a poker table visit BYOPT. For discount poker supplies visit Discount Poker Outlet.

Tags: badugi, card games, entertainment, Gambling, games, Poker, Poker Games, poker rules, recreation, sport