It doesn’t matter if you call it Badugi or Padoki, this Korean-based poker game is making inroads on internet poker sites. I recently started playing at PokerStars.com and find the game challenging, frustrating and most of all fun.
If you are not familiar with Badugi, you can read a description of the game on Wikipedia. Basically, each player is dealt 4 cards and has three draws to make the lowest possible hand. Only cards of different rank and suit are counted when comparing hands to determine a winning hand. Since aces always count as lows in Badugi, the best hand in Badugi is 4-3-2-A with no suited cards. Badugi’s worst hand is holding all 4 kings.
Starting Hand Strategy
The various strategies that players can use when playing Limit Badugi are what make the game so challenging. Let’s say you were dealt 5♦ 7♣ K♣ K♥ as your starting hand. If you keep your 3-card hand and discard the King of Clubs, the chances of getting a usable spade to complete your 4-card Badugi are slightly less than 50%. There are only 10 spades available that can help your hand, as the 5, 7 and K of spades would match cards you already have and therefore not improve your hand. If you were to hit your Badugi on a draw, the odds of you winning the pot are still stacked against you if multiple players stay in the hand until the end. Your high K Badugi would lose to any Badugi with a high card lower than the King. If you don’t draw cards to improve your hand, you end up with a 3-card K-7-5, which is a sure loser. Knowing this to be true, most players would discard both kings in the example above. This strategy leaves them with the need to draw 2 usable cards to complete their Badugi and does not guarantee that they will have a low Badugi. The player who chooses to stick with the 3-card hand may still end up with a winner, as he might draw a low heart to replace the K in an early draw, then call in a low, usable spade in a later draw. Complicated, right? In my experience you should aim for a Badugi of 8 or less. High nine or 10 is risky and anything higher will likely lose if there are multiple players in the hand.
betting strategy
Players love chasing hands in low-limit Badugi more than they do in no-limit Texas Hold’em. I am guilty of chasing more often than I should. You can use this to your advantage to increase the size of your winning pots. You must pay attention to how many cards the players draw in each round. Are they drawing 2 or more cards or are they only drawing one? Did they draw fewer cards in the second round than in the first? Is someone standing and no cards are drawn? These are all clues you can use to determine your hand’s chances of winning. A player who stands his ground on the first or second draw probably has a Badugi, but may not be a low Badugi. If you have a 3-card hand of 7 or less, you’ll want to stay in the game until after the third draw in hopes of getting a lower Badugi. Many players will be left with even higher 3-card hands and they are the ones who usually end up losing their chips. The key to success in Badugi is making players pay to stay in a hand when you are strong. If everyone keeps drawing cards and you have a hand of 3 cards of 5 or higher, or you have a Badugi, then you need to bet and raise. Don’t let anyone get free cards. Any player you fold with your aggressive bets increases your chances of hitting the pot.
Bluffing can also be effective in Badugi, especially when you’re in position. I’ll cover lanterns in a future article. This post is far from being a complete guide to Badugi poker. I suggest you go to an online site like PokerStars.com and try the game at a play money table. This is a great way to learn the game and develop your own strategy.