Badugi Rules and Basic Strategy

 

Rules of the Game

Badugi is Korean for a black and white spotted dog and the goal of the game is to get a hand with all different “spots”.  It is a triple draw low ball game where the players are each dealt four cards and the object of the game is to get the lowest hand possible with cards in different suits 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 best possible hand is A 234 of all different suits (e.g A♣ 2♥ 3♦ 4♠) and is called a four high badugi or just a four badugi.  If you do not have a badugi then your hand is considered “incomplete”.  There are varying degrees of incomplete.  If you have three unpaired unsuited cards (e.g. J♠ 8♠ 5♥ 2♣ or 8♠ 5♥ 2♣ 2♦) you have what is known as a three card badugi or tree hand.  The terminology is interchangeable and the hands shown are referred to as either a “three card eight” or an “eight high tree”.

Quick Facts

Before the first draw, the probability of being dealt certain type of hands is as follows:

Badugi 6.3%

Three 57.0%

2 Card 35.6%

1 Card 1.1%

On the first draw, if you have a three card badugi there are ten cards that will make you a badugi among forty-eight unseen cards.  Thus the odds are (10/48) or approximately 21% chance that you will make a badugi on the first draw.

Over the course of three draws you have around a 51% chance to obtain a badugi.  This means that a typical tree hand is around 50/50 to draw out on a king high badugi by the end of the hand.

More than half of dealt pat badugis are kings or queens and the median is a good queen.  However badugis obtained through drawing are typically stronger.  As we noted before, ten different cards will give an A 23 a badugi.  50% of them will make an 8 badugi or better.

Basic Strategy

The most profitable hands in Badugi are the rare dealt pat monsters (eight badugis or lower) and the premium three card badugis such as A 23, 234, A 34, A 25 etc.  These hands can be played strongly before the first draw in most situations.

Nine or ten high dealt badugis are profitable against a few players but in large multi-way pots even badugis as strong as these can be money losers. These hands suffer from reverse implied odds.

If no one has a badugi a premium tree is very strong and should be bet throughout.  Do not give out free cards on the larger betting limit after the second draw.  As was previously noted, the best hand is a big favorite with one draw to go so there is a lot of value in betting.바둑이사이트

Starting Hand Standards

A reasonable set of opening requirements at most tables would be as follows:

Early position: Ten high or better badugis; Smooth 7 high trees or better

Hijack: Jack high or better badugis, Smooth 8 high trees or better

Cut-off:  All badugis, 8 high trees or better, A 2 and A 3

Button: All badugis, 9 high trees or better, A 2, A 3, 23, A 4