Learn how to play Badugi

Badugi is a four-card draw poker game in which players try to make the lowest possible hand using cards of different ranks and different suits. It uses a completely different hand-ranking system from conventional high poker.

Each player receives four private cards, and there are no community cards. Players can discard cards and receive replacements during three drawing rounds, with betting taking place before the first draw and after each draw.

The objective is to make a four-card Badugi: four cards of different ranks and four different suits. Aces count as low, making A-2-3-4 with four different suits the best possible hand.

Badugi is also incorporated into mixed games such as Badeucy, Badacy, and Razzdugi, which combine Badugi rankings with other forms of lowball poker.

Badugi Basic Rules

Badugi is played with a standard 52-card deck. Each player receives four private cards face down.

The game commonly uses a small blind and big blind. Before the first draw, action begins with the player immediately to the left of the big blind.

Players can fold, call, or raise according to the betting structure being used.

After the initial betting round, each remaining player can discard anywhere from zero to four cards and receive the same number of replacement cards.

There are three draws in total:

• First betting round
• First draw
• Second betting round
• Second draw
• Third betting round
• Third draw
• Final betting round
• Showdown

During each drawing round, the first active player to the left of the dealer button normally draws first, with the action proceeding clockwise.

A player who does not discard any cards is said to stand pat.

At showdown, players identify the best Badugi combination available from their four cards.

What Makes a Badugi?

A complete four-card Badugi contains:

• Four different card ranks.
• Four different suits.

For example:

A♠ 2♥ 3♦ 4♣

This is the best possible Badugi because all four ranks are different, all four suits are different, and the highest card is a four.

Aces are low. Straights do not count against a hand.

If a player’s four cards contain a duplicate rank or suit, not all four cards can be used in the Badugi hand.

The player instead uses the best valid three-card, two-card, or one-card combination that can be constructed from the cards.

Badugi Hand Rankings

The number of cards in the qualifying hand is considered first.

• Any four-card Badugi beats every three-card Badugi.
• Any three-card Badugi beats every two-card Badugi.
• Any two-card Badugi beats every one-card Badugi.

Among hands containing the same number of cards, compare the highest card first. The lower high card wins.

If those cards tie, compare the next-highest cards until a difference is found.

For example:

6♠ 4♥ 3♦ 2♣

beats:

7♠ 4♥ 3♦ 2♣

Both are four-card Badugis, but the first hand is six-high while the second is seven-high.

Badugi Hand Rankings Examples Chart

The important principle is that duplicate cards are not automatically removed according to a fixed rule. The player chooses the combination that produces the strongest valid Badugi hand.

For example:

A♠ 2♥ 3♥ 4♦

contains two hearts. Either the 2♥ or 3♥ must be excluded. Keeping the lower 2♥ produces 4-2-A, which is better than keeping the 3♥ for 4-3-A.

Comparing Badugi Hands

Badugi hands are read from the highest card downward.

For example:

When comparing incomplete Badugis, first determine the best valid subset of each hand. Only then should the hands be compared according to card count and rank.

Popular Badugi Variations

Badugi hand rankings appear in several mixed poker variants. Badeucy and Badacy combine draw poker with split-pot lowball rules, while Razzdugi combines Badugi rankings with a Stud-style game.

Badeucy

Badeucy is a split-pot draw game combining Badugi with Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw.

Players receive five cards and can draw during three drawing rounds.

At showdown, half of the pot goes to the best five-card Deuce-to-Seven low and half goes to the best four-card Badugi that can be constructed from the player’s cards.

The same five-card holding can therefore be evaluated in two different ways.

In the Deuce-to-Seven half:

• Aces are high.
• Straights and Flushes count against the hand.
• Pairs count against the hand.
• 7-5-4-3-2 is the best possible hand.

For the Badugi half of Badeucy, aces are commonly treated as high. Under those rules, 5-4-3-2 in four different suits is the best possible Badugi.

Rules can vary, so players should confirm the Badugi ace rule before playing.

A player who wins both halves of the pot scoops.

Because players are trying to make both a strong five-card 2-7 hand and a strong four-card Badugi, the most valuable holdings often contain low, unpaired cards in several suits without forming a Straight.

Badacy

Badacy is another split-pot draw game, but it combines Badugi with Ace-to-Five Lowball rather than Deuce-to-Seven.

Aces are low in Ace-to-Five evaluation, and Straights and Flushes do not count against the five-card low.

A-2-3-4-5 is therefore the best possible Ace-to-Five low.

For the Badugi portion, players use the best qualifying four-card Badugi available from their cards. Aces are low, making A-2-3-4 in four different suits the best possible Badugi.

This creates substantial overlap between the two sides of the pot. For example, A-2-3-4-5 can make the best five-card Ace-to-Five low while four of those cards can potentially make a very strong Badugi if their suits cooperate.

Razzdugi

Razzdugi combines Razz and Badugi in a split-pot Stud game.

Players receive cards using a Seven Card Stud-style structure rather than drawing and replacing cards as they would in ordinary Badugi.

At showdown, one half of the pot is awarded according to Razz lowball rankings and the other half according to Badugi rankings.

For the Razz half, players make their best five-card Ace-to-Five low from the available cards.

For the Badugi half, players make their best four-card combination containing different ranks and suits.

Because cards are exposed during the hand, players can use opponents’ visible cards to judge how live the ranks and suits they need remain.

Badugi Basic Strategy

Badugi strategy revolves around starting-hand quality, drawing decisions, position, and interpreting how many cards opponents draw.

The value of a starting hand depends not only on whether it already contains a Badugi, but also on how low and smooth its qualifying cards are.

A four-card 6-high Badugi, for example, is substantially stronger than a four-card king-high Badugi even though both contain four qualifying cards.

Likewise, a strong three-card hand such as A-2-3 can have considerable drawing potential because only one card is needed to complete a four-card Badugi.

Starting Hands

Strong starting holdings include low four-card Badugis and smooth three-card Badugis.

A hand such as:

A♠ 2♥ 3♦ 4♣

is already the best possible hand and should obviously stand pat.

A holding such as:

A♠ 2♥ 3♦ 3♣

contains the three-card A-2-3 and can discard the extra three to draw one card toward a complete Badugi.

Starting-hand decisions become more complicated with rough four-card Badugis and weaker three-card hands. Their value depends on position, betting action, opponents’ drawing patterns, and the betting structure.

Drawing Decisions

The number of cards a player draws provides information about the structure of their hand.

A player drawing one card often has a three-card Badugi and is attempting to complete a four-card hand.

A player drawing two cards may be building from a two-card Badugi.

Standing pat often represents a made four-card Badugi, although players can sometimes stand pat as a bluff.

These are tendencies rather than guarantees. Players can deliberately vary their drawing decisions to make their holdings harder to read.

Should You Always Stand Pat With a Badugi?

A made four-card Badugi has an important structural advantage because every four-card Badugi beats every incomplete three-card hand.

However, that does not mean every four-card Badugi must automatically be kept under every circumstance.

A rough Badugi such as K-Q-J-10 is the weakest class of made Badugi and can be a substantial underdog against an opponent who is drawing one card to a smooth three-card hand.

In some situations, particularly earlier in the hand, breaking a very rough Badugi to draw toward a stronger hand can therefore be strategically reasonable.

Whether to stand pat depends on factors including the strength of the Badugi, number of draws remaining, opponent drawing patterns, position, and betting action.

Position

Position is valuable in Badugi because drawing decisions reveal information.

Players acting later can observe how many cards their opponents draw before making their own drawing decisions.

The button has a particularly useful informational advantage because it normally acts last after the draw and draws after players positioned ahead of it.

This can influence whether a marginal hand should stand pat, draw, bet, call, or attempt a bluff.

Snowing

A snow is a Badugi bluff in which a player stands pat without a strong made Badugi, representing a hand strong enough not to require additional cards.

The objective is generally to convince an opponent who is still drawing that continuing is unprofitable.

Snowing is highly situation-dependent. Its effectiveness depends on factors such as position, previous drawing patterns, number of draws remaining, opponent tendencies, and the strength of the player’s blockers.

Tournament vs Cash Game Strategy

Tournament and cash-game Badugi use the same basic hand rankings and drawing rules, but their structures can affect strategy.

Cash games generally maintain fixed stakes, while tournament limits and blinds increase as the event progresses.

As tournament stacks become shorter relative to the betting limits, players have fewer bets available and less room for decisions across multiple drawing rounds.

Tournament payouts can also introduce considerations that do not exist in ordinary cash games.

There is no universal rule requiring short-stacked players to play marginal hands aggressively or big stacks to pressure smaller stacks. Decisions depend on stack sizes, betting limits, payout structure, opponents, and the specific hand.

Badeucy Strategy

Badeucy rewards hands that can compete effectively for both halves of the pot.

A player concentrating exclusively on the Badugi half risks winning only half the pot, while a strong 2-7 hand without a competitive Badugi faces the same problem.

Low, unpaired cards distributed across several suits can work well because they may contribute to both a strong Deuce-to-Seven hand and a strong Badugi.

However, the objectives are not perfectly aligned. A card that improves one half can weaken or fail to improve the other, making drawing decisions particularly important.

Players should evaluate both sides before discarding rather than treating either the five-card low or four-card Badugi as the sole objective.

Badacy Strategy

Badacy creates greater alignment between its two hand-ranking systems because aces are low in both the Ace-to-Five and Badugi portions under common rules.

Low cards can therefore contribute simultaneously to both halves.

A-2-3-4-5 is the best possible Ace-to-Five hand, while A-2-3-4 can make the best possible Badugi when the four cards have different suits.

Suits remain important even though they do not matter for the Ace-to-Five half because duplicate suits can prevent a player from making a four-card Badugi.

Razzdugi Strategy

Razzdugi combines the card-tracking requirements of Stud with the different hand-building requirements of Razz and Badugi.

Low, unpaired cards can contribute to the Razz half, while a successful Badugi also requires different suits.

Exposed cards provide information about both objectives. Seeing a needed low rank on another player’s board means fewer cards of that rank remain available, while visible suits can also affect the likelihood of completing a Badugi.

Players therefore need to consider both rank and suit removal while evaluating their hand.

Badugi FAQ

What makes a good starting hand in Badugi?

Strong Badugi starting hands generally contain low cards with different ranks and suits.

Made low Badugis are particularly strong, while smooth three-card hands such as A-2-3 with three different suits have considerable drawing potential.

The value of weaker holdings depends on position, number of draws remaining, betting action, and opponents’ drawing patterns.

How many cards should you draw in Badugi?

The correct number depends on the best qualifying Badugi contained in the hand.

A player with a strong three-card Badugi will commonly discard the fourth card and draw one.

A player with only two useful cards may draw two.

A player with a made four-card Badugi can stand pat, although very rough made Badugis can create more complicated decisions.

What is the best possible hand in Badugi?

The best possible standard Badugi hand is A-2-3-4 with four different suits.

It is a four-high Badugi and cannot be beaten.

Does a four-card Badugi always beat a three-card Badugi?

Yes.

The number of qualifying cards is considered before their ranks, so even a very rough four-card Badugi beats the best possible three-card Badugi at showdown.

That does not necessarily mean a player should always stand pat with every four-card Badugi when draws remain.

Should you always stand pat with a four-card Badugi?

No universal rule requires a player to stand pat with every four-card Badugi.

Strong and medium-strength Badugis will frequently be kept, but a very rough Badugi can sometimes be broken when there are draws remaining and the situation favors trying to improve.

The decision depends on the hand’s rank, opponents’ draws, number of draws remaining, position, and betting action.

How does Badugi differ from Texas Hold’em?

Badugi is a four-card lowball draw game with no community cards.

Players can discard cards during three drawing rounds and try to make four cards of different ranks and suits.

Texas Hold’em is a community-card game in which players receive two hole cards and try to make the highest-ranking five-card poker hand.

What does it mean to snow in Badugi?

Snowing is a bluff in which a player stands pat with a hand that would normally draw, representing a made or stronger Badugi.

The player then attempts to win through betting rather than by improving to the best hand at showdown.

What is the difference between Badeucy and Badacy?

Both are split-pot games combining a Badugi hand with a five-card lowball hand.

Badeucy uses Deuce-to-Seven Lowball for the five-card half, where aces are high and Straights and Flushes count against the hand.

Badacy uses Ace-to-Five Lowball, where aces are low and Straights and Flushes do not count against the low.

The Badugi ace rule also differs under commonly played versions, with Badeucy often treating aces as high and Badacy treating them as low. House rules should be confirmed before play.

What is a three-card Badugi?

A three-card Badugi is the best valid three-card combination available when a player’s four cards cannot all be used because of duplicate ranks or suits.

For example:

A♠ 2♥ 3♦ 3♣

cannot make a four-card Badugi because the two threes duplicate a rank.

Its best qualifying hand is A-2-3 with three different suits.

Do Straights and Flushes count against you in Badugi?

No.

Badugi does not use conventional Straight and Flush hand categories.

What matters is having different ranks and different suits, followed by making the lowest-ranking qualifying hand.

Can you play Badugi online?

Badugi can be offered by online poker operators either as a standalone game or as part of mixed-game formats.

Availability varies by operator, jurisdiction, and current game traffic.