Badugi Strategy
Badugi Strategy
As Badugi is a new game with large number of beginners just a though understanding the rules and playing intelligently can give you an advantage, though this become less and less likely as the games popularity and thus number of experienced players increases.
Badugi has been described as a frustrating game as even if you have 3 of the cards needed to achieve a badugi in the first deal, the final card can remain elusive as you only have a 49% chance of getting it by the showdown and then the final card may be a poor one, leaving you with a low badugi
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Generally you have a playable hand if you have 4 cards 7 or lower and or two cards 5 or lower. Anything less than a 8 and lower badugi probably isn’t worth taking to the showdown. Unless your playing a limits game and you don’t have much to loose then you may as well call on virtually any badugi.
If you have a good hand in the early rounds raise heavily to thin the crowd and see who else has a good hand or at least bluffing that they do.
Whilst replacing cards may help improve an initially bad hand it is also likely to give away the fact you have a bad hand. Drawing on the last hand if your opponent is staying pat is considered a mistake as a player who doesn’t replace cards is likely to have been given a good hand. Bluffing i.e. raising and not drawing new cards with anything less than an excellent hand can work, which is what makes this a fun and popular game
Unlike other some other forms of poker cards are always revealed at the showdown so over a number of games it is likely your opponents will work out your strategy. As in virtually all games of this nature it is wise to vary your game particularly if you are playing against those you have played before.
If there are 6 players then it is much more likely that at least one player will have a badugi, it would therefore be unwise to continue if you have a 3 or 2 card hand. However if there are just 2 or 3 players a 3 card hand can often win.
Many of the strategies that work for other variants of poker can also be applied to badugi. For instance position is important as in all poker games, you want to be the last to play so you have the maximum information with which to make your decision.
