Common Mistakes in Badugi Poker, and How to Avoid Them

What’s one game that you can carry anywhere easily and not risk airport security for? Badugi Poker, of course! This game is favoured by people for its unusual rules and ease of understanding. 

The origins of this game lie in Korea, though some conflicting accounts state that it originated from Canada. 

Initially, this game was named “Badugi”, after a black-and-white dog, since the playing cards’ pattern resembled these colours. It is quite similar to Razz, lowball and two-seven card draw poker. 

Players must create a four-card sequence with the lowest values, which is also known as a “Badugi”, to win. This sequence should not have any duplicate cards. Apart from that, unlike in Texas Hold Em and Omaha poker, players aim to form the lowest hands to win this game.

Another unique difference between Badugi and other poker games is that you are dealt four face-down or “hole” cards instead of two. This is one of the reasons that makes Badugi poker an unpredictable game.  

But if you’re new to the game, you might want to avoid making unwanted mistakes. Well, that’s exactly what we’ll cover in the sections below. 

So continue reading to learn more about some of these common poker mistakes below.

Overvaluing Weak Badugi Hands

The Ace cards and those from Number Two to Number Five are considered low-value cards in Badugi poker. So, you should focus on using these cards to form your hand and discard others.

This means that cards from Number Six to Number Nine are considered high-value cards.

That’s why we recommend discarding these cards as quickly as possible during the three turns you get. 

However, most players create hands comprising the Number Nine, Number Eight, Number Seven and Number Six cards because of the high values they carry. 

That’s why you should know that this is considered a “weak” hand, as the objective of the game is to make a low-value card hand. 

Some players also don’t focus on the number values (or ranks) and suits and group cards belonging to the same suit or rank, which defeats the purpose. That’s because, as per the Badugi poker game rules, you should make a hand with no identical cards.

You should also avoid overplaying high-value card combinations like Number Nine, Number Seven, Number Six and Number Four. That’s because players with low-value cards like Ace, Number Two, and so on can defeat them.

Not Playing Aggressively

You should know that, unlike most poker games, you should avoid being overly careful in Badugi poker. In other words, you should avoid waiting too long for good hands to be dealt to you or for your opponents to discard low-value cards. 

Instead, you should quickly learn to sort cards into low-value hands and discard the high-value cards. That way, you can avoid unnecessarily folding at the eleventh hour and losing the game. 

Apart from that, most people think that just because they’ve raised a small number of chips as the ante, they have to be careful during the succeeding rounds by discarding high-value cards slowly. 

On the other hand, some players do not bluff properly despite being in positions to see their opponent’s hands. This leads to them missing out on gaining low-value cards from their opponent’s discards. 

Incorrectly Playing Your 3-Card Hands

Most players sometimes make common poker mistakes like erroneously discarding their mid-value strong cards in Badugi.  

Suppose you have a medium low-value hand that consists of Number Three, Number Six, and Number Five. You should not discard the Number Six for another low-value card unless you’re absolutely sure. That’s because having a mid-value strong Badugi is better 

than a weak one. 

Apart from that, you might not get a card of your choice, as your opponents might discard high-value cards like Number Nine, Number Eight and so on. 

However, if you have a Number Two, Number Three and Number Five, and the opponent has discarded a Number Four, then you can discard your Number Five for a Number Four card. 

After that, you should seek to draw another low value card or a mid-level card like an Ace or a Number Six, to complete your “Badugi” hand.

Ignoring Opponents’ Drawing & Discarding Behavior

We cannot stress this enough. The cards that your opponent or opponents discard or draw are quite important to your victory. 

For example, if you see that your opponent is drawing an Ace and Number Two card, but not making any subsequent moves, then they probably have a strong “Badugi” hand. 

However, most players fail to understand this simply because they do not observe and make careless decisions like discarding mid-value strong cards like Number Six cards, drawing high-value cards in panic, and so on. 

On the other hand, say you missed the fact that your opponent has discarded Number Two, Number Three or similar cards. This lack of observation can lead to costly decisions as you might draw high-value cards from the stock.

Additionally, we would recommend modifying your strategy if you see that your opponent has stopped discarding or drawing, since they are poised for victory. 

Bluffing at the Wrong Time

If you’re a beginner, you might be tempted to think that bluffing after your opponent has stopped drawing or discarding is a good idea. 

In other words, bluffing against a “pat” hand is not something we would not recommend you to do, as you would be playing into your opponent’s hands. 

For example, if you try to show that you have a strong Badugi of “Ace, Two, Three and Four”, when in reality, you have an “incomplete hand”, then your opponent will be able to see through your bluff. 

That’s why you should only bluff when you have fold equity*.

*Fold equity refers to the probability wherein your opponent might just fold instead of raising their chips*.

Apart from that, sometimes, if your opponents are still drawing, we would recommend “snowing” heavily on your opponents. “Snowing” refers to  not drawing or making it look like you have a “pat” hand, when in reality you don’t. 

Your apparent calmness might confuse opponents, who might then possibly discard cards you could use to make a “badugi”. 

The Final Word

Making mistakes, therefore, will always be a part of playing Badugi poker and all other poker games. After all, that’s how you learn and grow as players. So which common poker mistakes should you avoid making in Badugi?

You should not overly value your “weak” (or high-value) hands. That’s because they might cost you the game itself. So you should always aim to make hands like “Ace, Number Two, Number Three and Number Four”, or similar hands. 

Second, you should be strategically aggressive in drawing or discarding your cards, as playing passively can make your opponents win hands early.

Third, we would recommend you to not misplay your three-card hands. In other words ,you should not discard mid value strong cards like Number Six cards for say a Number Eight or similar card.

Fourth, you should not ignore how your opponents draw and discard cards, since you might play into their hands without realising. 

Finally, you should understand when you should bluff, since experienced players can see through your bad bluffs.

You can improve upon these mistakes by playing practice games, noting your mistakes down and refining your strategy over time. 

Don’t forget to let us know about your Badugi poker experience below. Have fun!