Asian Poker Variations – Badugi, by Lina Wang

Well, in the land of mahjong and sicbo, try brining in a game immortalized by Doyle and Maverick. Poker is as less heard of and played in Asia as American football. Each Asian country prides itself in a favorite card or skill game. So in Japan the current rage is pachinko, in India there is teen patti (a variant of 3 card poker) and rummy, in China there is mahjong and in Korea there is Badugi or Baduki as some folks prefer to call it. Each game or skill game has its own variation and flavor. An average Asian – particularly Chinese – is said to gamble 27 times more on an average than his American or European counterpart; whether this is myth or fact can be actually seen on the tables in Macau. Like in the little gambling dens of Macau and everywhere else in Asia, these games rule and poker – the cache of the western world – takes a backseat.

Asia has always been unofficially the largest gaming market in the world. The amounts that are bet in small parlors or cyber cafes (called pc café’s here) are staggering to say the least. We’re talking about over a 100 billion dollar industry in Korea itself, for instance, where foremost are games like matgo, 7 card stud and badugi.

Badugi (also referred to as Asian Poker) is a variant of poker that has been gaining popularity among the card-playing enthusiasts in the past few years. It has been usually reported to have come from Korea but there are also accounts of its Chinese origin. In Badugi, players receive four down cards (hole cards), after which there is a round of betting. There will be a total of three drawing round in which there will be a round of betting after each one. Where player’s discard to improve their hands. The object is simple, make the smallest hand by having a hand with every different suite and no pairs. The best possible hand being A-2-3-4 having one club, diamond, heart and spade. The blind structure of Badugi is quite similar to that of other poker games, with the two players to the left of the dealer paying the small and the big blind respectively.

At the beginning of the game, four cards are dealt to each player from the player sitting to the left of the Big Blind and the game continues in a clockwise motion. There are four betting rounds where the players can keep their cards or discard any number of cards in their hand if they are not confident of the cards that they hold, to be dealt new cards. The options are as other poker games too: to check, call, bet, raise or fold. After the fourth betting round, you have a final draw. This allows the final betting round as a prelude to the showdown. Remember, this is a low ball game and a rainbow A-2-3-4 is the best hand to win, this is the “lowest Badugi”.

In general, drawing on the last round against an opponent who has not drawn is considered a mistake, unless special circumstances warrant this maneuver. Similar to other poker games, position can be an important component in Badugi strategy. Players who are last to act often have an opportunity to bluff since they are able to observe the actions of other players before they act. In addition, players in late position are able to determine the strength of their hand more accurately by observing the actions of other players.

Another aspect of the strategy of Badugi involves the number of people at the table. The more people there are at the table, the more likely there is to be a 4 card Badugi. Bluffing with a 2 or 3 card hand is not usually advisable when playing at a 5-player table. However, when you are playing with fewer than 4 people, a 3-card hand can often win with a good bluff.

With enough practice, you can get the hang of it quicker than a years-old badugi pro.

This blog post was submitted by Lina Wang who runs a great little blog called The Princess Of Poker! She’s a VP at a poker software development company and has some great poker articles both about the game itself and about the industry in general.