U.S. Players Welcome!Badugi rules
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Badugi is a rather unique variation of poker, played with low hands with very peculiar hand rankings.
This poker game is played with up to 6 players. The aim of the Badugi is to get the lowest possible cards without having any cards of identical denomination and none of the same suit.
A combination with four cards of various values and colours is called a badugi. The best possible low hand therefore is A-2-3-4 in four various suits.
Although Badugi combination can comprise of 4, 3, 2 or even just single card.
Below the Badugi hands are listed from strongest to weakest:
Four-card hands - Badugi
1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
Three-card hands:
5. 
6. 
Two-card hands:
7. 
8. 
9. 
One-card hands:
10. 
11. 
Badugi Betting.
Badugi can be played as a normally limit game, a pot limit game, in the more infrequent half-pot limit betting style and no-limit game.
In a limit Badugi, the higher bets start on the third of the four betting rounds.
A pot limit badugi game allows players to bet up to the amount of the actual pot value.
In a half-pot limit game, the maximal stake in any round is equivalent to half of the pot.
No limit game doesn’t use any betting limits.
Blinds.
Badugi is played with mandatory bets called a Big Blind (BB) and a Small Blind (SB). Before the cards are received the first two players to the left of the dealer must put in the SB and the big blind. The small blind is ordinarily half of the BB.
Betting and drawing round.
Once the blinds are paid, the dealer hands each of the participating players four down cards in a clockwise order beginning from the small blind.
Afterwards, the initial round of betting, called the pre-draw round, starts with the 1st player seated to the left of the big blind.
Each badugi player has the same options as the other variation of poker game which includes; bet, raise, call and fold.
When pre-draw action has closed, the 1st draw begins. The players are given the chance to discard cards. Active players exchange from zero to four cards from their combinations.
Once the persons have received their new cards, another betting round takes place, beginning with the persons to the dealer’s left side and proceeding in a clockwise motion.
In total, there are four bettings and three draws.
Showdown.
At the showdown, the active person with the best badugi combination takes the entire pot.
In the case that 2 or more players have the same value hands, the pot is split up into equal parts.
For more articles on Badugi, check out the poker section at Predictem.com.