How To Play Lowball Poker

Badugi is a four-card, triple draw, lowball poker game with its own unique method for ranking hands. The goal of Badugi Poker is to make a hand that includes one card from each suit (without making a pair) with lowball rankings then used. The best possible Badugi hand is A-2-3-4 in four suits, and the second best hand is A-2-3-5 with each card being a different suit. When a player makes a non-paired four-suit hand, this hand is called a Badugi. If more than one player makes a Badugi, the player who has the lowest Badugi wins. The value of the Badugi is ranked by highest of the four cards. For example, an A-2-3-J Badugi is a Jack high Badugi. Kickers only come into play when the players’ highest of four cards match with one another.

If at showdown a player has 3 suits in their hand, this is considered a three card hand. A card in matching suit can not be used, as Badugi rules require all cards to be in a different suit as part of the hand rankings. If no player at the table has a Badugi, the pot will be awarded at showdown to the player with the lowest three card hand. In the rare case no player has a three card hand, then the pot will be awarded to the player with the best (lowest) two card hand.

Therefore, the worst possible hand in traditional high poker – seven-deuce high, with different suits, becomes the best possible hand in 2-7 lowball (a ‘perfect seven’ low or ‘wheel’). In practice, an ace always plays as a high card in 2-7 (so A,5,4,3,2 is an ace high, not a straight). The flush and straight were included in 1850. The game also witnessed various other experiments, like lowball versions, split-pot games, and ‘community cards.’ The concept of community cards hung around and was seen used in a game of Texas Holdem Poker in 1925.

Best Low Hand In Poker

The internet has changed things, but poker is still the most popular card game in the world – especially No-Limit Hold’em, one of several poker variants you can play at Bovada. All these variants share the same basic rules: Players sit around a table, taking turns clockwise, and they get dealt cards at random from the standard 52-card. Draw games are played using forced bets known as ‘blinds’, with the player sitting to the left of the dealer button posting a small blind, and the player to their left posting the big blind. The small blind is usually.

Badugi rules are similar to those of Triple Draw lowball games, where the differences, already covered, are the unique hand ranking system and four cards instead of five. For those not familiar with Triple Draw, we’ll break the Badugi rules down further here.

Detailed Badugi Rules

Badugi is played with up to eight players at the same table and uses a fixed limit betting structure. The exact “How to Play Badugi” is covered below.

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Badugi starts with the two players to the left of the dealer-button posting a live small blind and a live big blind. Starting with the small blind, players are dealt one card at a time until each has four cards. The first round of betting takes place and when complete, the first of three draws begins. The draw starts with the player to the left of the dealer having the option to discard any number of their cards and have them replaced with new ones. This option goes around the table, with each player having the chance to draw.

After the first draw, the second betting round takes place with stakes equal to the first, and a second draw follows. After the second draw, a third betting round occurs with the stakes now doubled. The players then have one more chance to draw new cards and when complete, the final betting round takes place using the same doubled stakes. The final action is a showdown where the player with the best Badugi hand is awarded the pot.

Badugi Rules on Reshuffles

Badugi rules allow up to eight players per table. For the math minded player, you’ll see it is possible that with each player getting four cards and with three draw rounds, the deck might run out of cards. In the event there are no cards left to deal, a reshuffle occurs, creating a fresh deck. Badugi rules on the reshuffle vary from house to house. In many live games the discards of the players still in the hand are left in front of them, and only cards from mucked hands are used for the reshuffle. At PokerStars.com the rules state that all cards will be reshuffled, however their software has been programmed in such a way that no player will get a card they’ve previously discarded. It is worth noting that in most cases a reshuffle is not needed, as many players have folded before making it deep into the drawing rounds. For a full guide on dealing Badugi check out this article: How To Deal Badugi

Now that we’ve covered “How to Play Badugi”, we recommend reading our page on Badugi strategy or our Badugi tips guide.

In hold'em, players receive two down cards as their personal hand (holecards), after which there is a round of betting. Three board cards are turned simultaneously (called the flop) and another round of betting occurs. The next two board cards are turned one at a time, with a round of betting after each card. The board cards are community cards, and a player can use any five-card combination from among the board and personal cards. A player can even use all of the board cards and no personal cards to form a hand ('play the board'). A dealer button is used. The usual structure is to use two blinds, but it is possible to play the game with one blind, multiple blinds, an ante, or combination of blinds plus an ante.
Rounds of Betting

• Opening deal- Each player is dealt two cards face down, which are known as hole cards or pocket cards.


• First round of betting- Starting with the player to the left of the big blind, each player can call the big blind, raise, or fold. The big blind has the option to raise an otherwise unraised pot.
• The flop- The dealer burns a card, and then deals three community cards face up. The first three cards are referred to as the flop, while all of the community cards are collectively called the board.


• Second round of betting- Starting with the player to the left of the dealer button, each player can check or bet. Once a bet has been made, each player can raise, call, or fold.
• The turn- The dealer burns another card, and then adds a fourth card face-up to the community cards. This fourth card is known as the turn card, or fourth street.
The Turn



• Third round of betting- It follows the same format as the second round, but the size of the bets have usually doubled in limit games.
• The river- The dealer burns another card, and then adds a fifth and final card to the community cards. This fifth card is known as the river card, or fifth street.
Flop

The River



• Final round of betting- It follows the same format as the second and third rounds.
• The showdown- Using the best five-card combination of their hole cards and the community cards, the remaining players show their hands, with the bettor or last raiser showing first. The highest five-card hand wins the pot. (In case of a tie, the pot is evenly split among the winning hands.)

2 7 Triple Draw Poker

Other Texas Hold'em Poker Rules

How To Play Lowball

How To Play Lowball Poker Free

These rules deal only with irregularities. SeeButton and Blinduse for rules on that subject.

• If the first or second hole card dealt is exposed, a misdeal results. The dealer retrieves the card, reshuffles, and recuts the cards. If any other holecard is exposed due to a dealer error, the deal continues. The exposed card can not be kept. After completing the hand, the dealer replaces the card with the top card on the deck, and the exposed card is then used for the burncard. If more than one hole card is exposed, this is a misdeal and there must be a redeal.
• If the flop contains too many cards, it must be redealt. (This applies even if it is possible to know which card is the extra one.)
• If the flop needs to be redealt because the cards were prematurely flopped before the betting was complete, or the flop contained too many cards, the board cards are mixed with the remainder of the deck. The burn card remains on the table. After shuffling, the dealer cuts the deck and deals a new flop without burning a card.
  See Explanations,discussion #2, for more information on this rule.
  
• If the dealer turns the fourth card on the board before the betting round is complete, the card is taken out of play for that round, even if subsequent players elect to fold. The betting is then completed. The dealer burns and turns what would have been the fifth card in the fourth card's place. After this round of betting, the dealer reshuffles the deck, including the card that was taken out of play, but not including the burn cards or discards. The dealer then cuts the deck and turns the final card without burning a card. If the fifth card is turned up prematurely, the deck is reshuffled and dealt in the same manner.
  See Explanations,discussion #2, for more information on this rule.
  
• If the dealer mistakenly deals the first player an extra card (after all players have received their starting hands), the card is returned to the deck and used for the burn card. If the dealer mistakenly deals more than one extra card, it is a misdeal.
• If you are playing the board, you must so declare before you throw your cards away; otherwise you relinquish all claim to the pot.