Draw
How to play Badugi
Badugi is not lowball Hold'em. You are drawing to four cards of different suits and different ranks. Duplicating a suit or a rank throws a card out. The best badugi is A-2-3-4 with four suits. A three-card hand loses to any four-card badugi.
The object
Four cards. All different suits, all different ranks, lowest wins, aces low. If you have a pair or two of a suit, you play the best three-card (or two-card) badugi you can. A 6-4-3 rainbow three-card beats a king-high three-card and loses to any four-card 8 or better. Beginners overvalue 'almost' hands that still have a pair.
The draw
Typically three drawing rounds, like 2-7 triple draw. You may stand pat or replace one or more cards each round. Drawing one to a three-card ace-badugi is the standard profitable shape. Drawing two is a plan, not a hope. Drawing three is rarely a hand you should have seen the first betting round with.
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