Being one of the more exotic poker variants (it is actually one of the most popular ones in South Korea, but I’ll assume those reading this article are not Koreans), one of the most important strategy aspects of Badugi concerns the rules. Learn them thoroughly, otherwise you won’t understand what I talk about in this here piece and you won’t be able to put my recommendations to use.
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Badugi is a draw poker variant and as such, many of the strategy concepts used in 5-card draw can be applied to Badugi as well. For instance, drawing in the third round against an opponent who stands pat is considered a mistake both in Badugi and 5-card draw. It is a desperate measure which carries flimsy odds.
Given that Badugi is a positional game just like Texas Holdem, everything you know about position in Holdem can be transferred to Badugi pretty much unaltered. The button is always the last to act and as such enjoys a huge advantage over the other players as the player in the button can watch the other guys act and thus give out clues regarding their hands, without having to give away such tells himself. Due to its nature, Badugi offers another advantage to players in late position: Through observation, the player in late position can estimate the strength of his own hand more accurately too.
Because Badugi hands are made up of 4 cards and because a valid Badugi hand has to contain cards of different suits, a player holding a Badugi knows exactly how many “outs” his opponent has to beat his Badugi. When a player draws one card, there are exactly 10 cards that will help him improve to a 4-card Badugi. Knowing this, a player holding an 8-high Badugi knows that there are only 5 cards that will help his opponent’s hand (A,2,3,4,5,6,7,8, minus the three cards that will pair up with the three that he already has in his Badugi = 5) to beat his. Using such analytic thinking, you’ll be able to estimate your odds based on pure math and thus you’ll secure a huge advantage over players who barely know the rules (and there will be plenty such players at the online Badugi tables).
Another important aspect of Badugi strategy concerns the number of people around the table. The more people there are involved in the hand, the more likely it is that one of them has a 4-card Badugi. Bluffing on a 3-card Badugi under such circumstances is not generally a good idea. If you’re playing against 2-3 other people though, the odds on your bluff will change radically in your favor.
If you have A,2,3 (rainbow of course) and you see that everyone is drawing, you can be pretty certain that you have the best hand even if it’s only a 3-card one. That means you should raise or bet to optimize your win rate. Bear in mind that the objective is not to make a Badugi, but to make money, and sometimes a 3-card hand is well enough for that.
Starting hand selection is another integral part of Badugi strategy. Much like in Holdem, good starting hand selection will simplify your decisions later in the hand.
As a general idea: if pick up 4 cards under 7, you have a good starting hand. Four cards that are ranked 5 or lower are also good. The best possible Badugi hand is the A,2,3,4 of different suits, so that is the absolute nut, if you pick that up the worst thing that can happen to you is that your opponent ties you.
Cards above 8 are generally considered bad for your starting hand. Other than these peculiarities, the general principles of ABC Tight-Aggressive poker can be applied to Badugi as well. Choose your starting hands wisely, use pre-draw aggression to push people out and thus to improve the odds your hand carries (while securing some dead money which will improve your pot odds) and get as much money into the pot on your good hands as you possibly can.