Badugi Poker is another fun and wildly exciting alternative to other immensely popular Poker games like texas Hold'em and Omaha. This variation of draw poker is very similar to standard poker play with respect to the betting procedures and basic play of the game. One difference, however, are the different hand values in Badugi Poker. Another distinction is that, unlike in regular poker games where players' hands generally comprise 5 cards, in online Badugi Poker, each player's hand contains only 4 cards at any one particular time.

In Badugi Poker each competing player attempts to build the best possible poker hand they possibly can in order to win the pot. The pot is the money put into the game by all of the players over the course of each hand. There are 3 drawing rounds in every game during which each player may replace 1, 2, 3, or all 4 of their cards with the hope of drawing better cards with which to build their poker hand and ultimately win the pot. Or players may opt not to discard and replace any of their cards.

The History of Badugi Poker
According to many historians, Badugi Poker is said to have emanated from Asia, Korea specifically. But like its origins, it is still anyone's bet how the game ever made its way west to Europe and the United Sates.

Enough talk. Let's play some Badugi Poker already!
Each game of online Badugi Poker starts with each contestant being dealt 4 cards face down. Players may look at their own cards but not those of their opponents. The hand kicks off with a "pre-draw" wagering round, commencing with the player seated to the left of the Big Blind and continues in a clockwise order.

Next, each player must decide whether to call the big blind amount, meaning enter the same sum as the Big Blind, fold their hand, or raise the bet, that is, put in more cash than any other player. Doing so would also obligate the other Badugi Poker players still in the hand to meet the amount ‘raised' by the player initiating the raise.

As soon as every player has deposited an equal amount of money into the pot, or otherwise folded, play continues until the ‘Draw.' Come the Draw, each player may choose to discard any number of their cards in order to be dealt the same number of new and hopefully better cards with which to construct a winning Badugi Poker hand.

After the first draw comes the second round of betting where players can decide to ‘check' - meaning not contributing any more money to the pot, though still staying in the game until another player bets. Betting continues again until each Badugi Poker player has entered the same amount of money into the pot, or folded their hand. Folding causes a player to immediately forfeit any money they had contributed to the pot up until this time. Once the second wagering round has ended, another draw takes place followed by a third round of betting, followed by the final draw. A fourth betting round then takes place and is followed by the final showdown.

And the Online Badugi Poker Winner is...
If, at the end of the final betting round, there's more than one Badugi Poker player still in the hand, the players' cards are compared and the participant having the best Badugi Poker hand is declared the winner and awarded the entire pot.

• Badugi Poker Rules