Badacey

Objective

Win chips by holding the best 4-card Badugi hand, the best A-5 low hand, or both at showdown. The pot splits between the two directions. A single player may scoop by winning both halves.

The Basics

Badacey is a triple-draw split-pot game combining Badugi and A-5 lowball. Each player is dealt five cards and draws up to three times. At showdown, the pot is split between the player with the best 4-card Badugi hand and the player with the best 5-card A-5 low hand. Aces are always low in both directions. Straights and flushes do not count against either hand.

Setup

Blinds are posted before each hand: the player left of the dealer posts the small blind, the next posts the big blind. Each player is dealt 5 cards face down. Action pre-draw starts left of the big blind.

Betting Rounds

1. Pre-draw — 5 cards dealt. Action starts left of the big blind. Small bet applies.
2. First Draw — Players draw 0–5 cards. Betting follows. Small bet applies.
3. Second Draw — Players draw 0–5 cards. Betting follows. Big bet applies.
4. Third Draw — Players draw 0–5 cards. Final betting round. Big bet applies.

Bet Sizing

• Pre-draw and first draw use the small bet.
• Second and third draw use the big bet (2× the small bet).
• Raises are in fixed increments of the applicable bet size.
• Maximum of four bets per street, unless heads-up.

Key Rules

• The Badugi half is won by the best 4-card hand with no two cards sharing a suit and no paired ranks. Evaluation follows standard Badugi rules — more qualifying cards beats fewer; lowest high card wins among equal counts.
• The A-5 half is won by the best 5-card low hand with aces low, straights and flushes ignored.
• Each player uses their best possible 4-card combination from their five cards for the Badugi half, and all five cards for the A-5 half.
• A player may draw 0 cards (stand pat) on any draw.
• If all remaining players have the same hand in one direction, that half of the pot is split among them.

Common Mistakes

• The Badugi half is evaluated from the best 4-card combination within the player's 5-card hand — the fifth card is irrelevant to that direction.
• A-2-3-4 rainbow is the best possible Badugi hand. The A-5 low is evaluated from all five cards with no suit requirements — A-2-3-4-5 is the best possible low.
• Paired or same-suit cards are removed when evaluating the Badugi half, potentially reducing a hand to three or fewer qualifying cards.

At the Table

Five cards dealt; three draws available. Pot splits: best 4-card Badugi from your five cards vs. best 5-card A-5 low. Aces always low in both directions.