I am writing this because I was pleasantly surprised at how much this game feels more "pokery" than good ole Texas Holdem.
As I was learning the game and reading up on the basics, it was already appealing to me because it seemed to combine two of the games I love but can't play enough of: Draw Poker and Razz. For a game that was resisted and billed as an absolute donkeyfest, I found that it was in fact more intricate than that. You want a hand-making donkeyfest? Go play low-limit Omaha!
To stress the subtlety, I will now post a couple of hands that I had the good fortune to learn from - just so the point is made, I will make a semi-spoiler: in BOTH these hands, the real poker was played AFTER ALL PLAYERS WERE ALREADY ALL IN!
(as a reminder, badugi's objective is to make the best 4-card low-rainbow hand)
Hand #1: Outdrawn and outplayed, in that order.
I am dealt A52 (rainbow) and another 5.
I bet the pot, and lose everyone except the big blind. Time to draw...
FIRST DRAW, the BB draws two cards. I think "donkey!" and decide to stand pat (draw nothing) to send him a message.
BB then checks, and I bet pot again...
BB raises all-in for less than double my bet, and I call as I think "uh oh, did he draw a badugi? Surely he knows from me standing pat that I also have a badugi (I don't)..."
SECOND DRAW, the BB stands pat!
my turn to draw, and I panic. the jig is up, he has a made hand, and we are all-in so there is no betting to be done, and therefore bluffing is futile! I decide I must now draw to beat his hand... I draw one card. no Badugi.
...no more betting, as I said, since we are all-in...
THIRD DRAW, the BB stands pat, looking even more confident than ever after seeing me draw. I draw one card again and miss!
my hand remains at A52 rag.
SHOWDOWN, the BB shows a Queen-high Badugi, and I am beat!
I was in the middle of pondering the consequences of dumb donkey luck - how he could hit the Badugi in a single two-card draw - and also wondering where I went wrong... when the Korean in the BB shared this awesome secret:
IF I HAD STOOD PAT BEHIND HIM ON THE SECOND DRAW, HE WOULD HAVE HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO DRAW ON THIRD STREET!
I was floored, noob that I am at this game. It was so simple it was awesome. He would have concluded that I had a Badugi as well, and that his Q-High could only beat K-High. He would have to BREAK HIS HAND to try to draw a better Badugi - and that would not have been very likely. Once he breaks his hand and misses the desperation draw, my 3-card low would have won!
I was already outdrawn before the chips went in, but after they went in - with no further betting - I was also outplayed.
Hand #2: The shoe on the other foot...?
I manage to crawl into the Final Table, playing the tight strategies I read about as I crammed for the tourney days before. My adherence to strict strategy has gotten me to the Heads Up Finale versus a very aggressive Korean Player who looked every bit like he knew exactly what he was doing.
OTB, I am dealt A23 rainbow with a 3 to discard. I raise, my opponent calls.
FIRST DRAW, enjoying my position immensely, I watch closely as he draws ONE card. I stand pat to set up my next bet...
...except he leads into me for pot! I smell an aggro-bluff, so I call.
SECOND DRAW, he stands pat! I tank a bit... is this the same situation? I decide it feels like the same situation (from Hand #1) so I save my panic button for third street and stand pat behind.
...my opponent bets pot again - enough to put himself all-in. I have him slightly covered, but if he has a Badugi, I am drawing a nine-outer at best (all diamonds except the A, 2, and 3, and only good if he is holding the King of diamonds in his Badugi hand)... If I imagined that he had a decent Badugi hand - after all he stood pat and bet after I hand raised before and stood pat twice - then I would have to put him on at least a nine-high Badugi... which meant I needed a diamond 8 or lower. That was a five-outer, and I had a lot of chips to play with if I got out of this bloated pot. I haven't played this game long enough to know for sure, but folding was starting to look good...
...But something felt wrong - like I am being outplayed and everyone knew it but me... I called.
THIRD DRAW, he stands pat, and now I know I was wrong! If he was bluffing, he would certainly have to draw now that I've called all his chips and there were no more streets to outplay me on. If he stood pat, he definitely had me beat.
...I sheepishly draw one card, cursing at my bad read...
I draw an 8-high Badugi, and it beats his 9-high Badugi!
On this hand, he had used his image to take me to value town. And his play was also strong enough that I could have abandoned ship with the stronger hand.
Except I metagamed myself into Donkey-ville, and I sucked out.
nh
gg
smiley face
2 comments:
IN hand #1: Since you saw the two draw cards, if he had gotten the first and you the second, would then have had the winner?
ah, interesting! i unfortunately do not recall what i drew (that would have been his card instead if i had stood pat behind and made him have to draw...)
such dynamics!
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