Badugi vs Razz: Complete Guide to Lowball Poker Variants

badugi vs razz writing in front of a poker background

Lowball poker has quietly been climbing the popularity charts over the last few years. At the 2023 World Series of Poker, the $1,500 Badugi event pulled in 516 players and the $1,500 Razz event drew 556, numbers that show just how many people are branching out beyond hold’em.

If you’ve ever watched a mixed-game stream and wondered, “Wait… what’s going on here?”, you’re not alone. Badugi and Razz are two of the most unique, surprisingly fun, and mentally refreshing options in the lowball world. And while they both aim for “low” hands, the similarities pretty much end there.

Let’s break it all down in a way that feels approachable, even if you’ve never played a single hand of either.

Core Differences: How the Games Actually Work

Before you dive into strategy videos or start firing in a mixed-game tournament, it helps to get a feel for what separates these two poker games at the foundation.

In short:

Badugi is a draw game where you’re sculpting a four-card hand.
Razz is a stud game where you build the best five-card low hand out of seven cards, many of which are visible to everyone.

Feature	Badugi	Razz
Cards Dealt	4 cards (all face-down)	7 cards (2 down, 4 up, 1 down)
Betting Rounds	4 (deal + post-draw 1, 2, 3)	5 (3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th streets)
Draw Phases	3 drawing rounds	None (all cards are dealt, no drawing)
Starting Cards	4 private cards	2 down + 1 up ("door card")
Deck Requirements	Standard 52-card deck	Standard 52-card deck

These structural differences completely change how each game feels to play. Badugi is about controlled chaos; drawing, adjusting, and sometimes making gutsy decisions to break made hands. Razz, meanwhile, is about reading the table like a book.

Betting Structures: Same Limits, Different Rhythm

Both games are usually spread as fixed-limit, but the way betting flows is distinct.

Badugi

Small bets on the deal and first draw
Big bets on the second and third draws
Antes common in casinos and online rooms
It plays fast and can get deceptively swingy, especially when multiple players draw deep into hands.

Razz

Ante → Bring-in → Small bets on 3rd/4th → Big bets on 5th/6th/7th
Classic seven-card-stud structure
Razz plays at a thoughtful pace, often turning into a memory and observation contest by the mid-streets.

How Hands Are Evaluated

Both games chase the “lowest” hand, but they define low in two completely different ways.

Badugi Hand Rankings

Badugi evaluates up to four cards, one from each suit, with no pairs. The objective is to make the lowest four-card Badugi.

Four-card Badugi (best): Four unpaired cards, all different suits (e.g., A♠ 2♥ 3♣ 4♦)
Three-card Badugi: Only three unpaired, three-suit cards count (e.g., A♠ 2♥ 3♣ with paired cards)
Two-card Badugi: Only two unpaired, two-suit cards count
One-card (worst): You kept only a single playable card

Within the same category, the hand with the lower highest card wins (e.g., 6-3-2-A beats 7-4-2-A).

Razz Hand Rankings

Razz uses ace-to-five ("A-5") lowball rules on the best five of seven cards.

Best possible hand: A-2-3-4-5 ("the wheel")
Straights and flushes are ignored
Aces are always low
Pairs, trips, and quads count against you

Therefore, 7-5-4-3-2 beats 8-4-3-2-A because the highest card (7 vs 8) is lower.

Strategic Mindset: Why the Two Games Feel So Different

Badugi and Razz don’t just play differently, they think differently, and you're poker strategy should be different for each variant as well. Premium starting hands differ between these variants with their unique mechanics:

Badugi (4 down cards)	Razz (2 down, 1 up)
A-2-3-4 (four suits)	A-2-3 with a 3 as the door card
A-2-3-5 (four suits)	A-2-4 with a 4 or lower door card
A-2-4-5 (four suits)	2-3-4 with a 4 or lower door card

Badugi premiums demand four different suits, while Razz requires three wheel cards (8 or lower) with no pair, preferably an ace showing.

Badugi Essential Skills:

Reading drawing ranges (pat vs draw)
Deciding when to "break" a made Badugi to draw for a smoother one
Managing bluff-draw frequencies
Understanding suit distribution

Razz Essential Skills:

Meticulous board-reading (tracking up-cards and "dead" cards)
Memory and note-taking: who folded which exposed cards?
Multi-street planning, since bets double on 5th street
Dead card analysis for drawing odds

Which Should You Learn First?

Most players with a hold’em or stud background ease into Razz faster. The up-cards provide a natural roadmap and the betting structure feels familiar. Badugi has a steeper initial curve, but once you “see” the game, it becomes addictively logical.

Recommended Path:

Start with Razz if you already know Stud fundamentals
Transition to Badugi once you're comfortable evaluating low hands and managing positional aggression
Rotate between both to sharpen board-awareness (from Razz) and draw theory (from Badugi)

Tournament vs Cash Game Considerations

The format you choose affects which variant might be more suitable for your goals and bankroll.

Tournament Pace

Each hand in Badugi involves three drawing rounds but only four private cards, making overall hand times comparable to Razz
Razz deals seven cards to surviving players, so late-street decisions can drag, but no draw breaks are required
Neither variant has a decisive speed edge; structure rather than game type usually governs length

Variance & Bankroll

Badugi variance is elevated because large multi-way pots develop when several players draw to four-card hands
Razz variance is tempered by exposed information, letting you make tighter folds on early streets
Mixed-game rotations (e.g., HORSE, 8-Game) feature both variants, so preparing for both is essential for modern tournament schedules

Both variants appear regularly in mixed-game tournaments and cash games, making familiarity with each valuable for serious poker players looking to expand beyond hold'em and Omaha.

Why Every Mixed-Game Player Should Know Both

Badugi and Razz each challenge your poker brain in refreshing ways. Razz pushes your observational skills to their limit. Badugi tests your discipline and willingness to make tough drawing decisions. They’re perfect complements.

You’ll see them in mixed-game series, WSOP events, and home-game rotations. Learning both doesn’t just make you more versatile, it gives you an edge over players who treat lowball as an afterthought. And honestly? They’re just fun. They break up the monotony of hold’em and remind you that poker is a game of infinite variations and creativity. If you're looking to play one of these variants, check out one of our highly rated and reputable online poker sites and get in on the action!

Cliff Spiller is a casino and sports enthusiast with nineteen-plus years of experience as a writer and editor. He's blogged about US casino and sports betting news for several prominent gaming sites. Along the way, he's written for OddsShark, NJ.com, SportingNews.com, and LegalSportsReport. Cliff is a US editor for ClickOut Media and a writer for Catena Media.