History of Badugi

The history of badugi dates all the way back to 1960, and was believed to originally be played in South Korea.  It was known as multiple other names including badugi; such as paldugi, padookie, and badooki.  The game came over to the United States soon after the Vietnam War was over.  It was said that a man by the name of Paul Eskimo Clark actually stated that he was the one to bring the game back to the United States after he served in the military in Vietnam.  The main theory behind how the name “badugi” came about, comes from a standard name that is typically given to a dog who has spots or patches on its fur in Korea.  It was essentially said to be symbolic of the rules of badugi, as winning hands consist of different suits and different values.

While that may not make sense to most, it is explained even more in-depth by the explanation of the three betting rounds that come with the game as well.  They are said to have been symbolic of the three meals that were fed to badugi, breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  In reality though, no one is one hundred percent sure where the name badugi came from, mainly due to the fact that it was found that there is actually no word meaning “spotted dog“ in the Korean language.  One thing we do know though, is that the game was created back in the 1960’s, and has grown in popularity in both live card rooms, as well as online poker.