Now It's Time for Something Completely Different! $1,500 Badugi Starts at 2 p.m.
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Event #23: $1,500 Badugi is one of the more unique events on the 2025 WSOP calendar, and it begins today at 2 p.m. local time at the Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas. Badugi is a four-card lowball poker variant where players must make the best "badugi," a four-card hand with no duplicates in rank or suit.
Fifteen levels, each lasting 40 minutes, are the order of the day on Day 1 of this three-day event. Players will take 15-minute breaks every two levels, but there is no dinner break scheduled. Should any player dust off their 25,000 starting stack, they can reenter for another $1,500 up to the completion of the ninth level (~8:45 p.m.).
Surviving players return to the lowball action at 1 p.m. local time on Friday, June 6, where levels extend to 60 minutes, remaining at an hour long until a champion is crowned on Day 3. Day 2 will see bracelet-hopefuls fight it out for 10 levels, with 15-minute breaks punctuating the action every two levels, and a 60-minute dinner break after Level 21 (~7:30 p.m.).
David Prociak won the $1,500 Badugi event in 2024, outlasting 486 opponents. Prociak collected $129,676 for the win, plus the second gold WSOP bracelet of his career.
“I have two fourths, two thirds, two seconds, and now I have two firsts,” the newest Badugi champion said, beaming. Last year, Prociak finished in second place in two events, the $1,500 Mixed NLH/PLO, and the $1,500 Short Deck. “It feels great; winning one could be a fluke. Winning two, you just can’t be a fluke. Coming in second twice last year sucked; now I feel like I can actually take in some compliments.”
| Year | Entrants | Champion | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 487 | David Prociak | $129,676 |
| 2023 | 516 | Michael Rodrigues | $144,678] |
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