How to Play Seotda

Seotda is a traditional Korean card game that is often referred to as the Oriental Poker. I got interested in how the game was played after seeing it in the Tazza films, however I was unable to find any instructions for the game in English. So I found the Korean rules and enlisted the help of my friend Josh to translate them. What follows is a translation of the rules to the best of me and my mates ability. If you have any suggestions or corrections to this article please let me know in the comments. :)

What You Need

To play a game of Seotda very few things are required. 

First of all, and most importantly, you need a deck of Flower Cards. These cards are referred to as Hwatu (화투) in Korea or Hanfuda (花札). These decks consist of twelve sets of cards each containing four cards. Each set represents a month of the year and depicts a different flower.

Secondly you need something to use as currency for betting. This can be anything you want: chips, tokens, money, peanuts or apple cores.

Preparing the Deck

The deck can be prepared two ways when playing Seotda.

The traditional way is to use twenty cards. When doing it this way the November and December cards are removed from the deck along with the Pi cards from each month.

It can also be played using forty cards. When doing it this way, just the cards from November and December are removed from the deck.

Playing the Game

There are two ways to play Seotda: 2 card Seotda and 3 Card Seotda.

2 Card Seotda

At the beginning of the game two cards are dealt to each player. After this the players look at there cards and the betting round begins. After all betting is completed the players open their cards and the player with the highest hand claims the pot and the next game commences.

3 Card Seotda

At the beginning of the game two cards are dealt to each player. Each player selects one card to show the rest of the table. Then a single round of betting commences. At the end of the round of betting each player is dealt one more card. Then the last set of betting commences (This can be up to 4 rounds). After all betting is completed the players open their cards and the player with the highest hand claims the pot and the next game commences.

Betting

At the beginning of a betting round one of the players* starts of by either Placing a Bet, calling Die, or calling Check. The person to the left of that player then has the choice of Call, Raise of Die. This keeps going around the table until all players have made a decision. A second round of betting then commences. This continues until one of two things occurs: there is only one player left who has not called Die or 4 rounds of betting have been completed. In the case in which there is only one player left, that player claims the pot and the next game begins. In the case in which 4 rounds of betting have been completed the remaining players show their hands and the player with the higher scoring hand claims the pot and the next game begins.

*this can be decided multiple ways and is ultimately up to the group playing. (eg. Picking one person to start the betting in the first game then in the second game the person to the left of the starts the betting and so on)

Call (콜)

• A Call is when you match the bet of the previous better

Raise – This is when you bet an amount more than the last better.

• Double (따당)

 This is when you double the bet of the previous better.

• Half (하프)

This is when you bet half the amount in the pot. (This can only be done if half of the pot is greater than the amount bet by the previous better.)

• Quarter(쿼터)

This is when you bet a quarter of the amount in the pot. (This can only be done if half of the pot is greater than the amount bet by the previous better.

Check (체크)

• A Check is when you defer your betting rights till the end of the betting round, at the end of which you may place a bet or Die.

Bing (삥)

• Bing is when a player starts of the betting round by betting the minimum required bet, which is decided upon before the commencement of the game.

Die (다이)

• A player says Die when they do not think they have good cards and wish to forfeit their participation in the current round of the game. If called at the beginning of the betting round the player does not have to add anything to the pot. If they call it in the second round onwards they forfeit the money that they have contributed to the pot.

Explanation of Hands

38 Gwang Pair (삼팔광땡)

This hand is a combination of the 3 Gwang and the 8 Gwang.

Gwang Pair (광땡)

This hand is a combination of the 1 Gwang & 3 Gwang or the 1 Gwang & 8 Gwang

Pair (땡)

This hand is a combination of two cards from the same month. The higher the month, the better it is.
10 Pair (10월)→1 Pair(1월).

Ali (알리)

A combination of January and February cards, regardless of order.

DokSa (독사)

A combination of January and April cards, regardless of order.

GooBing (구삥)

A combination of January and September cards, regardless of order.

JangBing (장삥)

A combination of January and October cards, regardless of order.

JangSa (장사)

A combination of April and October cards, regardless of order.

SaeRyook (세륙)

A combination of April and June cards, regardless of order.

GapO (갑오)

Any Combination of cards that when added together has a last digit of 9.
(eg. 1+8, 2+7, 3+6, 4+5, 9+10)

Geut (끗)

If the cards in your hand do not belong to any other hand then they are Geut (끗).
The value of a Geut (끗) is equal to the last digit of the sum of the two cards in the hand. (eg. 2+3 = 5끗, 8+10 = 8끗)
The higher the value of the Geut (끗) the more it is worth. (eg. 8끗 beats 5끗)

MangTong (망통)

Any combination of cards that when added together has a last digit of 0, excluding April and June (4 + 6).
(eg. 2 +8, 3 + 7)

Special Hands (특수 기능 족보)

DaengJabI (땡잡이)

Any combination of March and July beats 9 Pair ~ 1 Pair. If there are no pairs in play then the hand is a MangTong (망통).

GooSa (구사)

The combination of April and September cards allows the player to call for a re-match if the highest hand played by the opponent is Ali (알리).

MeongTeongGooRi GooSa (멍텅구리 구사)

The combination of April and September cards, which does not include a ribbon card allows the player to call for a re-match if the highest hand played by the opponent is 10 Pair (장땡).

AmHaengEoSa (암행어사)

The combination of April and July cards, which does not include ribbon cards beats Gwang Pair (광땡). If there are no Gwang Pair (광땡) then the card is 1 Geut (끗).

The Strength of Each Hand (1 is Strongest)

1	38 Gwang Pair (삼팔광땡)	5	DokSa (독사)	9	SaeRyook (세륙)
2	Gwang Pair (광땡)	6	GooBing (구삥)	10	GapO (갑오)
3	Pair (땡)	7	JangBing (장삥)	11	Geut (끗)
4	Ali (알리)	8	JangSa (장사)	12	MangTong (망통)