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This site gives you the actual rules of sabacc. Info was gathered from all the many star wars book references. There is an
alternative way to play that I will post here soon.
To play Sabacc, players need a Sabacc Deck, one 6 sided die, and some form of betting currency.
Sabaac Rules
Number of Players: As many as can sit at a table; but usually seats are provided for no more than seven or eight players.
Players take turns as the dealer each hand, in a clockwise fashion.
The Pack: Custom 76 card Sabacc Deck.
Rank of Cards: As indicated by number on card.
* Four Suits (Coins, Flasks, Sabres, Staves) numbered 1-11
* Four Ranked cards for each suit:
o Commander: Value of 12
o Mistress: Value: 13
o Master: Value: 14
o Ace: Value: 15
* Face Cards:
o Queen of Air and Darkness: Value of -2
o Endurance: Value of -8
o Balance: Value of -11
o Demise: Value of -13
o Moderation: Value of -14
o The Evil One: Value of -15
o The Star: Value of -17
o The Idiot: Value of 0
Progression of Play: Each hand is played in rounds. A round consists of the following phases:
*The Shuffle, Cut, and Deal
*Ante
*Play
*Shift
*Betting
*Call
The Shuffle and Cut and Deal: Dealer and any other player who wishes may shuffle portions of the pack until all cards
have been shuffled and combined. Any player may cut the pack. The Dealer deals out one card to each player, including himself,
in rotation, and then repeats another rotation. Thus each player including the dealer has two cards face down. Starting to
the left of the dealer, each player calls out their beginning hand totals.
Ante: Everyone wishing to play (plus the house/dealer) must ante one chip of the base value into both the Hand Pot and
the Sabacc Pot(ante can be any value determined before the game starts).
Deal: The Dealer deals out one card to each player, including himself, in rotation, and then repeats another rotation.
Thus each player including the dealer has two cards face down. Starting to the left of the dealer, each player calls out their
beginning hand totals. A player may only fold during the the betting phase, and must pay one credit to the sabacc pot to do
so.
Play Round. In this round, players can draw one card from the deck, trade a card from their hand for a card from the deck,
or stand. Players cannot discard cards. Drawing too many cards can be risky.
It is only during the Play Round that players can place cards into the Disruptor Field to prevent them from being Shifted
should a Shift occur. Players do this simply by placing their cards face-up in front of them. Players may only place one card
per turn in the disruptor field, but may have as many cards total in the Field as they desire. The downside is that all other
players at the table can see the value of the cards and they may only remove one card per turn from the Field. Players may
do both, though, remove one card from and place one card into the Field per turn.
The Shift: A Sabacc Shift occurs any time the die lands on 4, 5 or 6. The die is rolled once after the completion of every
Betting Round, after each player makes a play during the Play Round, and once after the game is Called after final bets are
placed but before players reveal their cards. This allows for a Shift to occur during every critical moment of the game, but
the probability of a Shift occurring at any point remains relatively low. If a Sabacc Shift does occur, the dealer collects
all the cards that are not locked, shuffles them into the deck, then deals the cards back to the players. Players should end
a Sabacc shift with the same amount of cards in their hands as they had before the Shift.
Each player rolls the die after they finish their turn in the play round. If the die lands on 4, 5, or 6, a Sabacc Shift
occurs.
Betting: The player to the dealer’s left then places the first bet into the Main Pot, and a Betting Round proceeds,
with players raising as they see fit. The Betting Round ends when every player has either called the bet or folded. To signal
the end of the Betting Round, the dealer rolls the die. If it lands on 4, 5, or 6, a Sabacc Shift occurs.
The Call: The Hand can only be Called during the fourth Betting Round or any Betting Round thereafter. This allows for
a brief period for the pot to build. After a player Calls the Hand, the Betting Round proceeds just like normal. After the
final Betting Round is concluded, the die is rolled one last time, and a Sabacc Shift occurs should it land on 4, 5, or 6.
Then players reveal their cards.
The player with the highest hand, totaling 23 or below, wins the Hand Pot.
If a player has a hand total of 23, -23 (called Pure Sabacc) they win the Sabacc Pot in addition to the Hand Pot.
If a player has an Idiot card, a 2 card of any suit, and a 3 card of any suit (0-2-3, called the Idiot’s Array)
he or she beats out a Pure Sabacc for both the Hand Pot and the Sabacc Pot.
If a player has a hand total over 23, below -23, or exactly 0, that player is said to Bomb Out. Any player that bombs
out must pay an amount equal to the Hand Pot into the Sabacc Pot.
If two or more players tie for the winning hand, they engage in a Sudden Demise. Each player involved in the Sudden Demise
is dealt one extra card. After incorporating that card into their hand totals, they again compare hand totals, the player
with the best modified hand wins. In the case that a player Bombs Out, they do not suffer the Bomb Out penalty. If all players
involved in the Sudden Demise Bomb Out, the winner of the hand is the player with the second-best hand.
In the event that all players Bomb Out, no Sudden Demise takes place. Instead, the Hand Pot is moved into the Sabacc Pot
and a new hand begins, with no winner declared for the previous hand.
Optional Changes and Variants
* Instead of matching the Hand Pot when a player Bombs Out (which can be quite expensive) a value can be agreed
upon before play begins as to how much the Bomb Out Penalty is.
* A maximum bet/raise can be set before play begins.
* The number or rounds in the Pot Building Phase can be increased or decreased.
* The dice implied is a typical six-sided dice. If it seems as though Sabacc Shifts are occurring too often, ten-
or twelve-sided dice can be used. But if one number is chosen before play begins to signal a Shift, one dice can
be used.
* For a Hold ‘Em variant, cards placed in the Static Field can be considered optional community cards. That
is, any player may choose to use any of the cards in the Field in addition to their own cards. This adds another risk
to locking the value of a card.
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