Sabacc is the poker-like card game Han Solo plays in Star Wars. I played one hand and got the most powerful and most rare hand in the game: Pure Sabacc. Check out last week's post for more about the most outrageous beginner's luck in the galaxy far, far away. After that, I had to make a version of Sabacc that I could play with regular playing cards. I think I even made it better. Here is the ruleset my friends and I have been enjoying.

 

Sabacc – Nepunian Spike

Setup:

1. Take the face cards out of a playing card deck and add two jokers. These are called sylops.

2. You will need two 6-sided dice, poker chips, and tokens to identify the dealer and the Captain.

3. Give everyone an equal number of chips to start.

4. There are two pots in Sabacc. Designate a place to add chips to each pot.

Starting a Hand:

1. Pass dealer- The dealer always starts as the Captain

2. Ante- Spike the pot and then the hand pot

3. Deal- Two cards to each player

4. Discard- One card from the deck to form the discard pile

Playing a Hand:

Starting with the Captain, players may:

• Gain- 1 card from the deck (You cannot Gain if you already have five cards.)

• Swap- Reveal a card to discard and then draw from the deck OR discard pile

• Stand- Do nothing

1st Round:

Bet- Starting with the Captain, players may:

• Check- Match the current bid

• Raise- Increase the bid by the ante or more

• Fold- Lay card face down, and give up the hand

Roll:

• The next player becomes the Captain

• The new Captain rolls the dice

• Resolve the roll*

Play- Starting with the Captain, players may:

• Gain- 1 card from the deck (You cannot Gain if you already have five cards.)

• Swap- Reveal a card to discard and then draw from the deck OR discard pile

• Stand- Do nothing

2nd Round: Repeat the steps for the “1st round.”

3rd Round

Last bet

Reveal: If more than one player is still “in” after the last bet, they compare their hands to

determine a winner.

 

*Resolving the Roll:

• If the dice show one even number and one odd, nothing happens.
• If the dice show two evens/odds, all players who are still in must ante the spike pot. You will have an extra play phase this round.
• If the dice show a pair, that’s called a Spike! Follow these steps:

1. 1. Abandon ship- Players may give up on the hand and discard down to one card.
   2. Reveal- The remaining hands compete for the hand pot. Then discard them.
   3. Refill- Players should have two cards.
   4. Discard- One card from the deck.
   5. Play out the remaining round(s) for the spike pot.
   6. (If spike is rolled during a spike hand, immediately score and end the hand)

Locked

If you can’t meet an ante or bid but want to stay in, you pay your last chips and become locked. You do not get to play anymore, but your hand will compete at the reveal.

Hands

The goal of the game is to get to 0 “Sabacc” in the best way possible. Black card values and red card values cancel out. The two jokers are sylops. These represent balance in the force. They are black 100 & red 100 at the same time and, therefore, can be used as 0.

If no one has Sabacc, check for Nulrhek, meaning “closest to zero.” If tied for Nulrhek, compare the hands just as for Sabacc.

Hands from strongest to weakest:

• Pure Sabacc (a pair of sylops with nothing else)

• 4-card run anchored (“Anchored” means the 4 cards are all the same color, and you have a fifth card that cancels them out. Example A: Red 1,2,3,4 + black 10. Example B: Black 0,1,2,3 + Red 6)

• 5-card straight

• Honorable Sabacc (a pair of sylops with other cards)

• 4 of a kind

• 3-card run anchored (“Anchored” means the 3 cards are all the same color, and you have a fourth card that cancels them out. Example: Red 2,3,4 + black 9.)

• 4-card straight

• 2 pairs (anchored or not)

• 4 different evens/odds (Example: Red 3,9 + black 5,7.)

• Pair anchored (Example: Red 3,3 + black 6.)

• 5-card Sabacc

• 4-card Sabacc

• Pair

Tie Breakers:

• Sylop

• Most cards

• Largest sum

• High card

• Black