The Sabacc Shift

I tried my best to make no facial expression as I considered how this changed the game. The Sabacc Shift is an integral part to any game of Sabacc. Basically, after the first round of betting, any and all cards on the table are at risk of changing value and suit. The Sabacc Shift is always random; sometimes it affects every player on the table, but other times it only hits one or two, or even none at all. In games with holographic cards, this happens automatically during the course of play, but with physical cards, like the ones Ayana held, players would often use a pair of dice instead. The only defense against this was the Interference Field, a chip each player had that could make one of their cards unaffected by the Sabacc Shift for the duration of that hand.

In normal games of Sabacc, the greatest amount of strategy came after the shift happened, not only in judging your own hand, but also in reading everyone's reactions to the shift. With the Sabacc Shift eliminated, I could be free to make larger bets earlier without fear that my hand might change, but the same was also true for my opponents. I'd have to read them carefully from the first card dealt. One wrong move, and I could be drawn into a trap and lose everything.

"Now, let us begin," said Ayana, dealing the first cards.

*****

After about an hour of play, I was starting to get a feel for my opponents. Everybody was still playing pretty conservatively, most of the chip stacks were close to even, but I had pegged most everyone at the table. It was clear Mat Griggs was the most skilled player, always junking at the right time where others would have stayed in and lost more money. Gantu Balbal and Bordu were decent players, but even with their non-human facial expressions, they had clear tells. Tali, on the other hand, was still a bit of a mystery. She was a very good player, but had some odd habits that I couldn't quite figure out. Most notably, she was a table-talker, which is rare for a skilled Sabacc player. Most real gamblers keep their mouths shut throughout the game for fear of accidentally giving something away, but Tali was always engaged in friendly banter with us. I guessed that this was part of her distraction attempts, which appeared to be working to some extent on the other players. Crafty little minx.

"Mr. Bordu shows positive 20. Mr. Grant shows negative 21. Mr. Grant wins the hand," said Ayana.

I smiled as I collected my winnings from the pot. Bordu was none too pleased, judging by his twitching antennae. Damned fool still hadn't figured out what was giving him away. Every time he had anything over 18, his head bobbed a bit in excitement. It was all too easy.

"Impressive hand, Mr. Grant," I heard Tali say in her sultry voice.

"Thanks," I replied. "And you can call me Kyp. Mr. Grant was my good-for-nothing father."

"Of course, Kyp," she said with a wink.

I felt a chill go up my spine, but I had to keep my wits about me. This girl was something else, and she'd distract me into the poor house if I gave her the chance. Hell, it was a wonder I hadn't bombed out already. The way she kept adjusting how she sat, showing off her long legs and curvy ass in the process... damn. And her chest. Shit, her tank top was so tight, I couldn't believe she didn't burst right out of it every time she leaned over the table. But the killer was that little hair flip she'd do every so often. Part of me, and you can probably guess which part, wanted to believe so badly that she was into me, what with the flirty looks she kept sending my way. At least the larger of my two heads knew better, for now, anyway.

The next few hands were interesting, to say the least. Bordu, the Rodian, got on a hot streak, winning several nice pots in a row. Most of my hands were junk from the start, so I was out early, but the others weren't so lucky. I eyed Bordu throughout the hands, looking for what might have changed. His tell was still there, but I couldn't figure out what was different. By the looks on the other players' faces, they suspected something was up, too. That's when I noticed that Beelma the Hutt was also watching Bordu closely. Aside from Ayana, who's seat was right in front of Beelma's throne, Bordu was the closest player to the Hutt. It took a couple more hands, but we soon had our suspicions confirmed.

"STOP THE GAME!!!" Beelma bellowed in Huttese.

Before anyone knew what was happening, Krah and two guards surrounded Bordu and pulled him away from the table. While the two Gamorreans held the poor Rodian, Krah inspected the cards on the table with what appeared to be a modified pair of electrobinoculars.

"It is as you suspected, my liege," said Krah to Beelma. "He was marking the cards with infrared markings."

Of course! That's how he was killing us; Rodians can see infrared light, I thought to myself.

Beelma roared in anger at hearing this and had Bordu brought before him. The poor fool whimpered and begged for his life for a few seconds, but Beelma was having none of it. The remaining guards stepped back from Bordu, looking like they knew what was about to happen. A moment later, Beelma pressed a button attached to his throne, which activated a trap door beneath Bordu's feet and sent him tumbling down a chute.

"That can't be good," I heard Tali whisper. I was too dumbfounded to reply.

Beelma laughed gleefully as a number of viewscreens appeared from the ceiling all over the room, giving us the perfect view of the room below. Bordu landed hard on the rocky floor and looked around in panic. He first attempted to climb back up the chute he had come down, but a few metal bars slid into place to prevent his escape. A moment later, we saw a large gate on the other side of the pit slide open. It was quite dark, so we couldn't see at first what was coming out of the gate, but the creature's horned head and scaly hide soon came into view.

"My god... is that what I think it is?" Tali gasped.

"Yep," I said. "A canyon krayt dragon."

"He's bantha fodder," Mat muttered.

The reptile saw Bordu in an instant and crawled on its four muscular legs toward the Rodian. Bordu did have the presence of mind to reach for his blaster pistol, but the guards had taken it from him in the moments before, leaving him unarmed. His legs quivered and he fell to his back as the dragon advanced.

At that point, I had to turn away; no need to see what came next. Tali had long since buried her face in her hands, which was still an incredibly sexy thing to see, for some reason. Hell, anything she did was distracting. Ayana, who sat next to Tali at the table, was far calmer, but likewise kept her eyes averted. Looked to me like she had seen this a few too many times before. Mat just shook his head in disinterest, while Gantu Balbal chuckled at seeing Bordu devoured. After a few more seconds, the viewscreens disappeared and Krah spoke up.

"Divide the Rodian's chips evenly among the rest of the players, Ayana. Oh, and here is a fresh deck." Krah then eyed the rest of us. "Let this be a warning to anyone else who would betray the illustrious Beelma's hospitality. There is nothing he despises more than a cheater, especially one who would cheat at Sabacc."

"Clearly," I muttered under my breath. "Poor dumb bastard."

*****

From that point, the action in the game picked up quite a bit. I did pretty well, winning a decent pot about every three or four hands. Tali and Mat were also going strong, but Gantu Balbal was starting to bleed chips, and he knew it. This was only compounded by the fact that he was Aqualish, meaning he had a genetic predisposition to anger, frustration, and stubbornness. If I played this right, that would work to my advantage.

"Second round of betting," said Ayana. "Mr. Balbal, it's your honor."

Without a word, Gantu Balbal pushed his entire chip stack forward and leaned back in his chair confidently.

Ayana nodded. "Mr. Balbal is all-in. Mr. Griggs?"

"Junk," said Mat, tossing his cards on the discard pile.

"Junk," Tali agreed before Ayana even had a chance to ask her.

"Very well. Heads-up, gentlemen. Mr. Grant?"

I studied the Aqualish's face for several long seconds. He was up to something, but what? Did he actually have a winning hand? Or was he just trying to buy his way to a decent pot and get back in the game? As for me, I had a positive 20. Not awful by any standard, but still a risk, considering Balbal's big wager. Still, I hadn't seen his tell in quite some time, and I worried he was getting better at hiding it. How badly did I want to see his cards? After running the chip totals in my head, I figured that Balbal would still be in last place even if he won this hand, while I'd be tied with Mat comfortably for second place behind Tali. It might not have been the statistically smart play, but Sabacc is about more than just statistics. Sometimes, it takes real guts.

"Call. Show 'em."

I turned over my positive 20 with confidence, but Balbal showed a negative 22, winning him the pot. Still, I found what I needed. His total before drawing his final card was only negative 5, meaning he was flat-out gambling the entire hand. Moreover, I finally saw him twitch his whiskers, his tell from earlier. I may have lost the hand, but I had him right where I wanted him.

The very next deal gave me my golden opportunity. My opening hand consisted of two special cards. First, there was Endurance, with a value of negative 8. But best of all, I had one of only two Star cards in the deck, which the player could choose its value, either negative 17 or negative 10. This gave me the freedom to draw without much fear of bombing out. Now, I just had to make sure not to overplay my hand. After stating my opening value as negative 18, the table placed their bets. As I was first to bet, I just checked the option, then called the remaining bets, trying to stay under the radar. Then, Ayana dealt me my next card face-down: the 2 of staves. I tried my best to contain my excitement, but I knew my heart skipped a couple of beats. With my Star valued at negative 17, the positive 2 and negative 8 gave me a hand of exactly 23, also known as Pure Sabacc. Now, only an Idiot's Array could take me down. But more on that later.

I kept my face even as I eyed the other three players. Tali was out in a hurry, her eyes fixed on mine the whole time. She must have sensed my brief emotional spike and knew I had a great hand. Mat took two more cards, but I didn't figure he was a huge threat this hand; his opening hand had been a positive 4, meaning he either had two low-value cards or two high-value cards, one positive and one negative to cancel each other out. When Balbal's turn came, he took one card only. That was when I saw it. The little twitch of his whiskers. His opening hand had been a positive 7, meaning the best he could have with one card was a positive 22. I had him.

When the final round of betting came, I opened by checking, just like before. No need to give away my hand just yet. Mat checked as well, but then came a big wager from Balbal, over half his chips. This elicited an audible gasp from the onlookers and an interested grunt from Beelma. Everyone could tell this was shaping up to be a big hand. Back to me, and I decided it was time to see how serious the Aqualish was. I raised him enough to put him all-in if he called. After Mat wisely got out of the way, Balbal growled a bit before calling and flipping his cards over. Looks like my instincts had been dead on; he had drawn a 15 on the last card.

"Mr. Balbal shows positive 22," said Ayana. "Mr. Grant?"

I just smirked and tossed my cards to the center of the table for all to see.

"And Mr. Grant shows negative 23, Pure Sabacc," Ayana said. "I am so sorry, Mr. Balbal, but it seems you are out of the game."

I stood with a massive smile on my face, relishing the cheers from the audience at such a high-stakes hand. But there was no time to celebrate, not when I saw Gantu Balbal's anger beginning to boil over. After giving a guttural howl, he pushed Ayana to the floor, leapt the table, and charged me with a knife in his flipper-like hands. Good thing I had anticipated some sort of retaliation, and even better that Hutts had no problem with their guests defending themselves from other guests.

I quickly sidestepped, allowing the Aqualish to trip over my chair and land flat on his back. Before he had the chance to attack again, I drew my DL-18 blaster and fired off a single shot between his eyes, killing the bastard in an instant. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that Tali and Mat on their feet with blasters in hand, too. Mat had a standard DL-44, but I was impressed with Tali's choice of weapon: A K-16 Bryar pistol. After another smattering of applause, I holstered my blaster and stepped around the table to Ayana, still on the floor from Balbal's shove.

"You ok?" I asked, helping the Twi'lek to her feet.

"I think so, yes," Ayana replied, leaning against my chest for support. Damn, she smelled really nice.

"Do not fret for her," said Krah, arriving at her side. "Ayana is far more resilient than most would ever realize. Still, I think we should break for five minutes to allow her to compose herself."

"Thank you. If you'll please excuse me," Ayana agreed.

Needing some composure, myself, I made for the corner of the room and ordered a Corellian whiskey from the old Besalisk tending the bar. I stood at the bar in silence for a few moments, just trying to shake off the kill. Truth be told, I hate killing, in spite of how good at it I can be. It's bad for business, after all, but business sometimes necessitates it. Pretty soon, I noticed someone taking the spot next to me at the bar.

"I'll have what he's having," Tali told the bartender. As the bartender reopened the bottle of whiskey, she continued, "You're quite impressive, Kyp. Ace gambler and a sure shot all in one."

"Thanks," I replied. She was still giving me that smoldering look. Was it natural, or was she still trying to throw me off my game? Shit, she's something else. "You're pretty impressive, too," I said, trying to stay focused. "Not too many carry the Bryar pistol anymore."

Tali shrugged. "I know it's not the most powerful blaster out there, but it's hella accurate. Gets the job done for me."

"That's what matters," I chuckled.

By then, the bartender had returned with Tali's drink. "She likes you, you know."

That caught my attention. "Come again?"

"Ayana," Tali giggled. "She's completely smitten with you after that little display. Not that I can blame her."

I shot her a wry grin. "Now, such a simple statement has complicated everything. See, I don't know if you're saying this because of your empathic abilities, pure woman's intuition... or if you're lying to try and distract me."

A sexy smile spread across Tali's face. "Oh, Mr. Grant. If I wanted to distract you, I'd just mention that, as delicious as Ayana looks, she could never hope to compete with my skills."

With that, Tali turned and sauntered back towards the table, her curvy hips swaying with every step she took. After one last look and wink over her shoulder, she took her seat, ready for the next round. All of a sudden, my pants felt a lot more confining.

"She don't play fair, does she?" the bartender chuckled.

"You could say that," I replied, downing the last of my whiskey.

*****

With only three players left in the game, things started heating up in a big-time hurry. Each of us were now far more aggressive with our wagers, actively trying to force the others into bad decisions. I handled things well, for the most part, but Mat was not so lucky. All it took was two misplayed hands to put him well behind in chips. I had a substantial lead at that point, but my hand was junk, leaving just Mat and Tali.

"All in," Mat said quietly.

"Call," Tali immediately replied.

Mat flipped his cards over with a grin and proved he wasn't bluffing, showing a negative 22. But just as I was about to congratulate him, Tali revealed her hand, a positive 22, trumping his negative total.

"Shit," Mat muttered, a crestfallen look on his face. "Welp, looks like that's it for me. You two kids have fun," he continued, standing and grabbing his jacket.

"It's been fun, Mr. Griggs," Tali said with a grin.

"You play a hell of a game," I added.

"Thanks. Likewise," he said before moving to take a seat in the audience.

I turned to face Tali, figuring we'd start the next hand right away, but Beelma's protocol droid spoke up before we had the chance.

"The almighty Beelma extends his congratulations to our two finalists, Kyp Grant and Tali Haru. Both have played a splendid game of Sabacc thus far, and Beelma wishes to further show his appreciation for their skills with a grand feast for all his guests."

Within minutes, Beelma's throne room had transformed into a lavish dining room, complete with three long tables spanning the length of the room. I also noticed that three of the walls were actually shutters, which Beelma opened to show the gorgeous twin sunset that evening. And, of course, Tali and I sat on either side of Beelma as his guests of honor. Which was fine... I guess. Well, the smell was most definitely not fine! But I wanted jobs from him in the future, so it was time to schmooze.

"Your hospitality has been amazing. Thank you," I said. Flattery was the only way to please a Hutt, after all.

"And your home is so lovely," Tali agreed. Looks like she had the same strategy.

"Indeed," Beelma replied in Huttese, "but not as lovely as you, my dear."

"Oh, thank you," Tali replied. She blushed a bit, but it didn't look like she appreciated the Hutt's attentions.

"Sir, I'm curious about something," I said, trying to change the subject.

"And that is?" Beelma asked.

"How did you know Bordu was cheating earlier?"

"I was wondering that, too!" said Tali. "I suspected, but there was no way to prove it."

Beelma gave a hearty laugh. "It is quite simple: he was marking the cards with infrared markings, and I saw him do it."

"How's that? I thought Hutts could see ultraviolet light, not infrared?" I wondered.

"Sorry, but I don't give away my secrets."

I wasn't sure what to make of that, but Tali studied Beelma's face for several seconds longer. "You have a false eye, don't you?" she asked.

Beelma now appeared very surprised. "An astute observation, my girl. How did you figure this out?"

"I remember hearing a story about you losing your eye in a firefight between your men and a group of Rebels a few years back. It would only make sense for you to replace it with one that could see things your normal eye couldn't."

Another laugh from the Hutt. "Right you are! Indeed, my false eye can see infrared light. That stupid Rodian thought he'd be able to slip it past me, but that's what happens when one matches wits with a superior being."

"Impressive," I said. "Most impressive."

I kept trying to work Beelma, but at that point, his attention was focused completely on Tali. Tali, strangely enough, was starting to give him the cold shoulder, instead making constant eye contact with me. Eventually, the chef brought out the prime nerf steaks we had ordered, and Beelma left to move about the room and attend to his other guests.

"You're playing a dangerous game," I said to Tali. "Using your pheromones around a Hutt? That's liable to get you kidnapped."

"I'm a big girl," she shot back with a grin. "Tie my own boots and everything."

"Right," I chuckled.

"Hey, it's no more dangerous than Sabacc, right? I mean, hell, two players died in our little game today."

"Their own fault," I snorted. "Cheating in front of a Hutt? Charging me with a knife? Not gonna end well." Seeing as how she was using her charms to try and get me off my game, I figured all was fair in love and war. "So, what do you say to raising the stakes a bit for our final round?"