The Essential Guide to Droids (Page 50-51)
Commercial Service: Automated Sabacc Dealer
[edit]Learning sabacc is easy. The game is played with sixty cards in four suits—sabers, staves, flasks, and coins—and sixteen face cards. Each card has a positive or negative value. The first player to reach a point total of twenty‑three is the winner.
Mastering sabacc is a bit trickier. Knowing when to stand, when to fold, and when an opponent is bluffing are skills that can take a lifetime to master. The cards randomly shift values during play, requiring players to have quick reflexes and sharp minds. It is this beguiling combination of simplicity and intricacy that has made sabacc the most popular pastime in the galaxy and spawned a host of mechanical spin‑offs like LeisureMech Enterprises’ automated sabacc dealers.
While some casino owners still stick with organic dealers for that “personal touch,” droid dealers are cheaper to operate since they don’t earn an hourly wage. In addition, because most players don’t tip droids, more of their money is wagered—and lost—at the gaming tables. Finally, droids have high‑speed photoreceptors and sophisticated processors to keep track of every card that has been dealt and put into play, making them experts at spotting cheaters.
High‑class establishments such as Cloud City’s Test Casino use only the most decorous and genteel automated dealers; squalid dives such as Coruscant’s grossly misnamed Crystal Jewel employ something considerably rougher—LeisureMech’s RH7 CardShark.
The entire CardShark assembly is bolted to the ceiling, directly above the gaming table. The droid dealer, suspended in the center of the metallic saucer base, can raise and lower itself to a maximum extension of 1.5 meters. The dealer possesses specialized sensors, two skillful manipulator arms, and a “mouth” orifice where it can store sabacc decks.
When play begins, the dealer announces the house rules and the sabacc variant—Bespin Standard, Empress Teta Preferred, etc.—that will be played. The droid then shuffles the deck, passes out cards, and initiates the first round of betting. As play continues, the CardShark unit emits random electronic pulses that cause all cards not placed in the table’s interference field to fluctuate in value.
Six surveillance eyes keep a close watch on everyone’s hand. If a player is discovered with an illegal “skiffer” cheat card, he or she is forcibly ejected from the game with two heavy grasper arms. Force pikes, modulated to deliver moderate stun shocks, can extend to keep other patrons away from the cheater or to protect the dealer until bouncers can arrive.
Just like organic dealers, droids are occasionally ordered to cheat the customers to ensure a house victory. Owners who routinely engage in this practice play a risky game, since force pikes won’t stop a blaster bolt—and droid dealers are expensive to replace.
Info Boxes
[edit]Droid Extended (for dealing)
[edit]- Overhead Surveillance Eyes
- Sensor Arrays
- Card‑flux Pulse Emitter
- Card Storage "Mouth"
- Dealing Arms
Droid Retracted (for ejecting cheats)
[edit]- Permanent Ceiling Mount
- Ejection Claws
- Stun Pikes (extended)