How to win at Kessel Sabbacc in Star Wars Outlaws

Kessel Sabbacc is Star Wars' answer to poker, and if you (literally) play your hand right, it can mean some quick Credits for Kay in Star Wars Outlaws. However, only one player can take home the pot, and everyone else at the table is just as eager to win as Kay — and also has the double advantage of being an AI-controlled player who didn't just learn the rules two minutes ago.

As is so often the case in life, it might just take a bit of practice to make you the truly perfect Kessel Sabbacc player you know you want to be. The problem is that every Kessel Sabbacc table has a buy-in cost that is, at least at the start of the game, probably quite a high percentage of Kay's overall funds, so actually getting that practice in can be troublesome. To that end, here's a few tips and tricks to help you win at Kessel Sabbacc in Star Wars Outlaws.

How to win at Kessel Sabbacc in Star Wars Outlaws

Understand the rules

I know this sounds really basic, but honestly, really understanding what your goal is in Kessel Sabbacc is incredibly helpful.

Your aim is to have the best pair of cards in your hand by the end of the round: simple enough. The hand types are as follows:

• Regular hand: Composed of two cards numbered 1-6, which aren't the same number. Can still be a winning hand if no-one around the table has anything better, in which case the hand with the lowest value when subtracting the smaller number from the larger one wins.
• Sabbacc hand: Composed of two cards with the same number between 1-6. In the event that two or more players have Sabbacc hands, the lowest-numbered pair wins.
• Sylop hand: A Sylop is a special card type that takes on the same number as the other card in your hand, automatically creating a Sabbacc. A hand with two Sylops cards is the best in the game and can't be beaten.

There are other complications — like Impostor cards, which allow you to roll a dice to determine their number value — but these are the basic rules to keep in mind.

Therefore, when dealt your initial hand, if you don't luck into an instant Sabbacc then it's worth discarding your higher-numbered card in order to try to form a Sabbacc hand with the lower-numbered card.

Of course, that in itself doesn't guarantee a win, which is why you need to keep other tactics in mind…

Use your Shift Tokens

Even at the very start of the game when you only have access to the most basic Shift Tokens, it's still well worth using any that you have. You can use three Shift Tokens over the course of every game, but each token can only be used once per game, so deploying them strategically is crucial.

To start with you'll only have the Free Draw token by default, which simply allows you to bypass the drawing fee for a turn. Still, it's better than nothing, and does mean you can continue to build your hand for an extra turn.

Shift Tokens with stronger effects can be collected throughout the game. Some can be bought and others can be looted while exploring Syndicate Vaults, but most can also be unlocked by winning at certain Kessel Sabbacc tables that grant them as extra prizes upon your first success.

Once acquired, every item in Kay's collection of Shift Tokens belongs to her forever, and any token that she owns will be accepted as allowing her a legal move at any table in the game. Yeah, Kessel Sabbacc is a bit weird.

Let Nix help you (to cheat)

Much like when pickpocketing, Nix can be instructed to help you. At Kay's "subtle" command, Nix will dart around the table to spy on an opponent of your choice, using a skill check that's very similar to the one used for pickpocketing.

Success results in Nix communicating your opponent's hand to you, which makes for useful intel in a game with a limited deck. However, failure raises your opponents' suspicion — getting caught once is usually alright, but multiple failed attempts to cheat can end up with you thrown out and barred from that table for an amount of time.

Interested in some other scoundrelly ways to pick up Credits in Star Wars Outlaws? Be sure to check out our page explaining how to complete slicing puzzles, and see our guide on whether you should to sell Gorak's Ring.