Star Wars: Rebels - 12 Easter Eggs, In-Jokes And References You Need To See
7. A Game Of Sabacc
In the ninth episode, Idiot’s Array, we see Zeb playing a card game known as sabacc with a stranger, who turns out to be Lando Calrissian (with Billy Dee Williams reprising his role from the original trilogy).
Running out of credits, Zeb bets Chopper instead…and loses. However, Lando hires the Rebels crew to work for him on a cargo mission, in exchange for them getting the droid back.
The game of sabacc is won by collecting a hand that totals 23 (which Zeb has), and can only be beaten by a rare hand featuring a 0, a 2, and a 3, otherwise known as an Idiot’s Array, which is what Lando gets.
The game did appear in the script for The Empire Strikes Back, however mentions of it were ultimately cut from the film. It did later appear in a series of Lando novels (now non-canon), and the designs of the cards in the show come from a roleplaying game based on Cloud City.