The Guide to Balatro Tips, Tricks and Strategies

Do You Actually Need Balatro Tips?

Balatro isn’t a regular card game but a real phenomenon of the 2024 indie game roster. This game combines the thrill of poker with roguelike elements. It requires a quick reflex and strategy from a player. Flexible strategies, experiments, and planning – such an approach can help even Balatro beginners to become champions. That is why we’ve prepared the guide with Balatro tips both for beginners and expert players. Make sure to read up to the end – you may learn something new even if you are already plunged fully into Balatro’s madhouse!

Explaining the Balatro Rules

One of the main Balatro tips for the first-timers is to learn the rules and major combinations! Balatro is a hybrid of poker and solitaire rogue-lite card game. It’s easy to learn but tricky to master. You need to get higher and higher scores during each round (blind).

You gather your hands by earning and buying new cards. These hands are like the regular hands you’ve seen in poker games online. It means flushes and straights win more often than just pairs. Every blind will become more challenging. Also, there are the boss blinds with crazy conditions to test your nerves, skills, and reactions.

There are a few hands and discards during each blind when players start the game. You need to decide to open a full hand at once or put aside the cards for later. When the players advance through the “Antes” after every boss blind, the score will increase — you have to make the best possible hands. Win all eight antes to get new cards and decks during the campaign and get access to the Endless Mode. This is where you can hunt for rare rewards to keep on progressing.

After each blind, the player gets money to purchase powerful Jokers, Planet cards to improve the value of your hand, and Tarot cards to build your deck. Also, you get the vouchers for long-term benefits such as additional hands and discards.

The “Run Info” button in the main menu gives you hand’s scores for the initial planning of moves and for building stable systems.  

Balatro Beginner Tips

Before you hop into the game, you should remember these Balatro game tips for novice players: 

1) UI Tips and Tricks  

• If you have trouble distinguishing flushes or color differences, check High Contrast Cards on the settings;
• Go to the Screen Shake and CRT Bloom option in the Settings menu. Cutting them out gives a nicer picture;
• Do you want to reshuffle your hand? Reshuffle the cards by right-clicking on PC;
• Are you not enjoying your run? Press the “R” key to reload the main menu instead of starting from scratch;
• Boost the speed of animations to 2X or 4X when you’re comfortable with the game;
• Log in to the profile menu and unlock all the cards & decks at once. But you won’t get the achievements;

2) Mechanics and Strategy  

• Jokers and Consumables show up in the shop only once per run. One doesn’t come back if you’ve got one already, so be prepared for this scenario;
• Keep Consumables for emergencies. They can turn a bust into a flush when you’re in a jam;
• Gather Tarot Cards with unique modifiers and boosts;
• Vouchers also give certain bonuses when you buy cards at the store. Buying the left Voucher in a pair will open up the higher Voucher on the right;
• Interest is paid for each successful blind. Get one chip for every five up to a maximum of 5. Gaining your fund with interest increases your budget for more powerful runs;

3) Hands and Jokers  

• Jokers have special bonuses for playing a certain hand. A Joker that boosts pairs, for example, will kick in whenever a pair is on your hand, even if it’s a flush;
• You can move your Jokers anywhere. This can improve the odds for combinations, especially when you have multiplier Jokers;
• Some Jokers, such as Popcorn and Misprint, offer multipliers. Popcorn adds a 20% boost, Misprint gives a random increase, Order doubles these bonuses;

4) Deck Management  

Balatro never shuffles decks. Out, out, and out once again — play your cards smartly during every run.

We recommend that beginners test different combinations of cards without holding too much. Risk and test your theories – do not be afraid to lose. Most probably you will lose during your early rounds — it is an important part of gameplay. Take calculated risks.

Also, remember the importance of money management. Save money for the upgrades and powerful Joker cards when you really need them – for example, before the boss fights.

Knowing the card combinations and landing Jokers early can maximize your deck’s power and flexibility. 

If you need more Balatro tips for beginners, then we recommend you checking the following video – there are a lot of useful data for first-timers. 

The Best Balatro Strategy Tips for the First Run

Multiplier Jokers

Try to get Jokers that multiply the “Mult” amount for the extremely high score. The multiplier of Jokers, such as x2 Mult, can dramatically increase your hand potential when paired with high Chip values. These Jokers can be great for the 5th and 6th ante to meet the increasing scores. Look for the cards or Jokers that create this multiplier to get exponential points.

Buy Planet Cards In Advance, Buy Planet Cards Regularly

Planet cards increase the Chip and Mult of certain poker hands. Buy them first and build a strong scoreboard – especially in the card combinations with Jokers. It’s also useful to have Planet cards for supplementary hands if you are unable to draw any big-value hands.

All Flushes – Choose Smeared Joker or Checkered Deck

The All Flushes mode works best if you have the Checkered deck or Smeared Joker (with suit Jokers). Reduce your deck to one color and add Jokers such as Arrowhead or Wrathful for suit boosts. This game doesn’t have any high card diversity, so it’s straightforward and powerful when played well.

Pair, Three of a Kind, Four of a Kind – Play with Jolly, Zany, Sly and Willy Jokers

Focus on Jokers that offer more Chips and Mult for pairs or three-of-a-kinds. Also, they can give you full houses and four-of-a-kinds. Fix Jokers such as Jolly or Sly to score in a single click on different hand types.

Pareidolia, All Face Cards – The Best with Scary Face, Smiley Face, Business Card, Sock and Buskin

The Pareidolia Joker transforms all the cards into a face card. You can put face-oriented Jokers on your hand. The Jokers, such as Scary Face (+30 Chips per face card) or Smiley Face (+4 Mult per face card) are perfect for this strategy. Combine these cards with Sock and Buskin for double-face card activations to increase your scoring potential drastically.

Cut to Straight – Excellent with Cut, Four Fingers, and Runner

The Shortcut Joker makes building Straights super easy and allows one skipped rank, making it a high-priority play. You can play Shortcut with Four Fingers (4 card Straights and Flushes) to build up high-scoring hands very quickly. Planet upgrades are a quick way to boost your straight value and make this a solid, scalable option for higher antes.

Ceremonial Dagger and Big Banks – Green Deck and Egg Work Best Together

Ceremonial Dagger is an average card, but it has the Mult value multiplied by the resale value of the Joker (if placed on its right). Pairing it with the Egg Joker (increases in value each turn) gives the Dagger’s Mult a huge boost. Buy up cheap Jokers, or let the Egg get a bump. And you will score big with such an approach.

More Balatro tips, tricks and strategies are shared by Steam Community users – people LOVE this game and a lot of guides are available.

Balatro Tips and Tricks for Boosters

• Standard Boosters. Put extra playing cards in your hand to boost your chances for certain hands. Some give you extra Chips, Mult or special effects;
• Steel Cards. They increase Mult 1.5x if you have them – they are perfect for multiplying your score.
• Tarot Cards. Gather various effects such as a Suit match, Chips/Mult, or Wild suits. The Chariot Tarot is especially effective because the cards get the Steel status;
• Spectral Boosters. They will give powerful bonuses such as destroying non-valuable cards and expanding your hand with more powerful alternatives such as uncommon Jokers;
• Planet Cards. Consistently raise Chip and Mult to get consistent scores with a well-matched Joker deck;

Balatro Pro Tips for Deck Building

Flush Builds

Flushes are among the simplest card combinations to make in Balatro. With four suits, any card dealt can complete a flush, particularly early in the round when the deck is full. If you’re trying to make it count as much as possible, double-click your deck at the bottom right to see the distribution of suits. Flush hands are usually more playable than straights because they aren’t dependent on any particular rank.

Jokers make flushes even smoother. Four Fingered Joker flushes with only 4 cards, so you can eliminate discards faster. Upgrade your deck with Tarot draws, which are also strong flush builds. Tarot cards transform all the suits into Wilds, or individual suits work best as they almost always guarantee flushes. Don’t waste a great hand in pursuit of an even better one. Sometimes, a simple flush is all you need.

Joker Builds

Joker builds are the most versatile builds because you can beat difficult bosses. Are you scared of flush or suit penalties? With Joker-based hands, you just don’t care. Jokers can get a shot on no matter what the hand is made up of.

We advise you to choose such Jokers: 

• Stuntman (+300 Chips, -2 Hand Size);
• Half Joker (+20 Mult with 3 or fewer cards);
• Ramen (x2 Mult,  0.01 Mult lost per discard);
• Blackboard (x3 Mult if all the cards are Spades or Clubs);
• Card Sharp (x3 Mult if you reuse);

Because the game has 150 Jokers, you won’t get all of them during the first playthrough.

Important Balatro tip – do not forget to install the updates and experiment with new decks even if your current deck-building skill brings success. Just like with Hearthstone patch notes, you may be surprised to know that the new cards can get even more advanced strategies. 

Tips for Balatro Expert Players

So, you’ve beaten your first blinds or even gone through the whole game more than once. Still, you have something new to learn. We present you a few useful Balatro advanced tips: 

• Get all 10 Blank Vouchers to receive an awesome Antimatter Voucher. It gives you an additional Joker slot;
• Some Jokers are simple and others, such as Bloodstone, come with certain conditions but with higher potentials as well. Pick the Joker cards to boost the deck’s defense;
• Know when to “Hold” and “Fold”. The Balatro’s shop won’t offer the duplicates of the cards you hold. Make sure to hold the low-level cards to improve the chance of rare hits. As cards come your way, you can exchange or trade the cards in your deck for a better one;
• Multiplier Jokers are best played in order. Put Jokers first; add the valuable Jokers and multipliers to make your hand more powerful;
• Use bad cards, too. When better hands aren’t available, use bad cards to flush them out faster. Do not keep the weak cards too long, though;
• Save money to earn the interest. Stockpiling makes it difficult to access good Vouchers and upgrade points;
• Try new decks as Erratic or Plasma for different combos and tactics;

Expert players should also check the advanced Balatro tips on Reddit, where the game’s real fans, a.k.a. “maniacs”, share insane strategies and tricks to beat the game faster and more creatively. 

Frequently Asked Questions

How to get more money in Balatro?

To get more money, make sure to earn the interest. Quickly build up $ 25 and earn $ 5 each time around for the ongoing income. Play Jokers first for greater scores and chances and more payouts. Don’t play hands to earn bonus cash, and avoid early blinds if you have the money to spend on Tags.

How do you win a run in Balatro?

Take at least two Jokers before the second boss to score extra points. Make sure you stack your Jokers in a way that is smart and flexible to change your strategy as cards are dealt. Multipliers should be a top priority in the middle of the game. Also, keep your money above $25 for interest profits.

Is Balatro hard to learn?

Well, it depends on the player’s roguelike and deck-building card games. Also, the game has eight difficulty settings to beat the campaign. Start from the first one if you are a newcomer and slowly climb the difficulty ladder like in Mortal Kombat.

How do you get super high scores in Balatro?

You can get high scores faster if you learn by heart the poker hands. Play the greatest poker combinations, such as flushes. Buy Jokers as early as possible. Focus on multipliers such as x2 by mid-game to maximize exponential scoring. Build the most powerful hands for each blind, keep $ 25+ to earn interest, and go to the shops frequently to buy new Jokers and upgrades for increased scores. 

Conclusion

Wow, Balatro tips are really something just like the game itself. We can’t recommend much this indie bestseller – just try to play it and you may call it the best game of the year. Surely, it is totally subjective opinion but we are sure that some of our readers will definitely like playing Balatro just like a good poker game.