A day hasn’t passed this year where I haven’t thought about Balatro. It has me stricken like a sickly Victorian child, sitting up in my bed at night, going over that last run in my head, trying to tell myself there was no way I could have salvaged it. It’s a disease, I’m sure of it. A wonderful, addictive, maddening disease that still has me in its grip. In fact, I can’t wait to stop typing this so I can go back and try to carve out that perfect run.
Now, not everyone’s idea of a great Balatro run is the same. Some people might be content with beating the regular set of antes, not opting for an endless run – cowards, in other words – and some may want to make the best of a bad situation, grinding out mults and chips wherever they can. A purist, though, like me (probably) won’t even begin a run in the card game unless the right conditions are met.
This sparked a conversation with my colleagues. I was surprised to hear about the types of jokers they aim for during a run, with some favoring ones that I wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole. What do you mean you make room for Spare Trousers? You monster, get out of here with that Two Pair nonsense.
I canvassed, I questioned, and I tried to hold myself back on more than one occasion, all in the name of knowing my coworkers better. In some cases, I wish I hadn’t, but at least we got a fun list out of it, I think. Here are PCGN’s picks for Balatro’s best jokers, including the actual right answer (mine).
PK – Wee Joker
There isn’t anything I’m happier to see at the start of a run than Wee Joker. It’s hands-down the best chip joker you can get, and if you’re running even a few 2’s in your deck, you can get this beast to around 1k chips towards the business end of your journey. If you’re running a randomized deck and get a few extra 2’s in there, then you’re really in business – there isn’t anything more satisfying than playing a five-of-a-kind and watching them throw chips onto the pile one by one. Plus he’s just a ‘lil guy, you know?
Inspired pick. 10/10
Christian – Driver’s License
The sheer power of Driver’s License is practically unrivaled when active, making it an instant pick no matter where you are on a run. When discovered early on, it gives you a goal to work towards as you strengthen your deck with enhanced cards. Once this joker is active, it’s a bit like bringing a gun to a knife fight. You barely need a strategy as the dramatic increase in mult ensures that every hand you play should rack up silly numbers. Combine this with a winning strategy and you’ve got yourself a set of jokers that just won’t quit.
Often taking way too long to get going, the Driver’s Licence can be dead weight for a long time if you pick it up early. Sorry, Christian, but this is a 6/10 for me.
Ken – Spare Trousers
Spare Trousers is one of Balatro’s most potent jokers and comes with very few drawbacks. Scaling mult is the heartbeat of any winning strategy and Spare Trousers lets you rack it up two at a time just for playing a very attainable Two Pair. Crucially, it only needs to contain that combination – so if you decide to push into Full Houses or even start playing Flushes that contain Two Pairs, it keeps working, giving you immunity to nasty boss blind troublemakers like The Arm and The Ox. Always keep a spare pair.
Two Pair is just so boring that I can’t ever bring myself to craft a deck around it. Give me glory, give me Flush Fives! 7/10 because Ken’s one of the good ones.
Will – Hologram
Hologram is one of the most diverse jokers in Balatro, and it’s for a simple reason. It gains a whopping x0.25 per playing card added to your deck, so not only can you easily get extra mult but you’re also incentivized to build your deck around even more specific combinations. As soon as you can start buying playing cards in the shop for dirt cheap, Hologram’s usefulness skyrockets, and it turns a solid joker into a required one.
Can be an excellent addition, but you’ve got to be really careful about what you add to your deck. Additions often mean diluting the effectiveness of your strategy; it doesn’t matter how many times you multiply an already sad mult number. 5/10 because we enjoy consistency around here.
Danielle – Supernova
There are plenty of jokers I just can’t resist picking up when they appear in the shop, but my absolute favorite is probably Supernova. Given that you should be building your deck around a specific hand or two, Supernova’s ever-increasing power of adding the number of times a poker hand has been played to its multiplier is undeniably great. Team this with, say, a flush build and Smeared Joker, and that multiplier is just going to surge.
Supernova was my go-to when running a Flush deck. It gives you a very healthy base mult to work with but is reliant on other jokers if you want to take it far. I’d usually bin this joker off at the business end of my run but was always happy to see it early. 7/10
It’s a real testament to Balatro that we have five people here who all play the roguelike game in different ways, and have all found success in one way or another. What’s good for the goose is not good for the gander, and all that. It was fun to examine the psyche of my colleagues a little, see what makes them tick, and ultimately be happy in the knowledge that I’m the best, and any decision I make is the right one.