Balatro: 10 Best Common Jokers Ranked

Balatro: 10 Best Common Jokers Ranked

As a seasoned card shark with years of experience in the poker world and beyond, I must say that these Balatro jokers are a breath of fresh air for any roguelike enthusiast.


Balatro, a deck-building game centered around poker, has captured the affection of roguelike enthusiasts with its straightforward idea, delightful visual aesthetics, and extensive array of joker cards.

In essence, the game primarily consists of repeated sessions of poker, where the threshold for winning points gradually rises in each round, culminating in a challenging final round. Your objective is to construct the most powerful hand possible with minimal opportunities to discard cards and gather jokers to boost your odds of victory.

Building a deck of cards and incorporating Joker cards subtly could have a progressively significant impact on your total points.

In a straightforward manner, the unpredictable aspect of both poker and roguelikes significantly increases the challenge of winning, reflecting their fundamental design. This article delves into the top 10 most frequently used wild cards in games, offering guidance on which ones to focus on for a successful outcome.

More often, typical jesters appear earlier and are simpler to schedule, while some may eventually become less relevant, a significant number of them can significantly impact the unusual and infrequent jokers.

10 Credit Card

Shopping Strengths

Balatro: 10 Best Common Jokers Ranked

Balatro Joker Collection Credit Card Joker.
DescriptionGo up to 20 dollars in debt
Effect TypeMoney

With the Credit Card Joker, you can temporarily borrow up to $20 for a purchase, thereby significantly enhancing your deck’s capabilities instantly.

One way to rephrase the given text is as follows: By employing this debt, you can acquire various Planet cards, which enhance the rewards of your played hands; Tarot cards, allowing you to swap out cards within your deck; and Vouchers that modify the rules for each round of blinds.

You could utilize your credit card to purchase a maximum number of joker cards at the beginning, enabling you to acquire large advantageous cards during the initial stages of the game when progress is slowest. This strategy enhances consistency in the early rounds, but it may limit the rate at which you accumulate money quickly.

As a gamer, when I’ve reached my credit limit, it often makes sense for me to sell off some unused cards to clear the debt. This way, I can unlock new features or purchase in-game items with that freshly earned cash, helping me chip away at my small $20 debt.

When you buy a credit card, it doesn’t erase your existing debt; instead, you’ll have to repay everything owed before you can make any new purchases with it in the future.

9 Misprint

The Power of Chance

Balatro: 10 Best Common Jokers Ranked
Balatro Joker Collection Misprint Joker.
DescriptionRandomly adds +0 to +23 Mult to the score
Effect TypeMultiplier

The Joker card known as the “Misprint Joker” is peculiar due to its unpredictable nature, swinging from powerful to lackluster in each round it’s played. It can yield an enormous multiplier or a meager one, and it consistently shifts the description on its artwork.

This unpredictable character poses a challenge when trusting him, yet he’s invaluable as a wildcard in your collection. He might provide the crucial advantage for winning an entire game, and on occasion, he can turn the whole hand into a breeze.

This wild card is most effective when several similar cards are cooperating together, and its impact is more about catching a fortunate opportunity rather than deciding the outcome decisively.

Instead of relying on something that can become a dependence too easily, it’s crucial to let go of it swiftly, lest it ultimately bring about your downfall. Consistency becomes your key advantage in a game like Balatro.

8 Even Steven & Odd Todd

A Dynamic Duo

Balatro: 10 Best Common Jokers Ranked
A side by side of Even Steven and Odd Todd from Balatro.
DescriptionAdds +4 Mult to all even card values
Adds +31 Chips to all odd card values
Effect TypeAdditive Mult
Chips

The jesters Even Steven and Odd Todd are designed to work in opposite ways, with Even Steven influencing even cards and Odd Todd affecting odd ones. Here’s how they function: Even Steven boosts the value of each even card by a factor of 4, while Odd Todd rewards you with 31 chips for every odd card that comes up.

Every joker significantly boosts the worth of approximately 45% of your initial card pool (excluding face cards). Therefore, the collective influence of these jokers almost spans your whole deck, making it quite attainable due to their common nature.

As a passionate player, I find that these jokers truly come alive during Straight plays, amplifying the power of every card they’re involved with significantly. This strategic combination proves particularly effective in the early stages of the game and serves as a reliable foundation as I build my collection of jokers.

7 Scholar

Knowledge is Power

Balatro: 10 Best Common Jokers Ranked
Balatro Joker Collection Scholar Joker.
DescriptionAdds +20 Chips and +4 Mult for each played Ace
Effect TypeChips and Mult

In simpler terms, the Scholar Joker enhances an Ace card by adding 20 points and a 4x multiplier each time one is played. This powerful joker can easily eliminate entire early rounds when paired with aces, and its effectiveness improves significantly as more planet cards are added, making it increasingly valuable as the game progresses.

A significant boost in chip count and multiplier at game’s end, especially when an ace is involved, often propels Royal Straights to valuable regions due to their naturally high worth.

This trickster can transform mediocre or exceptional hands into winning ones, and works seamlessly with various unusual and scarce jokers.

6 Riff-Raff

Master of Opportunity

Balatro: 10 Best Common Jokers Ranked
Balatro Joker Collection Riff-Raff Joker.
DescriptionCreates two random Common Jokers at each Blind
Effect TypeJokers

When you opt for the Riff-Raff jester, it generates two standard jokers each time you draw blindly. However, ensure there’s space available for them to be produced. Acquiring this joker as soon as possible is an effective strategy, allowing you to populate your joker roster while conserving money early on.

If Riff-Raff manufactures jokers that don’t appeal to you, you can easily sell them, thereby enhancing your funds for future modifications. This particular joker proves particularly beneficial when dealing with jokers that aim to weaken your joker foundation, as they ultimately boost power.

Over time, you’ll add the jokers necessary to your team, and it’s best if these jokers grow obsolete soon. However, they give a significant boost to the initial phase of the game.

5 Half Joker

Less is More

Balatro: 10 Best Common Jokers Ranked
Balatro Joker Collection Half Joker.
DescriptionAdds +20 Mult to a hand with 3 or fewer cards
Effect TypeAdditive Multiplier

In simpler terms, the Half Joker boosts your hand’s value by 20 when it contains three cards or less. Additionally, when combined with planet cards that enhance the base values for High Card, Pair, and Three of a Kind, this card becomes an absolute powerhouse in any game phase.

This wildcard character needs some initial setup and attention on playing weaker card values, yet the 20x multiplier for each hand is hard to overlook. Having a Half Joker makes it easier to play weaker hands in tricky situations and helps conserve stronger cards for higher value plays.

This joker is versatile as a safety net and as a main strategy for your whole run.

4 Splash

Power Comes from Within

Balatro: 10 Best Common Jokers Ranked
Balatro Joker Collection Splash Joker.
DescriptionAdds all played cards to the score
Effect TypeChips and Multiplier

Splash is an easy-to-use card game character who assigns a score to every played card without considering if it contributes to a specific hand. Instead of getting rid of inconvenient cards in your hand, they contribute to the total score and you can save your discards for crucial moments when they’ll have the most impact.

Using Splash could help lower the number of wasteful discards you make each round, resulting in a higher monetary reward at the end due to conserved resources.

Having played countless card games over the years, I can confidently say that this particular card is a game-changer in the late stages. It’s not often you come across a card that scales so effectively into the endgame. Selling it might seem tempting at first, but if you don’t find a perfect fit for your deck strategy, it’s tough to justify letting it go. In fact, I’ve found myself regretting selling similar cards in the past, which is why I always make sure to snatch this one up when I see it in the shop. It’s truly a must-have for any serious player looking to dominate the late game.

3 Raised Fist

One Man’s Trash…

Balatro: 10 Best Common Jokers Ranked
Balatro Joker Collection Raised Fist Joker.
DescriptionAdds twice the value of your lowest held card to the Mult
Effect TypeAdditive Mult

In simpler terms, when the Joker with an elevated fist appears, it doubles the smallest card you’re holding, multiplying its effect. This encourages careful decision-making about which cards to use, as keeping high-value cards unused could potentially be advantageous.

As a player, I find immense relief when I have the Splash Joker in my deck, as it allows me to confidently hold onto higher cards, knowing they can be multiplied later. The Raised Fist, on the other hand, is an essential tool for me during those early stages of the game, helping me stay in the fight and gradually build a strong hand. It serves as a reliable safety net, ensuring I can score big when the time is right.

By discarding low-value cards from your deck using tarot cards, you increase the probability of drawing a card with a high multiplier, thus providing you with greater control over the results.

2 Smiley Face

Happy Accidents

Balatro: 10 Best Common Jokers Ranked
Balatro Joker Collection Smiley Face Joker.
DescriptionAdds +5 Mult for each played Face card
Effect TypeAdditive Mult

The Smiley Face Joker increases the value of each played face card by five times. Typically, players choose to hang on to the cards with the highest values. This tactic helps maximize earnings from gradually revealing your cards while also going through your discards quickly.

Using the Smiley Face card while playing Royal Straights increases its value by a factor of 20, significantly boosting an already strong hand’s score. When combined with jokers such as the Half Joker, it allows for impressive scoring feats that can quickly advance your position in the early stages of the game.

When tasks become harder, having face cards (or useful tools) at hand is always beneficial, as it amplifies their multiplying effect even more.

1 Supernova

The Power of Patience

Balatro: 10 Best Common Jokers Ranked
Balatro Joker Collection Supernova Joker.
DescriptionAdds Mult equal to each time a type of hand is played
Effect TypeAdditive Mult

In simpler terms, the Joker card in this Supernova game accumulates points each time you play a similar hand. This makes the Joker valuable since its worth increases as you continue to play the game, particularly when you focus on repeating the same hand type.

Supernova stands out as an exceptional joker due to its rapid, unmatched organic expansion, unlike most common jokers which may drain your resources. This versatile joker complements any other joker in your deck, enhancing the effectiveness of every hand you play.

A supernova card, regardless of when you purchase it, is an excellent addition to your collection and can have the power equivalent to both Uncommon and Rare joker cards in the later stages of play.

This concludes the list of strongest common jokers in Balatro. The nature of poker and roguelikes alike require a level of luck-based strategy and perseverance to achieve victory.

Often, meticulously prepared game strategies might be interrupted by unfavorable cards or unexpected wildcards. Maintaining composure and mastering the art of creating consistency within your own deck composition, similar to any skilled deck builder, is crucial.

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2024-10-09 14:09