Guide: Activation Sequence

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Activation sequence is a core mechanic of Balatro and its understanding can be crucial to strategy building and optimization.

Hand Sequence

When a hand is played, effects will activate in the following orders. (Some Jokers may have different parts trigger at different stages: for example, Wee Joker gain chips 'on scored' and adds chips to total 'independently').

  1. Boss blind effects: Boss blinds such as The Flint or The Arm will activate.
  2. 'On played' Jokers: Jokers that activate when a hand is played, and before any scoring happens. Examples include Green Joker's scaling, DNA, and To Do List.
  3. Played cards scoring: Cards played and scored activate from left to right. For each card, its effects activate in the following order:
    1. Base effect (Chips): The card activates its base effect, giving the accorded amount of Chips. Bonus chips are included in this value.
    2. Card Modifiers: Card modifiers activate in the following order: enhancements, then seals (currently only Gold Seal), then editions.
    3. 'On scored' Jokers: Jokers that activate on a played and scored card will activate their effects. When multiple Jokers are triggered by the same card, they activate from left to right. Examples include Wee Joker's scaling, Smiley Face, and Triboulet.
    4. Retriggers: Each retrigger repeats the previous activation sequence (from base effects to scored card dependent Jokers) one more time. Multiple retriggers stack additively. Red Seal would go first, followed by retriggering Jokers from left to right.
  4. Held in hand abilities: Cards in hand are checked from left to right if they can activate in-hand abilities. The sequence for each card is similar to scored cards.
    1. Enhancement ( Steel Cards): Currently Steel is the only card modifier to activate in-hand for each hand.
    2. 'On held' Jokers: Jokers that activate on cards still held in hand will activate their effects. When multiple Jokers are triggered by a single card, they activate from left to right. Examples include Raised Fist, Shoot the Moon, and Baron.
    3. Retriggers: Same as those of scored cards, retriggers of cards in hand stack additively. Red Seal will activate first, then Mime and any other Joker copying its effect from left to right.
  5. Joker Editions and 'Independent' Jokers: Jokers are checked from left to right to score any Edition ( Foil, Holographic and Polychrome) and activate Independent abilities:
    1. Foil or holographic bonus.
    2. 'Independent' Jokers: Jokers that trigger after all the playing cards are scored will activate their base ability. These do not get affected by retriggers. Examples include Fortune Teller, The Duo, and Blackboard.
    3. Jokers dependent on other Jokers (currently, only Baseball Card).
    4. Polychrome bonus.
  6. Consumables: When the Observatory Voucher has been purchased, planet cards give X1.5 Mult, activating from left to right.
  7. Plasma Deck balance: Lastly, if using the Plasma Deck, Chips and Mult are balanced.

See Activation Type for a full list of when different Jokers activate.

Strategic Card Arrangement

Additive Mult - Multiplicative Mult Order

Almost all card arrangement problems stem from the order of additive Mult and multiplicative Mult. According to the law of distribution, the +Mult activating before the xMult gives a higher score. For example, a hand normally scoring 40 x 4 is played and a +4 Mult Joker and a X2 Mult Ramen is present. If the Joker is on the left of Ramen, the hand will score 40 x ((4+4)x2) = 640 chips whereas the reversed placement will only score 40 x ((4x2)+4) = 480 chips. This concept applies to the order of cards played and in hand as well as Jokers. For a higher score, the player may arrange in the following ways:

  1. Put Jokers with additive Mult to the left of multiplicative Mult of the same Activation Type type. E.g. Joker left of Ramen, Lusty Joker left of Bloodstone, Raised Fist left of Baron.
  2. For cards about to be played, put those that give +Mult (e.g. Mult Cards, cards with  Diamond suit with Greedy Joker) left of those that give xMult (e.g. Glass Cards, Polychrome Cards, cards selected by The Idol).
  3. For cards about to be kept in hand, put +Mult on the left of xMult. E.g. Queens with Shoot the Moon left of Steel Cards.

In case the player wanted a lower score for purposes like scaling Jokers, they may put +Mult to the right of xMult.

Other Arrangements

Some cards with special abilities can give different outcomes when arranged differently.

  1. Putting Midas Mask to the left of Vampire ensures the bigger boost to Vampire. The reversed placement provides less Vampire scaling but leaves Gold Cards in the deck.
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