Card Ranks

Chart showing what Jokers affect each card rank. It excludes Jokers that change card ranks over time or that affect all of them, such as Pareidolia. Note that the face cards have many more Jokers affecting them than the number cards and aces.

Card ranks are the thirteen values that can be found on a playing card in Balatro. These values are Ace, the number cards 2 to 10, and the three face cards: Jacks, Queens and Kings. Each card also has a suit.

Aces

In most games with playing cards, an Ace can be treated 'low' or 'high'. If treated low, it usually represents a 1. If treated high, it usually represents a card better than a face card. For example, in Blackjack, an Ace can be valued at 1 or 11, at the player's choice.

In Balatro, the Ace can be considered as 'low' or 'high' in a Straight, but it always scores as 'high' to provide 11 Chips.

Synergies

  • Scholar gives +20 Chips and +4 Mult for every scored Ace.
  • Superposition creates a Tarot Card if the played hand contains an Ace and a Straight.
  • Odd Todd gives +31 Chips for every scored Ace.
  • Fibonacci gives +8 Mult for every scored Ace.

Consumables

  • Grim destroys 1 random card in the hand and adds 2 random Enhanced Aces to the hand.

Face cards

"Face cards" is a grouping term for Jacks, Queens and Kings. Usually in most games, a King is better than a Queen, a Queen is better than a Jack, and all are better than number cards. It is possible to have number cards count as face cards if you have Pareidolia.

In Balatro, all face cards provide 10 Chips each when scored.

From Update 1.0.1g, it is possible to customize the artwork of face cards with Friends of Jimbo from other games.

Synergies

  • Scary Face gives +30 Chips for every scored face card.
  • Smiley Face gives +5 Mult for every scored face card.
  • Business Card has a 1 in 2 chance to give $2 for every scored face card.
  • Faceless Joker gives $5 for discarding 3 face cards at the same time.
  • Sock and Buskin retriggers all scored face cards.
  • Midas Mask turns all scored face cards into Gold Cards.
  • Reserved Parking has a 1 in 2 chance to give $1 for every face card held in hand.
  • Photograph gives X2 Mult for the first scored face card.
  • Canio gains X1 Mult for each destroyed face card.
  • Hit the Road gains X0.5 Mult for every Jack discarded this round.
  • Shoot the Moon gives +13 Mult for every Queen held in hand.
  • Baron gives X1.5 Mult for every King held in hand.
  • Triboulet gives X2 Mult for every scored King and Queen.
  • Pareidolia makes every card count as a face card.

Consumables

  • Familiar destroys 1 random card in the hand and adds 3 random Enhanced face cards to the hand.

Anti-Synergies

Jokers

  • Ride the Bus resets if face cards are scored.

Number cards

Number cards usually carry the value of their number, unless modified by tarot cards to add Card Modifiers or modified by joker effects. They are sometimes called 'pip' cards, as each icon printed on them is a pip.

In Balatro, the number cards provide chips equal to their value unless modified, for example, a 7 card provides 7 Chips when scored. Note that cards are not scored when not required for the hand.

Even and Odd cards

"Even cards" are cards with a rank that can be divided by 2 into a whole number. In Balatro, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 are considered even.

"Odd cards" are cards with a rank that cannot be divided by 2 into a whole number. In Balatro, Ace, 3, 5, 7, and 9 are considered odd.

Synergies

  • Odd Todd gives +31 Chips for every scored 3, 5, 7, and 9.
  • Even Steven gives +4 Mult for every scored 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10.
  • Fibonacci gives +8 Mult for every scored 2, 3, 5, and 8.
  • Hack retriggers all scored 2s, 3s, 4s, and 5s.
  • Walkie Talkie gives +10 Chips and +4 Mult for every scored 10 and 4.
  • Wee Joker gains +8 Chips for every scored 2.
  • Sixth Sense creates a Spectral Card if the first played hand in a round is a single 6, and destroys the 6.
  • 8 Ball has a 1 in 4 chance of creating a Tarot Card for every scored 8.
  • Cloud 9 gives $1 for every 9 in the deck.

Consumables

  • Incantation destroys 1 random card in the hand and adds 4 random Enhanced number cards to the hand.

Random Rank Jokers

Some Jokers in Balatro act on a random rank each round:

  • Mail-In Rebate (chooses based on deck composition)
  • The Idol (chooses based on deck composition)

Consumables

The following Spectral Cards can act on a rank:

  • Ouija (converts all cards in hand to a single, random rank)

The following Tarot Cards can interact with ranks:

  • Strength (increases rank of up to 2 selected cards by 1)
  • Death (copies the left card into the right card, which copies the rank)

Trivia

  • There are many types of decks of playing cards in real life. The basic deck in Balatro matches the French-suited, 52-card standard deck that is usually the most common (or only) deck of cards available in predominantly English-speaking countries. When buying one of these decks, the packs usually include one or a few Joker cards, which may or may not be needed for the game.
  • Face cards are sometimes called court cards, as the figures represent the highest roles in a royal court.
  • The names of Aces and Faces are usually translated in non-English-speaking areas, which includes changing the letter (J/Q/K/A) printed on the card. Unusually though, on French-language decks, the Ace becomes a 1.

In other languages

LanguageName
Chinese (Simplified)A
Chinese (Traditional)A
DutchAas
FrenchAs
GermanAss
IndonesianAs
ItalianAsso
Japaneseエース
Korean에이스
PolishAs
Portuguese (Brazilian)Ás
RussianТуз
Spanish (Spain)As
Spanish (Latin America)As
LanguageName
Chinese (Simplified)K
Chinese (Traditional)K
DutchHeer
FrenchRoi
GermanKönig
IndonesianKing
ItalianRe
Japaneseキング
Korean
PolishKról
Portuguese (Brazilian)Rei
RussianКороль
Spanish (Spain)Rey
Spanish (Latin America)Rey
LanguageName
Chinese (Simplified)Q
Chinese (Traditional)Q
DutchVrouw
FrenchDame
GermanDame
IndonesianQueen
ItalianRegina
Japaneseクイーン
Korean
PolishKrólowa
Portuguese (Brazilian)Dama
RussianДама
Spanish (Spain)Reina
Spanish (Latin America)Reina
LanguageName
Chinese (Simplified)J
Chinese (Traditional)J
DutchBoer
FrenchValet
GermanBube
IndonesianJack
ItalianFante
Japaneseジャック
Korean
PolishWalet
Portuguese (Brazilian)Valete
RussianВалет
Spanish (Spain)Jota
Spanish (Latin America)Jota