Hack

Hack

Effect

Retrigger each played 2, 3, 4, or 5

Rarity

Uncommon

Unlock Requirement

Available from start.

Stats

Buy Price

6

Sell Price

3

Type

Retrigger

Activation

On Scored

Compatibility

Copyable

✓ Yes

Perishable

✓ Yes

Eternal

✓ Yes

Hack is an Uncommon Retrigger Joker that can retrigger played scoring low-rank cards, more specifically, 2s, 3s, 4s, and 5s. This can mitigate the lower chip count provided by low-rank cards, since they will be triggered twice.

Hack is similar to Sock and Buskin (Retrigger all played {{hl|orange|face}} cards Play a total of {{hl|orange|300}} face cards Uncommon Retrigger On Scored Sock and Buskin.png), but works with specific numbered cards instead of faces. Similar to Sock and Buskin, it also does not retrigger a Red Seal (Retrigger this card {{hl|orange|1}} time Red Seal.png). For example, a Red Seal 3 will only activate three times: once for the initial trigger, once for the Red Seal, and then lastly, for Hack.

• Abandoned Deck ( Start run with no {{F|}}[[Card Ranks#Face cards|{{hl|orange|Face Cards}}]] in your deck Win a run with the {{D|Green}} on [[Stakes|any difficulty]] Abandoned Deck.png) and Mad World ( ) only have number cards, making it much easier to find low-rank cards.
• Erratic Deck ( All [[Card Ranks|{{hl|orange|Ranks}}]] and [[Suits|{{hl|orange|Suits}}]] in deck are randomized Win a run with any [[Decks|deck]] on the {{Stake|Orange}} difficulty or harder Erratic Deck.png) can potentially have a high amount of low-rank cards that Hack can affect.
• Zodiac Deck ( Start run with {{V|Tarot Merchant|class=hl-purple}}, {{V|Planet Merchant|class=hl-cyan}}, and {{V|Overstock|class=hl-orange}} Win a run with any [[Decks|deck]] on the {{Stake|Red}} difficulty or harder Zodiac Deck.png) can be used to find more Tarot cards to enhance low-rank cards or ways to copy them.
• Ghost Deck ( [[Spectral Cards|{{hl|sblue|Spectral}}]] cards may appear in the shop, start with a {{spectral|Hex}} card Win a run with the {{D|Yellow}} on [[Stakes|any difficulty]] Ghost Deck.png) can find powerful seal-applying Spectral cards and Aura (Add [[Foil|{{hl|edition|Foil}}]], [[Holographic|{{hl|edition|Holographic}}]], or [[Polychrome|{{hl|edition|Polychrome}}]] effect to {{hl|orange|1}} selected card in hand Available from start. Spectral Aura.png), which can make your low-rank cards more impactful.

Using large hands that have multiple low-rank cards that can trigger Hack is generally the best option, allowing the player to maximize its potential. Notably, Five of a Kind and Flush Five are easily feasible after duplicating powerful and/or modified low-rank cards. This also includes Full House and Flush House, although they are slightly weaker than the initially mentioned hands. A Straight using Ace, 2, 3, 4, and 5 is also a good way to utilize Hack, although it will not retrigger the Ace.

• Jokers that are able to give bonuses based on the type of playing card, whether it is suit-based or rank-based, can benefit from Hack. This allows the player to double that Joker's effectiveness.
  • Suit-based Jokers like Greedy Joker (Played cards with {{Suit|Diamond}} suit give {{Mult|+3}} when scored Common Additive Mult On Scored Greedy Joker.png), Arrowhead (Played cards with {{suit|Spade}} suit give {{Chips|+50}} when scored Have at least {{hl|orange|30}} cards with {{hl|orange|Spade}} suit in your deck Uncommon Chips On Scored Arrowhead.png), Gluttonous Joker (Played cards with {{Suit|Club}} suit give {{Mult|+3}} when scored Common Additive Mult On Scored Gluttonous Joker.png), etc. can be retriggered if a low-rank card of the corresponding suit is played.
  • Rank-based Jokers like Even Steven (Played cards with [[Card Ranks|{{hl|orange|even}}]] rank give {{Mult|+4}} when scored <br> {{hl|gray|(10, 8, 6, 4, 2)}} Common Additive Mult On Scored Even Steven.png), Walkie Talkie (Each played {{hl|orange|10}} or {{hl|orange|4}} gives {{chips|+10}} and {{mult|+4}} when scored Common Chips and Additive Mult On Scored Walkie_Talkie.png), or Odd Todd (Played cards with [[Card Ranks|{{hl|orange|odd}}]] rank give {{Chips|+31}} when scored <br> {{hl|gray|(A, 9, 7, 5, 3)}} Common Chips On Scored Odd Todd.png) can benefit from a second trigger.
  • Fibonacci (Each played {{hl|orange|Ace}}, {{hl|orange|2}}, {{hl|orange|3}}, {{hl|orange|5}}, or {{hl|orange|8}} gives {{Mult|+8}} when scored Uncommon Additive Mult On Scored Fibonacci.png) is particularly strong with Hack, as it gains +8 Mult for each scored 2, 3, and 5, and will trigger twice.
  • Wee Joker (This Joker gains {{Chips|+8}} when each played {{hl|orange|2}} is scored <br> {{Currently|{{chips|+0}}}} Win a run in {{hl|orange|18}} or fewer rounds Rare Chips Mixed Wee Joker.png) can scale twice as fast utilizing the retriggered 2s.
• Tarot generating Jokers, like Cartomancer (Create a [[Tarot Cards|{{hl|purple|Tarot}}]] card when [[Blinds|{{hl|orange|Blind}}]] is selected <br> {{room}} Discover every Tarot Card. Uncommon Effect On Blind Select Cartomancer.png) and Vagabond (Create a [[Tarot Cards|{{hl|purple|Tarot}}]] card if hand is played with {{Money|4}} or less Rare Effect Independent Vagabond.png), are needed for deck manipulation to draw low-rank cards more reliably. It will also help modify low-rank cards to make them more valuable during the retrigger (ex. retriggering a Bonus ({{hl|blue|+30}} extra chips Bonus Card.png) 4).
• Jokers that give XMult from cards are very useful, as the cards that trigger them will do so twice. There aren't as many that work with low-rank cards, but some examples are Bloodstone ({{hl|green|1 in 2}} chance for played cards with {{suit|Heart}} suit to give {{xmult|1.5}} when scored Have at least {{hl|orange|30}} cards with {{hl|orange|Heart}} suit in your deck Uncommon Multiplicative Mult On Scored Bloodstone.png) and Ancient Joker (Each played card with [[Card Suits|{{hl|orange|[suit]}}]] gives {{xmult|1.5}} when scored, <br> <small>suit changes at end of round</small> Rare Multiplicative Mult On Scored Ancient Joker.png).
• If one has enough XMult from their cards, another retrigger Joker is very useful to combine with Hack. This will usually be either Dusk (Retrigger all played cards in {{hl|orange|final hand}} of the round Uncommon Retrigger On Scored Dusk.png) or Seltzer (Retrigger all cards played for the next {{hl|orange|10}} hands Uncommon Retrigger On Scored Seltzer.png), though Blueprint (Copies ability of [[Jokers|{{Hl|orange|Joker}}]] to the right Win a run Rare Effect Blueprint.png) and Brainstorm (Copies the ability of leftmost [[Jokers|{{hl|orange|Joker}}]] Discard a {{ph|Royal Flush}}. Rare Effect Brainstorm.png) can also be used to copy Hack for a less conditional retrigger. One can also use Showman ([[Jokers|{{hl|orange|Joker}}]], [[Tarot Cards|{{hl|purple|Tarot}}]], [[Planet Cards|{{hl|cyan|Planet}}]], and [[Spectral Cards|{{hl|sblue|Spectral}}]] cards may appear multiple times Reach Ante level {{hl|orange|4}} Uncommon Effect N/A (Passive) Showman.png) to try and find another Hack.
• Trading Card (If {{hl|orange|first discard}} of round has only {{hl|orange|1}} card, destroy it and earn {{Money|3}} Uncommon Economy On Discard Trading Card.png) and DNA (If {{hl|orange|first hand}} of round has only {{hl|orange|1}} card, add a permanent copy to deck and draw it to {{hl|orange|hand}} Rare Effect On Played DNA.png) make it easier to draw your useful low-rank cards. DNA is particularly useful, as it can copy a powerful low-rank card with an enhancement, edition, and seal.
• Hiker (Every played {{hl|orange|card}} permanently gains {{Chips|+5}} when scored Uncommon Chips On Scored Hiker.png) has incredible synergy with Hack, as not only will Hiker scale cards twice as fast, but the retriggering of the cards will also give their chips again.
• Lucky Cat (This Joker gains {{xmult|0.25}} every time a [[Lucky Cards|{{hl|orange|Lucky}}]] card {{hl|green|successfully}} triggers <br> {{Currently|{{xmult|1}}}} Uncommon Multiplicative Mult Mixed Lucky Cat.png) can scale twice as fast since the low-rank Lucky Cards ({{hl|green|1 in 5}} chance for {{mult|+20}}<br>{{hl|green|1 in 15}} chance to win {{money|20}} Lucky Card.png) it will be using to scale have twice as many chances to earn +20 Mult or $20.
• As Glass Cards ({{xmult|2}}<br>{{hl|green|1 in 4}} chance to destroy card Glass Card.png) are substantially powerful with Hack's retriggers, Glass Joker (This Joker gains {{xmult|0.75}} for every [[Glass_Cards|{{hl|orange|Glass Card}}]] that is destroyed <br> {{currently|{{xmult|1}}}} Have at least {{hl|orange|5}} [[Glass_Cards|{{hl|orange|Glass Cards}}]] in your deck Uncommon Multiplicative Mult Independent Glass Joker.png) can be a nice addition to still get value when they break.
• Certificate (When round begins, add a random {{hl|orange|playing card}} with a random [[Seal|{{hl|orange|seal}}]] to your hand Have a [[Gold_Cards|Gold playing card]] with a [[Gold_Seal|{{hl|orange|Gold Seal}}]] Uncommon Effect N/A (Passive) Certificate.png) can be used to try and find a low-rank card (or a King/Ace that can be Strength (Increases rank of up to {{hl|orange|2}} selected cards by {{hl|orange|1}} Available from start. Tarot Strength.png)ened) with a powerful seal, or a Purple Seal (Creates a {{Tarot|}} card when {{hl|orange|discarded}}<br>{{room}} Purple Seal.png) to generate Tarots for the low-rank cards. However, if it adds too many high-rank cards, Hack will become less valuable, so the risk and reward must be carefully assessed.

• 15 Minute City ( ) doesn't work well with Hack due to a lack of 2s and 3s by default.

• A "hack" is a slang term to refer to both a mediocre comedian and/or re-used, obvious, or stolen jokes from other comedians (explaining the presence of the comedian in the card's artwork). This repetition of low-quality jokes is reflected in the retriggering of low-rank cards.
• According to LocalThunk, the outfit of this joker is loosely based on Joe Rogan.^[1]
• It is one of the five Jokers to have a physical card from Balatro: Special Edition. The four other jokers where that is also the case are Joker ({{Mult|+4}} Common Additive Mult Independent Joker.png), Ice Cream ({{Chips|+100}}<br>{{Chips|-5}} for every hand played Common Chips Independent Ice Cream.png), Abstract Joker ({{Mult|+3}} for each [[Jokers|{{hl|orange|Joker}}]] card<br>{{Currently|{{mult|+0}}}} Common Additive Mult Independent Abstract Joker.png), and Throwback ({{xmult|0.25}} for each [[Blinds|{{hl|orange|Blind}}]] skipped this run <br> {{currently|{{xmult|1}}}} Continue a saved run from the main menu Uncommon Multiplicative Mult Independent Throwback.png).
• Hack is one of the two Jokers to appear on the front of a regular-sized Buffoon Pack. The other Joker is Juggler ({{hl|orange|+1}} hand size Common Effect N/A (Passive) Juggler.png).
• According to LocalThunk, the joke that Hack told is as follows:^[2]

  Fun fact about me, I'm a trysexual
  I'll try ANYTHING in bed once!
  1. Missionary
  2.