Showman

Showman

Effect

Joker, Tarot, Planet, and Spectral cards may appear multiple times

Rarity

Uncommon

Unlock Requirement

Reach Ante level 4

Stats

Buy Price

5

Sell Price

2

Type

Effect

Activation

N/A (Passive)

Compatibility

Copyable

✗ No

Perishable

✓ Yes

Eternal

✓ Yes

Showman is an Uncommon Effect Joker that bypasses the restriction preventing other Jokers, Planet Cards, Tarot Cards and Spectral Cards from appearing when already in the player's possession. This can lead to multiple copies of the same card appearing in an individual Booster Pack or the Shop. It is an unreliable Joker that is not recommended for standard runs, but when trying to achive Naneinf it is an efficient way to attain some extremely high-scoring combinations.

To unlock this Joker, the player must reach Ante 4 for the first time. Do note that the condition is only to reach Ante 4 and not necessarily beat it.

• Showman can make The Emperor (Creates up to {{hl|orange|2}} random {{hl|purple|Tarot}} cards<br>{{room}} Available from start. Tarot The Emperor.png) and The High Priestess (Creates up to {{hl|orange|2}} random [[Planet Cards|{{hl|cyan|Planet}}]] cards<br>{{room}} Available from start. Tarot The High Priestess.png) generate two identical cards.
• Showman can make The Emperor (Creates up to {{hl|orange|2}} random {{hl|purple|Tarot}} cards<br>{{room}} Available from start. Tarot The Emperor.png) and Riff-Raff (When [[Blind|{{hl|orange|Blind}}]] is selected, create {{hl|orange|2}} [[Common Jokers|{{hl|blue|Common}} {{hl|orange|Jokers}}]] <br> {{room}} Common Effect On Blind Select Riff-Raff.png) generate themselves.
• Although the probability is extremely low, Showman can make multiple copies of The Soul (Creates a [[Legendary Jokers|{{hl|purple|Legendary}}]] Joker <br> {{room}} Available from start. Spectral The Soul.png) or Black Hole (Upgrade every [[Poker Hands|{{hl|purple|poker hand}}]] by {{hl|orange|1}} level Available from start. Spectral Black Hole.png) appear in Booster Packs.
• If the player sells Showman and any Joker while that Joker's copy is in The Shop and buys said copy, that Joker can appear in the shop at a later time while the copy occupies a joker slot, allowing the player to get one extra copy of the Joker without having Showman, which is possibly a bug.

Showman is effective with any deck, but is particularly strong on Black Deck ( {{hl|orange|+1}} Joker slot <br> {{hl|blue|-1}} hand every round Discover at least {{hl|orange|100}} items from your [[collection]] Black Deck.png) due to the +1 Joker slot bonus.

Showman has no direct effect on any specific poker hands. It does, however, make Celestial Packs less reliable, as its effect allows them to give duplicate planets. This decreases the chances of a Celestial Pack containing your desired Planet Card, as well as preventing Planet Blocking (holding useless Planets in your consumable slots so they can’t appear elsewhere) impossible.

Showman has no direct Joker synergies. However, its main benefit lies in it being one of very few ways to obtain multiple copies of the same Joker.

• Cavendish ({{xmult|3}} <br> {{hl|green|1 in 1000}} chance this card is destroyed at the end of round Common Multiplicative Mult Independent Cavendish.png) is a powerful common Joker, making it likely to appear again before ante 8.
• Photograph (First played {{hl|orange|face}} card gives {{xmult|2}} when scored Common Multiplicative Mult On Scored Photograph.png) and Hanging Chad (Retrigger {{hl|orange|first}} played card used in scoring {{hl|orange|2}} additional times Beat a Boss Blind with a {{ph|High Card}} Common Retrigger On Scored Hanging Chad.png) have notable synergy and are also common Jokers, making them appear more often.
• 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) are strong in long endless runs.
• The Idol (Each played [[Card Ranks|{{hl|orange|[rank]}}]] of [[Card Suits|{{hl|orange|[suit]}}]] gives {{xmult|2}} when scored<br><small>Card changes every round</small> In one hand, earn at least {{hl|orange|1,000,000}} chips Uncommon Multiplicative Mult On Scored The Idol.png) is also powerful in endless runs.

Because it allows for duplicated Planet cards to appear, Showman synergizes with the Observatory ([[Planet Cards|{{hl|cyan|Planet}}]] cards in your [[Consumables|{{hl|orange|consumable}}]] area give {{xmult|1.5}} for their specified [[Poker Hands|{{hl|orange|poker hand}}]] Use a total of {{hl|orange|25}} [[Planet|{{hl|cyan|Planet}}]] cards from any {{hl|cyan|Celestial Pack}} Upgraded Observatory.png) by allowing for planet cards to appear in the shop whilst they are in the consumable space. However, this is easier achieved with Blue Seal (Creates the {{Planet|}} card for final played [[Poker Hands|{{hl|orange|poker hand}}]] of round if {{hl|orange|held}} in hand<br>{{room}} Blue Seal.png).

Showman can also create problems when Telescope ([[Booster Packs|{{hl|orange|Celestial Packs}}]] always contain the [[Planet Cards|{{hl|cyan|Planet}}]] card for your most played [[Poker Hands|{{hl|orange|poker hand}}]] Base Telescope.png) is not yet redeemed, as planet packs will often contain multiple copies of irrelevant planet cards.

• This Joker was present in the initial playtest build, but was not present within the first two public demos. Numerous glitches that produced the same effect were, however, present during the time the demo was available. This has led players to believe that Showman was influenced, or inspired by these glitches.
• This Joker used to be named "Ring Master" in some of Balatro's early builds. It is still referred to by this name in the programming, and most translations.
  • According to LocalThunk, the reason for renaming is that Showman is more in line with the effect of this joker.^[1]