7 Best Balatro Decks

If you’ve ever stared at Balatro’s deck selection screen, paralyzed by choice, wondering which deck will give you the upper hand, you’re not alone. Each deck is packed with unique perks, pitfalls, and the potential to either make you feel like a genius or a total clown. 

Whether you want to swim in cash or flex your big-brain strategy, we’re here to help you pick the best tool for the job. Forget trial and error; these are the decks worth your time. Let’s break them down.

Yellow Deck

Starting with an extra $10 might not sound flashy, but in Balatro, it’s a game-changer. This deck gives you a huge advantage in stabilizing your early run. With the extra money, you can afford critical Jokers or hit $25 quickly to start gaining interest on your cash reserves. 

The ability to grab Jokers or Vouchers early ensures smoother progression. Pair this with money-boosting cards, and you’ll feel the payoff throughout your run. Yellow is all about early momentum — play it right, and you’ll snowball into high scores. Who needs luck when you’ve got deep pockets?

Ghost Deck

The Ghost Deck adds Spectral Cards to your shop, a unique feature that allows these powerful consumables to appear more regularly than they would otherwise. Spectral Cards are game-changing items that enhance your strategy, offering effects like duplicating strong Jokers or creating rare ones.

But the magic doesn’t stop there. The Ghost Deck also grants access to an abundance of game-enhancing seals, such as Purple for extra Tarot draws or Red for retriggering effects, creating synergy that can completely transform your approach. If you’re the type of player who can’t resist stocking up on Spectral packs and reveling in their potential, this deck is tailor-made for you.

Erratic Deck

RELATED: 8 Best Joker Cards in Balatro

This deck randomizes all ranks and suits, making it surprisingly consistent for pairing strategies. With a higher chance of pulling pairs, two pairs, or even rare five-of-a-kinds, the Erratic Deck thrives in unpredictability. 

Early-game hands feel easier to build, giving you a solid foundation. If you enjoy embracing randomness while still leveraging it to your advantage, this Balatro deck’s nature can lead to wildly fun and rewarding runs. Just stay flexible — Erratic rewards those who roll with the punches. The only guarantee? Unpredictable fun.

Anaglyph Deck

Anaglyph’s power lies in its ability to gain double tags after defeating Boss Blinds. These allow you to double-skip rewards, creating the potential to stack up powerful strategies like Negative Jokers (which adds an extra Joker slot). 

With extra card draw and the potential to skip into jackpot-level rewards, Anaglyph decks shine in long, high-scoring runs. If you enjoy strategizing around high-risk, high-reward, this Balatro deck is a must-try. Few things are as satisfying as chaining skips into absurd power spikes. Why settle for one jackpot when you can quadruple it?

Checkered Deck

This deck starts with 26 Spades and 26 Hearts, making flushes ridiculously easy to pull off. By limiting variables, it simplifies your early game and creates potential for powerful late-game hands like straight flushes or full house flushes. 

Checkered is perfect if you love consistent, straightforward strategies that set you up for success. The early-game stability makes it a great choice for beginners, while its flush potential can still carry experienced players to victory. Checkered is the no-drama, all-reward deck.

Abandoned Deck

At first glance, starting with no Face Cards might feel like a disadvantage, but Abandoned flips that perception on its head. By removing 12 cards for free, this deck lets you focus on your best hands and key-enhanced cards. It also makes the Ride the Bus Joker, which gains Mult for consecutive hands without scoring face cards, extra potent. 

If you love precision and consistency in your runs, Abandoned is a hidden gem that punches way above its weight. Who needs Kings when you’re already ruling the game?

Plasma Deck

The Plasma Deck is not for the faint of heart. It doubles the size of the Boss Blinds, increasing the stakes of every hand you play. What truly sets this Balatro deck apart, however, is its unique scoring mechanic: it balances chips and multipliers when calculating your score. This means that your final score will heavily depend on how well you commit to one of two strategies — stacking chips or maximizing multipliers.

Unlike other decks where you might dabble in a mix of tactics, the Plasma Deck forces you to pick a lane and stick to it. Attempting to juggle both strategies can leave you with a lower score than expected. It’s a tougher deck for sure, but if you focus on one scoring path, Plasma can deliver huge payoffs. A challenge, but worth it.