Balatro Joker Tier List: The Best and Worst Jokers (2026 Patch)

Balatro’s Joker system is the heart of the game. With 150+ Jokers across multiple editions and stickers, knowing which to pick up, which to sell, and which to build your entire run around is the difference between a clean Gold Stake clear and a run that dies in Ante 4.

This is our updated 2026 tier list. It reflects the current state of the game on patch 1.0.4 and incorporates community theory-crafting from the Balatro Discord and the r/balatro subreddit.

How we rank

Each Joker gets a tier (S through D) and a one-line summary. The tier reflects how much a Joker can be the centerpiece of a winning run at high stakes. Jokers that are weak in a vacuum but enable a specific build are ranked higher than the tier list would suggest, because of the way Balatro’s scoring math compounds.

We also note deck synergy for the most important Jokers — some Jokers are S-tier in a specific deck type but B-tier in others.

S tier — game-winning

These Jokers can carry a run by themselves, given any reasonable deck and a couple of supporting pieces.

Photograph

Photograph turns every face card into a powerful scoring tool by giving you +5 mult for the first face card played. Combined with a face-heavy deck (such as the “Smiley” face deck), Photograph generates enormous mult for very little investment. The catch: you need to be able to play face cards cheaply, which means pair-based builds (Pair, Three of a Kind, Two Pair, Full House) and good economy.

Deck synergy: Smiley Face deck, any face-heavy build.

Yorick

Yorick gives +1 mult for every 23 cards discarded, with a maximum of +25 mult at 5,521 discards. Yorick is a slow burn — it does nothing in the first half of the game — but in the late game, it is one of the highest raw-mult Jokers in the game. Pair it with a discard-focused deck (such as the Checkered Deck) and you will hit the cap before the final Antes.

Deck synergy: Checkered Deck, Magic Deck, any discard-heavy build.

Blueprint / Brainstorm

These two Jokers are in the same tier for a reason: they both copy the effect of the Joker to their right. Blueprint copies the effect of the Joker immediately to its right; Brainstorm copies the effect of the leftmost Joker. Stacking these with another S-tier Joker (Triboulet, Yorick, Photograph) creates infinite-mult runs.

Deck synergy: Universal — pick up one of these whenever you see it.

Triboulet

Triboulet makes Kings and Queens each give +8 mult when scored. With a King/Queen-heavy deck, this is +16 to +32 mult per hand, every hand. It is one of the highest single-source mult Jokers in the game and a strong anchor for any face-build.

Deck synergy: Smeared Joker face deck, any K/Q-heavy build.

A tier — strong and reliable

These Jokers are not run-defining by themselves, but they reliably push a good run into a great one. Pick them up almost every time you see them.

Stuntman

Stuntman gives +250 chips but reduces hand size by 2. The chip boost is enormous, and most high-stakes runs can absorb a smaller hand size if they are already running a strong mult source. Stuntman is one of the safest “always pick up” Jokers for any chips-light build.

Banner

Banner gives +30 chips for each remaining discard. The math here is amazing: every discard you save translates directly into chips. In a discard-heavy run (or any run with a strong draw engine), Banner can outperform many rare Jokers.

Bull

Bull gives +2 chips for every $1 you have. The compounding effect is enormous if you have $50+ in the bank. In a run with good economy, Bull is one of the highest-value uncommon Jokers.

Castle

Castle gives +3 chips for every suit in your deck. In a four-suit run, that is +12 chips per hand, which compounds with most mult sources. Castle is one of the few Jokers that is meaningful even in a “balanced” deck.

Ice Cream

Ice Cream gives +100 chips but loses 5 chips per round. In a short run (gold stake, fast boss kills) Ice Cream is one of the strongest Jokers in the game. In a long run, it is risky.

Hologram

Hologram gains +0.25 mult per Tarot card used. The +0.25 may sound small, but with a strong Tarot economy (such as the Cartomancer or the Tarot-generating Planet cards), Hologram can hit +30 mult by mid-game.

B tier — solid and build-specific

These Jokers are good in the right deck but unremarkable in average ones. Pick them up when they fit your build; otherwise, skip for something better.

Burnt Joker (B+)

Burnt Joker gains +0.5 mult per round until the start of round 5. If you can survive the early game with Burnt Joker, it becomes a strong late-game mult source. The risk is the early game — Burnt Joker is essentially “do nothing for 4 rounds.”

Riff-Raff (B)

Riff-Raff creates a Common Joker when a Booster Pack is opened. The value here depends entirely on the rest of your Jokers. In a run with no other Joker-generation mechanics, Riff-Raff is S-tier; in a run with Blueprint/Brainstorm/Mime, it is unnecessary.

Cartomancer (B+)

Cartomancer creates a random Tarot card when a Booster Pack is skipped. The catch is that you have to actively skip a pack, which is usually a worse choice than opening it. Cartomancer is a long-term investment that pays off in the late game.

Vampire (B)

Vampire gives +0.1 mult for each enhanced card played, with a cap at +4 mult. In a deck with many enhanced cards (such as a Wild Card or a Steel Card build), Vampire is strong. In a basic deck, it is irrelevant.

Mime (B)

Mime holds the effect of the leftmost Joker when the round ends. Pair Mime with a strong scaling Joker (Yorick, Hologram, Castle) to double their effect. Mime is one of the best “support” Jokers in the game.

C tier — situational

These Jokers have a niche use but are usually outperformed by the A- and S-tier options.

Misprint (C+)

Misprint gives a random mult value between +0 and +23. The expected value is +11.5 mult, which is mediocre. Misprint is fine in early Antes when nothing better is on offer, but you should be looking to replace it by mid-game.

Even Steven (C+)

Even Steven gives +3 mult for every even-ranked card played. In a deck with many even cards (such as the Even Steven deck), this is solid. Otherwise, it is underwhelming.

Walkie Talkie (C)

Walkie Talkie gives +4 mult and +4 chips for every 4 or 10 in your deck. The 4 and 10 ranks are rare, so the value is small unless you have a deck specifically built around them (such as the Ankh deck).

Gros Michel (C)

Gros Michel gives +15 mult but is destroyed after 6 rounds. In a short run, this is one of the best mult Jokers in the game. In a long run, it is dead weight by Ante 6.

D tier — skip if you can

These Jokers are outclassed by almost everything in the higher tiers. The exceptions are very specific builds.

Egg (D+)

Egg gives +3 mult but is sold for $4 at the end of the round. In the absolute early game (Antes 1–2), Egg can fund a critical pack. By Ante 3, sell it.

Ice Pop (D)

Ice Pop gives +5 mult for every 5 cards in your deck, but with a 0x mult multiplier cap. The cap kills its late-game value entirely. Skip.

8 Ball (D)

8 Ball creates a random Tarot card when an 8 is scored. The randomness makes 8 Ball unreliable, and the Tarot generated is often not what you need. Skip unless you have a very specific Tarot-scaling build.

Honorable mentions

Some Jokers we did not have room to cover in detail:

• Splash — all played cards count as scored; powerful in specific builds.
• Hack — retrigger played 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s; a multi-source mult Jokers.
• Seltzer — creates a random enhanced card every 3 rounds; great for long runs.
• Cloud 9 — gives $1 for every 9 in your deck at end of round; great for economy.
• Space Joker — levels up a random Poker hand every round; consistent scaling.

FAQ

What is the best Joker combo?

The strongest combo in the current patch is Photograph + Blueprint + Triboulet in a face-heavy deck. This generates enormous mult every hand and is the most reliable S-stake clear for most players.

What about Plasma Deck or other challenge decks?

This tier list is for the standard Stake decks. The Plasma Deck, Erratic Deck, and Challenge Decks all have their own tier lists; we will publish them separately.

Does this change with the next patch?

Every patch moves some Jokers up or down. We re-evaluate after every major update. The biggest open question for the next patch is whether Photograph or Yorick will be nerfed — both are widely considered over-tuned at high stakes.

Final thoughts

The right Joker for a given run depends on your deck, your stakes, and your plan for the next 3–4 Antes. Use this tier list as a starting point, but always read the in-game tooltip for the specific synergy you are considering. The best Balatro players are the ones who can recognize a “good” Joker for the current build, not just a “high-tier” Joker.