ughhhhhhggghh why am i SO BAD at Balatroooooo fuuuuuck this gameeeee why can't it give me the good chemicals like it does for everyone elseeeeeee wehhhh
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Checkered deck and going for flush is an easy route for early stakes. Balance mult and chips if you can. Always cull cards when given the chance and make sure your X Mult jokers go on the end of the row not the start!
I accidently sold a ceremonial dagger on ante 8 green stake last night that I had boosted to around +150 mult, and I almost jumped out the fucking window.
bc they are different people with different tastes and preferences! I know this is kind of silly to state so plainly but, like, that's totally ok. there are many forms of art on this earth to hopefully give you the brain upsies
for me it was realizing I needed to stop playing poker and start playing balatro. game the system and try to break it with the jokers. also, youre just gonna die a lot of the time no matter what because thats card games baby!
lmao well the easiest way to brute force it is going for Flushes and everything that makes those better+easier, pick your fave suit and go. but if the game doesnt click with you so be it! plenty of people bounce off it instead of dumping 200 hours on it
Yeah, honestly I think maybe I only won like 2 or 3 runs when I was playing? Most of the runs I had were failures! Not sure how many exactly, but definitely not a passing grade average!
It seems like you’re not having a good time, so why chase someone else’s good experience? Some games, no matter how well reviewed and praised they are even by players with similar tastes to you, just don’t click. At 20+ hours you’ve given it an honest try, prioritize your own fun at this point!
I'm in the same boat. Game is cool as hell and I've played a lot of it bit I'm what they call "math dumb" so I never get those crazy combos going like other people do.
Honestly it's more vibes based than maths. If you're open to some advice I'd say what helped me the most is balancing mult and chips, always cull cards from your deck when given the chance and organise the jokers so X Mult goes at the end not at the the start (so it multiplies all the added mult).
I *rarely* get lucky enough to cull cards. I never get more than +1 to my hand or discards. I arrange the jokers correctly for maths to happen. But the game is just super super stingy with me I don't knowww
Hmm. Another tip is to maintain a sorta base line of money (10 or 20) so you can basically always open some packs off the interest. If you open tarot packs often you'll pretty much always pull some culling effect or the one that let's you turn a card into another which has a similar effect!
Also figuring out when skipping a blind for a tag is more benifical takes a bit of practice but can be super powerful! It's one of those games that you really just have to feel out. I barely had any wins initially but I can clear low stakes consistently now with no issue.
There two levels to this game. Either just relax and enjoy drawing poker hands to get as far as you can, in the same vein as solitaire. Or do a deep dive study of rogue like deck building strategies akin to a chess mentality. Choose your poison, but for most casual players the former is more fun.
I've been playing it on and off for ages lmao. It's just not happening 😔😔😔😔😔
By the time I get a win, my feeling is "UGH. FINALLY. GOD" and it doesn't even feel that good lol. I never ever feel overpowered, every run I win is by the skin of my teeth
Often on runs, I build towards a specific hand. So maybe 80% of my hands played in that run will be one specific hand. (i.e. If you get both the pair and triple multiplier joker you may play mostly triplets)
Deleting cards that don't help with this helps, and modifying the others helps a ton.
Building towards smaller hands is helpful because they're more reliable to get. (this is why I often build for high card, because, well, it's guaranteed)
Doing all of this is about trying to push the game away from luck.
Flushes and straights score high to start but are hard to draw.
One thing that helped the runs start popping off for me is better money management. Taking an early money joker and getting that interest rolling lets you roll harder for good jokers, buy more packs & vouchers, & generally increase your strength faster.
If it makes you feel better, the moment I saw it was a card game, I didn't even bother. I love the aesthetics, but I know it wouldn't click for me, so I just don't fuck with it.
Not sure if you're looking for tips, but aside from deck manipulation, jokers that grow (one for chips and one for mult), a x mult joker in the later stages, the most important thing is economy. Hold off of buying things if it nets you just that extra interest in the next round.
Early on one joker that gives mult but does not grow can be really helpful to build econ from leftover hands, like half joker or even steven, or any of the base mult jokers. Running those paralel to a growing joker like ride the bus, spare trousers, or green joker can help you start before selling
Lastly it doesn't always pay to play the best cards in hand. Playing a 3 of a kind because it's that or high card can be worse than playing the high card to allow a four of a kind or full house as your next hand. Keep checking your deck to see what you're likely drawing next
There's also a lot of luck involved in the end, I'm sure you've heard any advice there is to give. I hope you'll come to enjoy playing the game more :)
Also love the game, but I don’t feel like it’s as easy to play around just not getting good shit to use like in some other Roguelikes. Like, I feel like I can salvage some not so great luck in Slay The Spire, but am just fucked in Balatro pretty fast
Just convert all the cards to hearts and run flushes every turn. Get something that boosts flush, and get glass and mult cards. Just hope you dont run into The Head (boss ante)
while I appreciate the spirit of helpfulness these replies, many of them are Balatro 101 Tips and Tricks For Morons. "Joker order/interest/building mults is important!" and stuff
I'm trying not to be mean here: have you considered that I did not just pick up the game yesterday?
I honestly had no idea when you'd picked it up. It seemed like you might have been struggling with the basics, I know I did initially! The game doesn't explain a lot of that basic stuff I don't think those tips are for morons either but maybe I am one!
I think you're just not that into the game because it feels a lot more random than other deckbuilders, honestly (and I bet that is why a lot of people love it). I'm on the same boat, the "consistent" strat doesn't feel that consistent after you clear the base stake, frankly.
tbh everything genuinely feels like luck and I'm losing more times than win. Only thing that helps is like select cards/strategies/luck I always go for instead of experimenting with things
I have beaten the white stake on the default decks. Managed a single red stake on checkered deck. Did 15 Minute City and Knife's Edge challenges. (Trying the challenges to learn new tricks isn't working) I cannot make any more progress and it's SO frustrating that everyone loves this and I can'tttt
Every time I've won, the feeling has been "UGH. FINALLY" and not good feelings :(
In the rare cases I win, it's always skin-of-my-teeth stressful bullshit, I never feel cool and powerful in this thing. Sucks to see people breaking it on the daily and I've only had the faintest taste of satisfaction
if you rolled credits a bunch of times and its still not clicking you did your best, youre not gonna get any enjoyment from playing increasingly stricter versions of the game in higher stakes lol
Checkered is a harder deck to beat than you would think. It *was* my first Gold Stake deck, but I would have had a much easier time on Blue Deck. Go for Full Houses.
for me, i've noticed that a lot of runs are basically scuffed, like you were probably going to lose anyway. all the challenges and stakes bluntly trim paths to victory in unclean ways that further restrict options; this just makes victories special. i had fun running Hearts with the Checkered Deck.
The RNG is just bad and it’s exactly why I don’t like gambling I can pick a good combo of Jokers and then not draw the cards I need and fall short and that’s not fun (I’m sure I’m playing out of stubbornness now)
Took me 145 hours to get gold stake on every deck, I think you’re doing fine for 20hrs tbh. As long as you enjoy the attempts, doesn’t matter how long it takes. You’ve probably a load of jokers to unlock still, so plenty to still discover
I cant make it fun for you, but the deck builder I've been consuming lately was Monster Train! You and some friendly (and weird) demons are on a quest to save He'll, frozen by evil angels!
lolol... doesn't seem that bad? you do seem to hit a limit where it's like "ok... why can't I progress? give me a fucking hint here" ... :D but other than that... is good casual fun.
Solidarity because I think I’ve lost like the last 20 runs I’ve played even when I get a good synergy going and while the vibes and music are immaculate damn I feel like I’m in Sisyphean Poker Hell sometimes. Like why do I need to break the number exponent barrier to not lose to late antes?
I think it's all about just keeping at it until you unlock the right jokers and then you're able to go nuts. You just have to lose a bunch of runs and try a bunch of stuff to hit the various unlock conditions. Even then, the game hates me and I will discard a 2,5,8 and then it deals me another 2,5,8
I have so many hours in Balatro and I still haven't unlocked every joker and only have like 2/3rds of achievements. I wouldn't be so hard on yourself. It's a punishing experience a lot for me at least. When a win does happen, it's such a nice feeling IMHO.
It gets better, then it gets worse. Many times I find myself swearing and losing it but just when I think I can take no more I get a win. Unlocking new jokers helps but this cycle still continues for me. Truly a love/hate experience for me, 388 hours in. I haven't even unlocked that racer joker yet.
I'm not sure if you mean me or the joker I reference lol. I don't know his name but he's got like a Speed Racer type helmet on (the Joker on card). Seen 'em on other people's playthroughs. To be fair almost 400 hours in and I think I suck at the game but I'm obviously hooked regardless.
Not to learn how to play. just saw some random high score vids on reddit and saw that joker in the line up. I also have not beaten a single challenge (they seem so difficult). I am about 2/3rd beating all decks on gold tier. Just chipping away, more new unlocks help.
Actual actionable advice is just play checkered deck for a while. For me it was the easiest way to see into the heart of the cards. The methods of optimizing you deck, jokers and play style will pop out quicker on that deck compared to others, and might help.
I also frequently check what cards are still available to draw to get an idea of my relative chances of achieving a given hand. Apparently if you know how to use a geometric calculator it can be helpful in figuring out your chances further. TieTuesday's streams have taught me a lot
I don't know Balatro. Heard of it. Never played it. But it's entirely possible the game is targeting certain brain joy receptors that you're just not wired for. There aint no shame in saying "You know what? I just aint havin' fun," and putting it down to go do something more up your alley.
I know it sucks not being able to share that sort of collective social experience of enjoying the thing EVERYONE seems to enjoy, but folks like us know better than most that, you know... sometimes, we're just weird and different. And that aint nothin' to be ashamed of.
just another deck builder thing I consistently saw people breeze through and then played it myself and fell into a pit of despair lol, but I did have an easy time with Control recently so that was a confidence booster
I've been gettin bummed out by your Control takes actually lol :(
I think it's a purty good game with a fun combat flow and Jesse is generally quite likable (thought this even before I was biased by my spouse getting a job at Remedy lol)
frankly as I get more into Alan Wake even I am bummed out by my Control takes, I am hoping to reinforce the Remedy stan inside myself over the coming weeks
I haven't been able to win a single run although I have been playing every day for months... And I still love the game... Aaaaaaah, what's wrong with me?
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Now powerwash simulator... That's the good chems
The cards hate me, I love them, but they reeeeeeealllly want me to fail.
By the time I get a win, my feeling is "UGH. FINALLY. GOD" and it doesn't even feel that good lol. I never ever feel overpowered, every run I win is by the skin of my teeth
I’m not super incredible but I’m at the final challenge before 100% Cheevos which people will admit is no mean feat sooooo
idk I don't think you should have to look up things online to have fun with a game haha
Be cool with changing cards, break the deck, change suits, delete cards you aren't going to use. Duplicate cards that help.
Stack effects (Baron, steel card, mime).
Raise the level of hands. (On my good runs I get high cards to like level 50-100)
Deleting cards that don't help with this helps, and modifying the others helps a ton.
Doing all of this is about trying to push the game away from luck.
Flushes and straights score high to start but are hard to draw.
Baron, Steels, mime is enough to get you to E30 range (at least that's as far as I've gotten, yet to get infinity, working on that.)
Buy mult early, bank money, move to small hands, sell stuff, stack mult, repeat.
oh okay thanks I'll just Be More Lucky
I'm trying not to be mean here: have you considered that I did not just pick up the game yesterday?
Game might just not be for you.
In the rare cases I win, it's always skin-of-my-teeth stressful bullshit, I never feel cool and powerful in this thing. Sucks to see people breaking it on the daily and I've only had the faintest taste of satisfaction
I don't like that you have to watch playthroughs to play the game well lol. I don't want to have Homework for a videogame :(
I think it's a purty good game with a fun combat flow and Jesse is generally quite likable (thought this even before I was biased by my spouse getting a job at Remedy lol)
- Focusing on unlocking everything in my collection.
-Watching videos of people who are really good. (Roffle Lite on YouTube has been my favorite)