Now
that
Balatro
is
out
on
mobile,
I
wanted
to
see
what
all
the
fuss
was
about.
And
while
it’s
a
great
game,
its
tutorial
doesn’t
do
the
best
job
of
setting
you
up
for
the
kind
of
success
necessary
to
hook
you.
In
my
first
few
hours,
though
I
was
completing
the
objectives
laid
out,
it
felt
like
I
was
stumbling
my
way
to
success
instead
of
achieving
it
through
strategy.
Onboarding
was
a
bit
too
abrupt,
focused
on
the
barebones
of
how
to
play
instead
of
blending
that
with
tips
on
how
to
play
effectively.
With
that
in
mind,
here’s
some
useful
info
and
tips
on
how
to
get
started.
I
was
told
there
would
be
no
math
In
Balatro,
the
main
gameplay
loop
is
amassing
enough
poker
chips
to
beat
a
set
chip
total
called
a
blind.
To
do
that,
you
must
create
the
ideal
poker
hand
that
maximizes
the
number
of
chips
you
can
earn.
I
think
what
I
initially
had
so
much
trouble
with
was
understanding
how
scoring
worked.
Numbers
were
flying
at
me,
and
I
didn’t
know
what
they
meant
or
where
they
came
from.
Knowing
how
scoring
works
is
critical
to
maximizing
your
chip-earning
potential.
Each
hand
you
play
is
assigned
a
simple
math
equation:
Total
chips
earned
=
chip
value
of
cards
x
multiplier
score.
These
are
the
math
equations
assigned
to
every
hand.
Using
special
cards,
you
can
modify
these
base
equations
to
increase
your
score.Image:
Playstack
The
math
equation
is
different
for
every
type
of
poker
hand,
and
the
more
powerful
a
hand
is,
the
bigger
the
equation.
You
don’t
have
to
remember
hand
hierarchies
or
their
equation
values
—
simply
hitting
the
“Run
Info”
button
will
pull
up
a
reference
list.
Now,
here’s
the
important
part:
this
math
equation
changes
based
on
the
cards
you
play
and
any
modifiers
you’ve
earned.
For
example,
the
base
equation
for
two
pair
is
20
chips
x
2
multiplier
score.
If
I
play
two
queens
and
two
3s,
I
can
figure
out
my
score
by
adding
the
total
chip
value
of
my
cards
(10+10+3+3=26)
to
the
equation’s
chip
value
(20)
and
then
multiplying
that
number
by
2,
equalling
92
chips.
Scoring
works
by
adding
up
all
the
chip
values
and
all
the
multiplier
values
and
then
multiplying
the
two
numbers
together.GIF:
Playstack
I’m
loath
to
admit
how
long
it
took
me
to
understand
what
was
going
on,
but
once
I
figured
it
out,
everything
clicked.
I
finally
got
what
it
was
that
makes
this
game
hard
to
put
down.
Some
of
these
blinds
require
amassing
thousands
of
chips,
so
the
main
point
—
and
honestly
the
biggest
fun
factor
—
of
Balatro
is
beefing
up
those
equations
and
your
cards
as
much
as
possible.
Which
brings
me
to
the
next
tip.
Cash
rules
everything
around
me
I
wish
the
game
took
more
time
to
explain
that,
early
on,
money
is
everything.
For
each
blind,
you
have
a
number
of
chances
or
hands
to
earn
enough
chips,
and
if
you
don’t
like
the
cards
in
your
hand,
you
have
a
number
of
opportunities
to
discard
cards
in
hopes
of
getting
better
ones.
You
earn
the
most
money
by
beating
blinds
in
the
least
amount
of
hands
and
with
the
fewest
discards
as
possible.
There
are
other
ways
to
earn
money,
too,
with
special
cards
and
perks
you
can
get.
Once
you
unlock
it,
use
the
special
deck
that
starts
you
off
with
an
extra
$10
instead
of
the
regular
$4.
Look
for
the
perk
(called
a
“tag”)
that
gives
you
$25
for
beating
“boss
blinds”
—
or
harder
blinds
that
introduce
some
kind
of
negative
effect
like
lowering
equation
values
while
requiring
you
to
earn
abnormally
high
amounts
of
chips.
Bank
as
much
as
you
can,
as
early
as
you
can
in
order
to...
Shop
till
you
drop
The
amazing
thing
about
Balatro
is
that
it’s
managed
to
effectively
reproduce
the
thrill
of
opening
loot
boxes
without
needing
to
spend
a
single
dime
on
microtransactions.
At
the
end
of
every
blind,
you
get
to
visit
the
shop
where
you
buy
cards
that
add
to
or
modify
your
deck,
vouchers
that
impart
powerful
perks
like
the
ability
to
increase
your
hand
size,
or
jokers
that
have
all
kinds
of
score-modifying
abilities.
Go
for
the
jokers
that
increase
bonuses
every
round
based
on
meeting
certain
criteria
so
your
scoring
potential
can
grow
exponentially.
My
most
successful
run
featured
a
joker
that
added
a
+1
to
my
multiplier
every
time
I
didn’t
play
a
face
card.
By
the
end
of
that
run,
I
was
scoring
upwards
of
10,000
chips
from
the
weakest
hands
played
with
the
cheapest
cards.
If
you
see
jokers
that
don’t
work
with
your
strategy,
don’t
forget
that
you
can
spend
money
to
reroll
the
shop
for
new
ones.
In
the
shop,
you
can
buy
cards
that
modify
other
cards
or
increase
the
value
of
specific
hands.Image:
Playstack
Unlike
most
other
roguelikes
that
let
you
keep
some
abilities
or
items
when
you
die,
when
you
fail
a
run
at
Balatro,
all
your
special
cards,
vouchers,
perks,
and
cash
go
away.
You
can’t
take
cash
with
you,
so
spend
it.
Lastly,
if
you
want
to
make
sure
you
have
a
good
time
with
Balatro...
Even
Balatro’s
developer
knows
this
game
is
a
problem.Image:
Playstack
Install
an
app
blocker
(seriously)
Runs
in
Balatro
are
short
and
seamless,
making
it
trivial
to
get
into
a
groove
even
after
having
to
start
over
after
a
failed
attempt.
And
if
you’re
an
adult
with
responsibilities,
that’s
going
to
be
a
problem
—
especially
on
mobile.
Three
hours
in
real
time
feels
like
only
20
minutes,
making
Balatro
the
closest
human
beings
have
gotten
to
legitimate
time
travel.
After
wrapping
up
my
first
day
with
the
game
sometime
around
5AM
without
feeling
the
slightest
bit
tired,
I
added
it
to
my
app
blocker,
setting
it
to
cut
off
access
every
day
at
midnight.
Those
jokes
about
Balatro
being
a
productivity
problem
aren’t
that
far
off
the
mark,
so
if
you
want
to
try
to
get
some
sleep
or
work
done,
put
guardrails
in
place
so
you
can.
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