Unlock Guide
Complete unlock conditions for all 45 locked jokers and 16 vouchers, with efficient unlock order
Unlock System Overview
Of Balatro's 150 jokers, 45 are locked behind specific unlock conditions and will not appear in the shop until those conditions are met. A number of vouchers are also locked behind separate requirements. You can check every unlock condition from the Collection screen on the main menu.
Most unlocks are evaluated in real time during a run. Some become available the moment you meet the condition within the current run, while others take effect from the next run onward.
Joker Unlock Conditions (45 Total)
Progression — Unlock Simply by Playing
| Joker | Unlock Condition |
|---|---|
| Riff-Raff | Reach Ante 4 |
| Flower Pot | Reach Ante 8 |
| Blueprint | Win any run |
Score-Based — Achieve a Chip Threshold in One Hand
| Joker | Unlock Condition |
|---|---|
| Sixth Sense | Score 10,000 chips in a single hand |
| Idle Joker | Score 1,000,000 chips in a single hand |
| Stuntman | Score 100,000,000 chips in a single hand |
Deck Composition — Meet a Card-Count Requirement in Your Deck
| Joker | Unlock Condition |
|---|---|
| Rough Gem | Hold 30 or more Diamond cards in your deck |
| Bloodstone | Hold 30 or more Heart cards in your deck |
| Arrowhead | Hold 30 or more Spade cards in your deck |
| Onyx Agate | Hold 30 or more Club cards in your deck |
| Glass Joker | Hold 5 or more Glass Cards in your deck |
| Smeared Joker | Hold 3 or more Wild Cards in your deck |
| Certificate | Obtain a Gold Card with a Gold Seal |
| Driver's License | Enhance 16 cards in your deck |
| Bootstrap | Hold 2 or more Polychrome Jokers simultaneously |
Play Style — Perform Specific In-Game Actions
| Joker | Unlock Condition |
|---|---|
| Hanging Chad | Defeat a Boss Blind using only High Card |
| Seeing Double | Play a poker hand containing four 7s of Clubs |
| Matador | Defeat a Boss Blind in a single hand without discarding |
| Hit the Road | Discard 5 Jacks at the same time |
| Shoot the Moon | Play every Heart card in your deck within a single round |
| Golden Ticket | Play a poker hand made up of 5 Gold Cards |
| Brainstorm | Discard a Royal Flush |
Cumulative — Accumulate Totals Across Runs
| Joker | Unlock Condition |
|---|---|
| Acrobat | Play 200 hands total (cumulative) |
| Socks and Buskin | Play 300 face cards (J/Q/K) total (cumulative) |
| Swashbuckler | Sell 20 jokers total (cumulative) |
| Burnt Joker | Sell 50 cards total (cumulative) |
| Satellite | Accumulate $400 in a single run |
Special Conditions — Specific Situational Triggers
| Joker | Unlock Condition |
|---|---|
| Troubadour | Win 5 consecutive rounds using only 1 hand each |
| Throwback | Resume a saved run from the main menu |
| Mr. Bones | Fail a round due to insufficient chips 5 times in one run |
| Wee Joker | Win a run in 18 rounds or fewer |
| Merry Andy | Win a run in 12 rounds or fewer |
Win Without — Complete a Run Without Playing a Specific Hand
| Joker | Forbidden Hand | Unlock Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Duo | One Pair | Win a run without playing One Pair |
| Trio | Three of a Kind | Win a run without playing Three of a Kind |
| Family | Four of a Kind | Win a run without playing Four of a Kind |
| Order | Straight | Win a run without playing a Straight |
| Tribe | Flush | Win a run without playing a Flush |
| Invisible Joker | — | Win a run never holding more than 4 jokers at once |
Legendary — Obtainable Only via the Spectral Card "Soul"
These five jokers are legendary and cannot be unlocked for the shop. They are obtained exclusively by using the Spectral card Soul, which replaces one of your jokers with a random legendary joker.
| Joker | How to Obtain |
|---|---|
| Canio | Use the Spectral card "Soul" |
| Triboulet | Use the Spectral card "Soul" |
| Yorick | Use the Spectral card "Soul" |
| Chicot | Use the Spectral card "Soul" |
| Perkeo | Use the Spectral card "Soul" |
Voucher Unlock Conditions (16 Total)
Some vouchers are available from the start, but the following 16 must be unlocked before they can appear in shops.
Cumulative & Consumption-Based
| Voucher | Unlock Condition |
|---|---|
| Overstock Plus | Spend $2,500 total in shops |
| Glow Up | Hold 5 or more Foil/Holographic/Polychrome cards at the same time |
| Reroll Glut | Reroll the shop 100 times total (cumulative) |
| Omen Globe | Use 25 Tarot cards from Arcana Packs (cumulative) |
| Observatory | Use 25 Planet cards from Celestial Packs (cumulative) |
| Nacho Tong | Play 2,500 cards total (cumulative) |
| Recyclomancy | Discard 2,500 cards total (cumulative) |
| Tarot Tycoon | Purchase 50 Tarot cards from shops (cumulative) |
| Planet Tycoon | Purchase 50 Planet cards from shops (cumulative) |
| Money Tree | Receive maximum interest ($5) for 10 consecutive rounds |
| Antimatter | Purchase Blank vouchers 10 times total (cumulative) |
| Illusion | Purchase 50 playing cards from shops (cumulative) |
| Liquidation | Purchase 10 vouchers in a single run |
Progression & Special Conditions
| Voucher | Unlock Condition |
|---|---|
| Petroglyph | Reach Ante 12 |
| Litcon | Discover 25 Boss Blinds (collection unlock) |
| Palette | Reduce hand size to 5 |
Efficient Unlock Strategies
Start with These Unlocks
Begin with unlocks that happen naturally or require minimal extra effort.
- Progression unlocks (Riff-Raff, Flower Pot, Blueprint): These unlock automatically as you play. No special effort needed.
- Swashbuckler (sell 20 jokers cumulative): Deliberately buy and sell jokers across runs. Selling unwanted jokers and rerolling to buy new ones quickly accumulates the count.
- Acrobat and Socks and Buskin: These are purely cumulative and will unlock on their own as you put in more runs.
Unlocking Suit-Composition Jokers Efficiently
Rough Gem, Bloodstone, Arrowhead, and Onyx Agate require 30 or more cards of a single suit in your deck. A standard deck only has 13 cards per suit, so you need to actively convert cards.
- Use Tarot cards such as The World to change suits on existing cards
- The Magic Deck starts with two Tarot cards, making early suit conversion much easier
- Combining this goal with a Four Fingers joker run allows you to lean into a single-suit strategy naturally
Unlocking Vouchers
Cumulative voucher unlocks are tallied across all runs. Focus on these for targeted progress:
- Money Tree: Requires holding $20 or more for 10 consecutive rounds so interest maxes out each round. Run one or two economy-focused runs where you resist spending down your gold.
- Liquidation (10 vouchers in one run): A normal run usually produces 7–8 voucher opportunities. To reach 10, ensure you buy a voucher every ante and look for ways to increase voucher slot count.
Difficult Unlocks
Merry Andy (win in 12 rounds or fewer)
Each ante consists of three rounds: Small Blind, Big Blind, and Boss Blind. Winning all 8 antes normally takes 24 rounds. To reach 12 or fewer, you must skip the Small Blind every single ante and play only the Big Blind and Boss Blind. Skipping a blind rewards you with a tag bonus, so this approach also has economic benefits. Build for raw damage output to handle Boss Blinds quickly.
Win Without Specific Hands (Duo, Trio, Family, Order, Tribe)
These require finishing a full run without playing the designated hand type. Straights (Order) and Flushes (Tribe) are the most accident-prone since many cards naturally form those hands. Check your selected hand carefully before confirming each play.
Score 100,000,000 Chips in One Hand (Stuntman)
This requires a score-optimized build with high hand levels, Polychrome Jokers, stacked Planet cards, and preferably a premium hand type such as Flush Five or Straight Flush. It typically happens naturally during a strong high-stake run rather than being something you chase directly.
Unlock Priority Summary
| Priority | Category | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| High | Progression unlocks | Automatic, no extra effort |
| High | Swashbuckler | Early achievable, valuable joker reward |
| Medium | Cumulative unlocks (Acrobat, etc.) | Accumulate naturally over many runs |
| Medium | Suit composition jokers | Use Tarot conversion to speed up |
| Low | Merry Andy | Requires deliberate skip strategy every ante |
| Low | Stuntman (100M chips) | Needs a fully optimized high-score build |
| Special | 5 Legendary jokers via Soul | RNG-dependent, no direct unlock path |