I can’t believe people are still getting baited by “Foil/Holographic/Polychrome Decks” like it’s some hidden tech—bro, that’s card editions, not real decks. Whoever told you that was either confused or trolling.
Here is the no-nonsense guide to unlocking everything in Balatro, written by someone with 500 hours who has zero patience for grinding.
Option #1 — The “I Have a Life” Method (The Button the Devs Literally Gave You)
If you just want every deck available right now so you can actually enjoy the game, do this.
- Go to Main Menu → Profile.
- Look at the Bottom-right: Unlock All.
- Note: Yes, it can look greyed out. Click it anyway. Some versions require you to click it twice or hold it.
The button is literally right there. Don’t let the grey color fool you.
Why this button exists (It’s not “Cheating”)
The developers explicitly added this because Balatro was designed as a sandbox roguelike, not an MMO with a competitive progression system.
- No Balance Impact: Unlocking decks doesn’t change the RNG or card logic.
- Save Protection: It exists for players who lose save files or switch platforms (e.g., Switch to PC), so you don’t have to replay the 20-hour tutorial phase.
- Design Logic: It skips repetition, not skill.
⚠️ CRITICAL WARNING (Read Before Clicking)
Using “Unlock All” is irreversible. It marks your profile and may disable Steam Achievements for that save file.
If you are a completionist but just want to test decks, BACK UP YOUR SAVE FIRST:
Windows Path:
%AppData%\Balatro(UsuallyC:\Users\YourName\AppData\Roaming\Balatro)Copy the numbered folder (e.g.,
1,2,3) to your desktop before you click the button.
Option #2 — The “Manual Unlock” Route (For the Purists)
Balatro has 15 main decks. Unlocks fall into three buckets. Here is the most efficient way to clear them.
Complete Deck Unlock Dependency Tree
Starter Decks
├─ Red ────[Win Run]──→ Magic Deck
├─ Blue ───[Win Run]──→ Nebula Deck
├─ Yellow ─[Win Run]──→ Ghost Deck
├─ Green ──[Win Run]──→ Abandoned Deck
└─ Black ──[Win Run]──→ Checkered Deck
│
└─ [Stake Wins] ─→ Zodiac / Painted / Plasma / Anaglyph / ErraticA) Collection-Based (The “Math Nightmare”)
You need to “Discover” items (Jokers, Tarots, Planets, Vouchers) to unlock these.
- Blue Deck: Discover 20 items
- Yellow Deck: Discover 50 items
- Green Deck: Discover 75 items
- Black Deck: Discover 100 items
- Polychrome Deck: Discover 200 items (The long grind)
Don’t waste brain cells tracking this manually. The in-game counter is vague. We built a tool specifically to track this so you know exactly how far you are from the Black Deck unlock:
Use our Collection Calculator here to check your progress > 💡 Pro-Tip for Fast Unlocks:
You don’t have to win with the card to “discover” it. If you have extra cash in a shop, buy a Tarot/Planet card and immediately sell it. This counts as a discovery. Do this every run to speed up the Green/Black deck unlocks by 30%.
B) “Win Once” Unlocks (The easy part)
- Magic Deck: Win with Red.
- Nebula Deck: Win with Blue.
- Ghost Deck: Win with Yellow.
- Abandoned Deck: Win with Green.
- Checkered Deck: Win with Black.
C) The “Black Deck” Problem (The Gatekeeper)
Let’s be real: The Black Deck is the gatekeeper from hell. If your first Black Deck runs feel unwinnable, that’s normal. It gives you +1 Joker slot but -1 Hand per round. If you are new, this feels nerfed into the ground because early game tempo matters more than your late-game dreams.
How to actually beat the Black Deck (The “Escape” Strategy): Don’t listen to Reddit users telling you to “build economy.” You don’t have enough hands to stall for economy.
- The “Ante 1” Rule: If you do not find a Flat Chips Joker (Ice Cream, Stuntman, Blue Joker) or a raw Mult Joker (Gros Michel, Popcorn) in the first two shops, HOLD ‘R’ TO RESTART.
- Avoid Straights: With -1 Hand, your consistency for 5-card hands drops drastically.
- Go for Flushes? Actually, high-card/pair scaling is safer, but Flushes work if you get the suit-changing Tarot early.
Once you beat this, you unlock the Checkered Deck (26 Spades / 26 Hearts). The game suddenly stops being a jerk because Flush lines become auto-piloted.
Option #3 — Stake Wins (The Sweaty Stuff)
This is where the grind gets real. You need to win on specific difficulty “Stakes” with any deck.
- Zodiac Deck: Win on Red Stake (Difficulty 6).
- Painted Deck: Win on Green Stake (Difficulty 8).
- Plasma Deck: Win on Blue Stake (Difficulty 9).
- Anaglyph Deck: Win on Black Stake (Difficulty 10).
- Erratic Deck: Win on Orange Stake (Difficulty 11).
Balance Rant: Locking the Erratic Deck (Randomized ranks/suits) behind Orange Stake is the kind of “content for the top 0.1%” design that makes normal humans hit ‘Unlock All’ and never look back.
Summary: The Efficient Unlock Roadmap
If you refuse to click the button, don’t just play randomly. Use this roadmap to save 50+ hours.
| Goal Deck | Best Starter Deck | Strategy Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Magic Deck | Red Deck | Just play normally. Red is balanced. |
| Ghost Deck | Yellow Deck | Use the extra $10 to buy an early powerful Joker. |
| Checkered | Black Deck | Restart until you get +Chips Jokers. Do not play for economy. |
| Zodiac | Checkered Deck | Use Checkered to farm wins easily via Flushes. |
| Plasma | Blue Deck | The extra hand from Blue helps mitigate the scaling chips requirement. |
Final Verdict
Hit Profile → Unlock All if you value your time. Otherwise, use the Checkered Deck to cheese your way through the Stake difficulties once you unlock it. The Black Deck is the only real wall—climb over it, and you’re free.