Balatro is based on the game of poker, and while it may look similar at the start, it quickly transforms into something completely different, including a few hands you could never play in regular poker.
If you aren’t familiar with poker or want to learn more about Balatro‘s secret hands, here’s everything you need to know.
All standard hands in Balatro
The nine standard hands in Balatro are the same as in traditional poker. During a Blind, you must collect a specific card combination and then play it to earn Chips. Every hand can have up to five cards, and you can play any hand below with additional random cards that won’t count toward the scoring (but it’s a good way to discard unwanted cards).
Here are all the standard hands in Balatro:
If you put together a Royal Flush (Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and 10 of the same suit), it will show up as a Royal Flush, but the multipliers and levels are shared with the Straight Flush.
All secret hands in Balatro
Three secret hands in Balatro don’t appear in the Run Info until you play them. To play these hands, you have to make a few slight modifications to your deck, usually through Tarot Cards or Spectral Cards, depending on how lucky you are.
Here are all the secret hands in Balatro:
| Hand | Description | Scoring | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| Five of a Kind | Five cards of the same rank | 120 Chips x 12 Mult |  |
| Flush House | Three of a Kind and Pair of the same suit | 140 Chips x 14 Mult |  |
| Flush Five | Five cards of the same rank and suit | 160 Chips x 16 Mult |  |
The secret hands have significantly high base multipliers, and if you get Jokers like Willy Joker and Droll Joker (that trigger even if you don’t play the exact hand), you can snowball through Antes all the way until the Endless Mode. This does require a lot of luck, though, or a seeded run.
