You can use and discover multiple Jokers during your run in Balatro. Each has a distinctly unique quality that makes it useful, but it all comes down to your cards, and how you use them. Not every Joker might work the way you want, like the Séance Joker.
Getting the Séance Joker to work can be tricky, and it comes down to how you structure your deck. Like other Jokers, it has a distinct effect with prerequisites to activate it, and if you don’t do exactly what it says, the effect is not triggered. You also want to make sure you have room when you use the Séance Joker in your line-up because must have an open consumable slot to redeem it. We’ll breakdown how the Séance Joker works and how you can make the most of it in your next Balatro run.
How to use the Séance Joker in Balatro
Adding the Séance Joker in Balatro to your Joker cards triggers when your hand is a Straight Flush. You can complete a Straight Flush by placing down five cards that follow the same order, such as two, three, four, five, and six, and they’re all the same suit. If they’re not all the same suit, it’s only a Straight and not a Straight Flush. After you complete a Straight Flush correctly and have an open slot in your consumables, you receive a Spectral Card, one of 18 cards with a different effect.
Getting the Séance Joker card to trigger is relatively straightforward, but how you can get it to work in a deck can be tricky. It doesn’t offer additional Chips or Multiplier bonuses unless you get lucky and it appears as a Foil, Hololgrpahic, Polychrome, or a Negative version of the card. However, it does complement the Crafty Joker and Droll Joker, which offer bonuses for completing a hand with a Flush, or the Crazy Joker or the Devious Joker, as they give bonuses for completing a Straight. If you have additional uncommon Jokers in your hand, using the Baseball Card is a good way to get a 1.5x multiplier for every hand you complete, regardless of what you submit.
Some other Jokers you can add to your options alongside the Séance Joker include the Shortcut, Four Fingers, Raised Fist, Constellation, Runner, or Hologram. For many of these choices, it all comes down to what playing cards you’ve added to your deck during your Balatro run.
All Spectral Cards you can get from the Séance Joker in Balatro
The real magic from the Séance Joker comes from the Spectral Cards you can pull. There are 18 that can appear every time you trigger the effect. The Spectral Cards are good, but some have some negative effects you may have to contend with. If you don’t like one, you can always sell it after you complete a Blind to get some quick money. Here’s a full breakdown of all Spectral Cards and how they work.
| Spectral Card | Effect |
|---|---|
| Ankh | Create a copy of a random Joker, destroy all other Jokers. |
| Aura | Add Foil, Holographic, or Polychrome effect to one selected hand. |
| Black Hole | Upgrade every Poker Hand (including secret hands not discovered) by one level. |
| Cryptid | Create two copies of one selected card in your hand. |
| Deja Vu | Add a Red Seal to one selected card in your hand. |
| Ectoplasm | Add a Negative Joker to a random Joker, minus one hand size. |
| Familiar | Destroy one random card in your hand, add three random Enhanced face cards to your hand. |
| Grim | Destroy one random card in your hand, add two random Enhanced Aces to your hand. |
| Hex | Add Polychrome to a random Joker, destroy all other Jokers. |
| Immolate | Destroy five random cards in your hand, gain $20. |
| Incantation | Destroy one random card in your hand, add four random Enhanced numbered cards to your hand. |
| Medium | Add a Purple Seal to one selected card in your hand. |
| Ouija | Converts all cards in hand to a single random rank, minus one hand size. |
| Sigil | Converts all cards in a hand to a single random suit. |
| Soul | Creates a Legendary Joker (must have room) |
| Talisman | Add a Gold Seal to one selected card in your hand. |
| Trance | Add a Blue Seal to one selected card in your hand. |
| Wraith | Creates a random Rare Joker, sets money to zero. |
