All Jokers Tier List (Commons)

Balatro’s Common Joker Rankings

The video ranks Balatro’s Common Jokers across five school-themed tiers: Graduating with Honors, Solo Group Project, See Me After Class, You’re in the Wrong Class, and Expelled.

The host evaluates how reliably each Joker helps a run, how much effort it takes to activate, and whether its value lasts as the run develops.

Standout Jokers

• Chad is a top pick because it retriggers the first played card. This enables strong combinations with Photograph, Gold Seals, Lucky Cards, and other retrigger effects. Chad plus Photograph is especially powerful.
• Hallucination is highly rated for generating Tarot cards from booster packs, offering substantial value for a Common.
• Cavendish provides excellent, reliable XMult.
• Runner can build a large chip bonus by playing Straights, and that bonus remains even after switching to other hands.
• Smiley Face is a strong, straightforward source of Mult when playing face cards.
• The Sinful Jokers grant Mult for matching suits, even when the played hand is not a Flush. The host particularly likes Gluttonous Joker and ranks Lusty Joker lowest among the group.
• Abstract Joker, Hiker, Riff-Raff, and several other value or scoring Jokers are also viewed favorably.

Situational or Mixed Picks

• The hand-specific Mult Jokers—Droll, Mad, Crazy, Jolly, and Zany—trade payout against how difficult their hands are to make. The host favors Mad for Two Pair and Droll for Flushes, while finding Zany harder to activate. These Jokers can help early but may fall off later.
• Todd, Steven, Gelato, and other chip providers are useful early. Todd gets an edge for supporting weaker hands while the player uses discards to find valuable cards.
• Bank Card can enable an early spending spree, though going into debt costs interest and requires careful timing.
• Eight Ball and Superposition can generate Tarot cards, but their value depends on repeatedly making the required hands.
• Misprint has a reasonable average Mult bonus, but its randomness can make it unreliable when a run depends on one scoring hand.
• Juggler can help assemble stronger hands by increasing hand size, though the host generally prefers a dependable scoring bonus.
• The Bus can scale, but takes time to become useful and may be overtaken by other scoring options.
• Splash is considered underrated but situational. It is most useful when a build benefits from playing unusual or low-scoring cards.

Weak or Awkward Picks

• Banner and Green Joker can discourage using discards. The host emphasizes that discards are valuable for finding Gold Cards, Purple Seals, and other useful cards.
• Square Joker, Walkie Talkie, Wet Joker, and Shoot the Moon are among the less appealing options discussed.
• Golden Ticket and Business Card can generate money, but their payoff may require awkward conditions or several face-card plays.
• Faceless Joker can pay well but requires assembling multiple face cards in a single discard.
• Red Card gives Mult for skipping booster packs, but skipping packs means giving up opportunities to find useful cards.
• Credit Card can help when a run needs an immediate boost, but debt restricts later spending and can occupy a Joker slot.

Key Gameplay Tips

• Value early-game help, but reassess later. Common chip and Mult Jokers often keep a run alive early, then become replaceable as Planet cards and stronger Jokers arrive.
• Don’t undervalue chips early. Chip Jokers can make low-effort hands viable and let you spend discards looking for resources instead of forcing a specific hand.
• Treat discards as an economic tool. They can help uncover Gold Cards, seals, and other value-generating cards, so effects that require saving or avoiding discards have a real cost.
• Use synergies, especially retriggers. Chad is strongest when paired with effects that trigger when a card scores multiple times.
• Consider short-term spending strategically. Bank Card may sacrifice interest, but buying useful items early can improve future flexibility.
• Be wary of inconsistent effects. A Joker’s average payout may look good, but a low roll can still cost a run if it is your only source of scoring.

Video and References

The video is from Balatro University. It references Northernlion and Life Coach as advocates for Green Joker.