Review: Poker on steroids – 'Balatro' is all about trick cards
BERLIN: Card games often follow this pattern: You randomly draw cards, find the best combination and play them at the right time. In Balatro you need more than just a lucky hand, because certain special cards make all the difference.

A basic understanding of poker is needed to understand the principle of the game – as well as some maths. Each round consists of three blinds (minimum bets), in which players find and play the cards in the classic poker combinations such as full house or flush.

'Balatro' starts out with the normal rules of poker, but then expands this with an even bigger framework.

The resulting number of points is added to with a multiplier, which has to be increased over the course of the game using special cards. To win a blind, you have to beat a certain high score, which increases with each round.

Win a blind and you get money that you can exchange for booster packs in a shop. Here the game completely departs from the normal rules of poker.

Win a blind and you get money that you can exchange for booster packs in a shop. Here the game completely departs from the normal rules of poker.

For example, jokers add more cards to your hand, generate more chips or increase the multiplier in a variety of ways. There are also tarot cards that can briefly change the values of the entire hand and turn a round on its head.

Even for normal cards, upgrades can be purchased to increase their value. There are no limits to the combinations, which doesn't make finding the right tactics very easy. However, even though the learning curve is steep, the cards are well explained.

The strange idea of adding an upgrade system to a card game actually works.

The strange idea of adding an upgrade system to a card game actually works. Through the various upgrades and special cards, the developers have created a tricky card game, the likes of which has never been seen before.

Balatro is available for PCs and the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox consoles and costs around €14 or US$15 (RM45 in Malaysia). – dpa
Card games often follow this pattern: You randomly draw cards, find the best combination and play them at the right time. In “Balatro” you need more than just a lucky hand, because certain special cards make all the difference.