Balatro: Backing up your save file and how it can benefit you

The savegame is contained in a file called ‘save.jkr’. Each different profile in Balatro has its own folder and save slot, corresponding to a folder with a number from 1 to 3. As most people will only have one profile, I will only focus on that.

On Windows, this file is located in:

C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\Balatro\1\save.jkr

Note that the AppData folder is hidden on default, so to access it, the easiest way is to type in %appdata% in your Windows search bar.

On the Steam Deck (and similarly on other Linux devices), the file is located in:

rootfs\home\deck\.local\share\Steam\steamapps\compatdata\2379780\pfx\drive_c\users\steamuser\AppData\Roaming\Balatro\1\save.jkr

To back it up, simply make a copy of the file and stash it in a different folder. I recommend having an organized file structure where you can easily locate different saves. Here is an example of the file structure I have created:

This is simply an example, and in my case, it contains a lot more files and folders.

To load a backup, simply replace the existing file with the save you want to restore, or paste it in if the old file has been deleted.

There are a multitude of ways to optimize your run, but it becomes especially useful when you can go back in time. Here are a some examples:

Not sure if you are able to defeat the next blind or boss? Back up the save, then use your discards and hands to see what kinds of cards come up, then restore the save and go for the best hand you can get. The cards will always appear in the specific order set by the seed of the run.

Have some chance-based effects like lucky cards or a Space Joker but they won’t trigger at the desired time? Try to see which cards they trigger on, and play that specific amount of cards before your ‘Big Hand’ to guarantee them triggering at the exact desired time.

Find some potentially useful skip tags that may or may not be worth it? Back up your save and take them! If the rewards aren’t worth the skip or you can’t seem to score enough for the bigger stake, simply restore the backup and continue.

Don’t seem to have enough money for anything? Save money by:

• Re-rolling ahead in the shop to see if there is anything in that ante worth re-rolling for. If not, don’t even bother until the next ante.
• Opening booster packs to see if there’s anything worth it inside. Remember, the contents only change when the pack is either opened or you get to a higher ante.
• Try to defeat blinds by using the least amount of hands possible. If you aren’t locked in to a specific hand type, try different combinations of cards to potentially get an extra dollar here and there. Every dollar counts!

Have a difficult choice between multiple Tarot, Spectral or Planet cards? Pick one and see if it works! If not, go back to the choice and choose differently.

Managing save files can be a major helper in gaining progress to achievements, especially the Completionist achievements.

For the regular Completionist achievement, if you see anything you haven’t ‘discovered’ and added to your collection yet, you can do so by simply backing up the save, buying, selecting or skipping for that item and then restoring the save, as it will immediately add it to your collection without you having to actually use it during the run.

For the Completionist++ achievement, while playing on Gold stake, regularly create backups of the save, and after winning the save, see if you can do it with one less joker. If the answer is yes, go ahead and load a backup, select another joker from the shop and complete it again. This way you can essentially ‘farm’ gold stickers on jokers you wouldn’t normally use in a run, and especially at the end of the run. You can further help yourself get more and more joker stickers if you save as much money as possible to the last antes for re-rolling the shop as much as possible. Once you have all decks completed on gold stake, you can start focusing on making runs centered on specific missing gold sticker jokers.

I even made an Excel spreadsheet of the jokers to see which gold stickers I was missing

Just a reminder, it is completely okay if you consider save-scumming a form of cheating and don’t want to do it. Balatro is still completely possible to 100% even without using these tips, though it will only take a lot more time. I managed to do it in a little less than 200 hours by making backups of my saves.

If you think I missed something, or you want to correct something, let me know! I will try to update the guide at some point when I have the time for it.