Balatro—All Tags and What They Do

While there are many ways to improve your run in Balatro, Tags are the most convenient method of doing so. Tags save you time and effort by rewarding you for skipping blinds (except Boss Blinds). However, skipping blinds isn’t always the best idea, so don’t get greedy when grabbing Tags!

What Are Tags in Balatro?

Tags in Balatro are bonus effects that activate between playing blinds. To get a Tag, you must skip a blind. You can hover over the Tag icon beneath any Small Blind or Big Blind to see what it is. You cannot get Tags from Boss Blinds, as you can’t skip that type of encounter.

There are 24 Tags in the game. To unlock each of them in the Collection menu, they must be obtained in unseeded runs.

We’ll go into each of the 24 Tags and what they do, but we’ll classify them into groups to organize the information more efficiently.

Joker Shop Tags

Joker Shop Tags are the Tags in Balatro that affect how and when a Joker appears in the shop. These are Tags you should get near the beginning of your run so that you can get great Jokers earlier. Doing so makes runs easier. Plus, if you have the heart of a collector, grabbing rare edition Jokers is immensely satisfying.

Uncommon Tag

This Tag’s icon is a green Joker silhouette. When obtained, an Uncommon Joker is guaranteed to spawn in the next shop. Keep in mind that this is only applicable to the next shop you visit—and not those entered afterward.

Rare Tag

The Rare Tag is represented by a red Joker silhouette. Like the Uncommon Tag, the Rare Tag results in a Joker showing up in the next shop—a Rare one!

Tip

Make sure to save up at least $7 to $10 before grabbing this Tag, as Rare Jokers usually cost around that much.

Negative Tag

Symbolized with a black card sporting a white plus sign, the Negative Tag is often worth getting. When you pick this one up, one of the base edition Jokers in the next shop will become a Negative Joker.

Negative Jokers give you an additional Joker slot. For example, if you have five Joker slots, acquiring a Negative edition Joker increases your slot count to six. Even if you have all five initial Joker slots filled, it’s still possible to add a Negative Joker to your Joker zone thanks to the additional slot gained.

Foil Tag

This Tag is marked with a silver card that has a gray plus sign. The Foil Tag makes one of the base edition Jokers in the next shop become Foil. Foil Jokers give you +50 Chips when triggered as you play a hand.

Holographic Tag

The Holographic Tag looks similar to the Foil Tag in that its icon is a silver card with a gray plus sign—but the former has purple and green smudges in the bottom-left corner. After grabbing the Holographic Tag, one of the base edition Jokers in the next shop becomes Holographic. Holographic Jokers grant your scored hand +10 Mult.

Polychrome Tag

Polychrome Tags are easy to recognize as their icon is a rainbow card featuring a white plus sign. Following the acquisition, one of the base edition Jokers in the next shop becomes Polychrome. Polychrome Jokers boost your hand score by x1.5 Mult.

Tip

The order of your Jokers matter! Place Polychrome Jokers to the right of Holographic Jokers so they trigger in an order (left to right) that gives you bigger scores. Adding Mult before multiplying it always generates bigger numbers.

Shop Tags

Shop Tags in Balatro are those that relate to the shop but have nothing to do with Jokers directly. These most often result in you saving money at the shop or finding something more useful there than previously possible. This enables you to shop until you drop!

Voucher Tag

This Tag is represented by a reddish-brown and black icon of a ticket (a Voucher) that has a white plus sign on it. When obtained, it creates a Voucher in the next shop you visit. The usefulness of this Tag depends on whether or not you’ve bought a Voucher in the current Ante.

If you haven’t bought the current Ante’s Voucher, getting a Voucher Tag will replace it. This can be helpful if you don’t need the current Ante’s base Voucher.

Alternatively, if you have the money to spare, it can be better to buy the base Voucher in an Ante before picking up the Voucher Tag. Doing so means you’ll get two Vouchers during this Ante instead of one. Many Vouchers provide excellent buffs for your run, so stack them for awesome results!

Coupon Tag

You’ll recognize the Coupon Tag easily, as its icon is a bright red coupon. Arguably the best Tag in the game, this one makes all initial cards and booster packs in the next shop free. However, it will not make the next shop’s Voucher free. Shopping spree, anyone?

Tip

Combine the Coupon Tag’s effect with that of the Rare Tag for a free Rare Joker!

D6 Tag

The D6 Tag has a green die for its icon. When obtained, this Tag causes rerolls at the next shop to start at $0 (rerolls usually begin at $5). After each reroll in this specific shop, the price goes up by $1. This can be helpful if you’re struggling to find good assets for your build and are low on cash.

Money Tags

Money Tags give you cash either immediately or when specific criteria are met. More often than not, Money Tags give you more income than playing a blind in Balatro. As such, if you need to buy a lot of assets, grab one of these when you see them.

Investment Tag

This Tag’s icon is a yellow dollar sign. While grabbing it will eventually net you $15, you’ll only get this money after defeating the next Boss Blind. Since that’s the main goal of each Ante, picking up the Investment Tag is never a bad call.

Handy Tag

You’ll spot this Tag when you see a blue circle icon with a white hand inside it. When acquired, the Handy Tag gives you $1 for every hand played in your current run. For instance, if you’ve played a total of 10 hands so far this run, you’ll immediately get $10.

As you can expect, this Tag is more useful the later you encounter it in your run. Conveniently, the Handy Tag shows you how much money you’ll get if you obtain it.

Garbage Tag

Appropriately, the Garbage Tag is represented by a red circle featuring a white garbage can inside. After you pick up this Tag, you’ll get $1 per unused discard this run. As such, if you’ve avoided using nine discards so far in your current run, the Garbage Tag gives you $9 right away.

Like the Handy Tag, the Garbage Tag shows you how much money you’ll get if you grab it—and is also more useful the later you bump into it.

Speed Tag

The Speed Tag’s icon is a yellow circle with a curved white arrow inside it. This Tag gives you $5 per blind skipped this run. Even if you’ve only skipped a single blind, this Tag may be worth getting, as $5 is the average of what you’ll get for clearing a Small Blind or Big Blind (unless you’re using money-focused tactics).

Similar to the Handy Tag and Garbage Tag, the Speed Tag shows you how much money you’ll get when you pick it up.

Economy Tag

This Tag has a yellow circle with a zigzagging white arrow inside it for an icon. After being picked up, the Economy Tag doubles your money. However, there’s a maximum doubling value of $40.

As such, if you have $40 before grabbing the Economy Tag, you’ll end up with $80. Alternatively, if you start with $50, afterward, your new cash total will only go up to $90.

Booster Pack Tags

Booster Pack Tags give you a free Booster Pack. There are Booster Pack Tags for all types of Booster Packs: Standard, Arcana, Celestial, Buffoon, and Spectral. For all packs except the Spectral variety, you’ll get a Mega Booster Pack. Mega Booster Packs let you pick two out of the five revealed cards.

Standard Tag

The Standard Tag is represented by a white playing card inside an orange circle. This Tag gives you a Mega Standard Pack which you open immediately after obtaining the Standard Tag. Look for this Tag when you’re seeking to fill your deck with more Playing Cards. Sometimes, Playing Cards in Standard Booster Packs come pre-enhanced with a nice boon.

Charm Tag

With an icon showing a white eye inside a purple circle, you’ll spot the Charm Tag without much trouble. After the acquisition of this Tag, you’ll be rewarded with a Mega Arcana Pack. Keep an eye out for this Tag if you want to find and use more Tarot Cards in Balatro.

Meteor Tag

This Tag’s icon shows a bluish-gray meteor. When you grab the Meteor Tag, you’ll get a Mega Celestial Pack right away. For builds that focus on Planet Cards, this is a great Tag to find. If you’ve unlocked the secret Planet Cards in Balatro, they can appear in such packs alongside basic Planet Cards.

Buffoon Tag

When you see a gray circle with a white Joker silhouette inside, you have stumbled across a Buffoon Tag. Once you pick up this Tag, you’ll open a Mega Buffoon Pack. This nets you up to two Jokers of your choice. If you see the Buffoon Tag early in your run, grab it, as Jokers are very helpful for winning rounds.

Ethereal Tag

A blue and yellow circle with white lines inside it heralds the Ethereal Tag. Sadly, unlike the other Booster Pack Tags, this one only gives you a regular Spectral Booster Pack instead of a mega one. As a result, you’ll get to choose one Spectral Card out of two to keep. While not ideal, it’s still helpful for collecting all Spectral Cards in Balatro.

Miscellaneous Tags

Miscellaneous Tags in Balatro are all the ones that don’t neatly fit into a single category. These grant upgrades, help you obtain more assets, and more. On top of that, these Tags are the most situational in terms of usage.

Boss Tag

The Boss Tag has an icon showing a pinkish-purple circle with two curved white arrows inside. After being picked up, this Tag rerolls the Boss Blind. Most of the time, the Boss Tag isn’t worth getting, as you can potentially summon a Boss Blind that’s even harder to beat than the original.

However—for example—in a situation where your deck is full of Hearts and the Boss Blind is The Head (all Heart cards are debuffed), it would be a good idea to use the Boss Tag to reroll this particular Boss Blind.

Double Tag

This Tag displays one red and one blue square overlapping each other. When the Double Tag is obtained, it will let you get two copies of the next acquired Tag. The only exception to this effect is another Double Tag. Use the Double Tag to double down on other Tags that stack nicely, such as any of the Money Tags or Booster Pack Tags.

Juggle Tag

Represented by three small circles—one yellow, one blue, and one red—the Juggle Tag is a nice one-time buff. Once picked up, this Tag gives you +3 to your hand size during the next round you play. For instance, if you’re normal hand size is 8, it will increase to 11 for one round. This can be especially useful when facing some Boss Blinds.

Top-up Tag

Take a refreshing sip of the Top-up Tag—which has an icon showing a blue can featuring a straight white arrow. Following usage, the Top-up Tag creates up to two Common Jokers. Keep in mind that you need to have open Joker slots for this. If you don’t have any open Joker slots, this Tag does nothing.

Orbital Tag

The Orbital Tag looks like a greenish-gray circle with a light gray ring around it housing a small red circle. After getting the Orbital Tag, whatever Poker Hand type is shown on it will be upgraded by three levels.

This can be very helpful if the listed Poker Hand type is one you use often. Conversely, if the listed Poker Hand type is one you don’t use, this Tag will be next to useless.

There are plenty of tricks for using Tags efficiently in Balatro. However, they are all situational. Use your best judgment to determine what’s helpful and what’s not. With that said, such judgment calls will improve as you play more of this fantastic indie game.

Thankfully, even in the worst-case scenario, you’re unlikely to make a decision bad enough to end a run—unlike in Magic: The Gathering, where you can potentially lose an MTG game by misusing an Artifact like Mana Crypt.