Balatro Gold Stake Guide: Every Stake Explained
BalatroBuddy is an unofficial fan site, not affiliated with LocalThunk or Playstack. Stake rules and blind sizes are checked against Balatro 1.0.1; the strategy sections are opinion.
Gold Stake is Balatro's hardest difficulty. It doesn't add one big rule. Instead, it stacks seven smaller ones on top of the base game. This guide explains what each stake adds, shows how much the score targets grow, and gives the plan we'd follow for a Gold Stake win.
How stakes unlock
Stakes unlock separately for each deck. A win on White Stake with Red Deck opens Red Stake for Red Deck only. To reach Gold Stake on a deck, you need to win on Orange Stake with that same deck. That's why most players pick one or two favourite decks for the climb.
What each stake adds
Every stake keeps all the rules of the stakes below it. Each name links to the stake's page in our stake database.
| # | Stake | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
 | White StakeDifficulty 1 The base game | |
 | Red StakeDifficulty 2 The Small Blind pays no reward money | |
 | Green StakeDifficulty 3 Score targets grow faster each ante | |
 | Black StakeDifficulty 4 The shop can have Eternal jokers | |
 | Blue StakeDifficulty 5 -1 discard every round | |
 | Purple StakeDifficulty 6 Score targets grow faster again | |
 | Orange StakeDifficulty 7 The shop can have Perishable jokers | |
 | Gold StakeDifficulty 8 The shop can have Rental jokers |
By Gold Stake, you start each round with 4 hands and 2 discards on most decks, get no money from Small Blinds, and face the steepest score curve in the game.
The announced 1.1 update is set to rework Blue Stake. This guide covers 1.0.1, and we'll update it when 1.1 ships.
Score targets by stake
These are the base chip targets. A Small Blind needs the base amount, a Big Blind needs 1.5x, and most Boss Blinds need 2x.
| Ante | White and Red | Green, Black and Blue | Purple, Orange and Gold |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 300 | 300 | 300 |
| 2 | 800 | 900 | 1,000 |
| 3 | 2,000 | 2,600 | 3,200 |
| 4 | 5,000 | 8,000 | 9,000 |
| 5 | 11,000 | 20,000 | 25,000 |
| 6 | 20,000 | 36,000 | 60,000 |
| 7 | 35,000 | 60,000 | 110,000 |
| 8 | 50,000 | 100,000 | 200,000 |
On Gold Stake, the Ante 8 boss needs at least 400,000 chips, four times the White Stake target. Most of that gap opens up between Antes 5 and 8. If you clear Ante 4 comfortably but have no scaling plan, expect to lose around Ante 6. Plasma Deck doubles every target in the table. For boss-by-boss effects, see our Boss Blind database and the ante guide.
The three joker stickers
From Black Stake on, shop and booster-pack jokers can come with stickers. The game rolls for each one when the joker is made.
| Sticker | From | What it does | Chance on a shop or pack joker |
|---|---|---|---|
| EternalBlack Stake Black Stake Can't be sold or destroyed About 30% | ||
| PerishableOrange Stake Orange Stake Debuffed after 5 rounds About 30% | ||
| RentalGold Stake Gold Stake Costs $1 to buy, then $3 at the end of every round About 30%, rolled separately |
A joker can't be both Eternal and Perishable, but either one can also be a Rental.
How we handle them (opinion):
- Eternal: fine on a joker you'd keep all run anyway, like a scaling xMult joker. Skip it on economy jokers you plan to sell later. An Eternal joker keeps its slot for the rest of the run, so count it as permanent.
- Perishable: treat it as a five-round loan. It's good for getting through a hard boss or a scaling stretch, but don't build your run around one.
- Rental: $3 a round adds up to about $9 an ante, which is close to giving up your interest. Rent only a joker that wins you the next few blinds, and sell it once you have a replacement. Its sell value is $1.
Gold Stake strategy
This is our opinion, built from the rules above.
- Protect your money early. With no Small Blind reward, interest is a large share of your income. Reach $25 to get the full $5 interest and try to stay there. Seed Money and Money Tree raise the cap if your economy is strong.
- Find a scaling joker by Ante 3. Flat +Mult falls behind the Purple Stake curve. Look for xMult or jokers that grow over the run. Our joker tier list ranks them with that in mind.
- Pick one hand and level it. With two discards, you can't dig for a different hand every round. Choose a hand your deck makes reliably and level it with Planets. A Celestial Pack is often worth the money.
- Skip blinds carefully. A skipped Small Blind costs you no reward money on these stakes, so skipping for a strong Tag such as a Negative Tag or Rare Tag is cheaper than on White Stake. Don't skip if your score is already borderline.
- Read the boss before you shop. You can see the next Boss Blind early. Buy for it, especially for bosses that target your build, like The Psychic, which forces 5-card hands.
- Hold a backup plan for Ante 8. Five Showdown bosses can appear on Ante 8. Keep a spare consumable or some extra score margin ready.
Decks and seeds for Gold Stake
Our best decks guide covers every deck. For Gold Stake we'd start with:
- Red Deck: its +1 discard cancels Blue Stake's -1, so you keep 3 discards.
- Plasma Deck: the highest scoring ceiling, even though its targets are twice as large.
- Anaglyph Deck: a free Double Tag after every boss pays off on long, tough runs.
Want a strong start to practise with? These seeds were posted for Gold Stake runs:
- CKMNCH91: Ghost Deck, with Invisible Joker and Triboulet in Ante 2.
- WDK71YFM: Anaglyph Deck, with Blueprint, Invisible Joker and Canio by Ante 2.
Stickers can change with the stake, so check each seed page for the stake it was checked on. Seeded and challenge runs don't count toward stake progress or unlocks.
BalatroBuddy's optional AI coach (paid) can review a run; everything in this guide is free.
Questions
What does Gold Stake do in Balatro?
Gold Stake adds Rental jokers to the shop. They cost $1 to buy, then $3 at the end of every round. It also keeps every earlier stake's rule: no Small Blind reward, faster score scaling, Eternal and Perishable jokers, and one fewer discard.
How do you unlock Gold Stake?
Stakes unlock one deck at a time. Win on Orange Stake with a deck to open Gold Stake for that deck.
How much score do you need at Ante 8 on Gold Stake?
The Ante 8 Boss Blind needs 400,000 chips on Gold Stake, compared with 100,000 on White Stake. Plasma Deck doubles both.
What is the best deck for Gold Stake?
It's a matter of opinion. We like Plasma Deck for its scoring, Anaglyph Deck for the Double Tags, and Red Deck because its extra discard replaces the discard that Blue Stake removes.
How many stakes are there in Balatro?
There are eight: White, Red, Green, Black, Blue, Purple, Orange and Gold. Each one keeps the rules of every stake before it.