There are two official Balatro playing card decks, and both come from Fangamer: the original deck with a red back, and the new Ghost Deck, printed by the United States Playing Card Company. Both are $16 at Fangamer and follow LocalThunk's in-game card designs, with 52 standard cards and four Jokers. The real differences are the Jokers, the back design and the color scheme.
If you've played Balatro, you already know why a physical deck makes sense. If you haven't, here's the quick version before we compare the two.
What is Balatro?
Balatro is a video game developed by LocalThunk and published by Playstack. It came out on February 20, 2024, and its own tagline sums it up: "The poker roguelike." You play poker hands to beat score targets, and you collect Jokers that bend the rules in increasingly ridiculous ways. Every run starts with a choice of deck, and each deck changes how the run plays.
That's where the Ghost Deck gets its name, and where we get our nickname for the original. In the game, the Red Deck is the default starting deck, and it gives you one extra discard every round. The Ghost Deck is unlocked later (by winning a run with the Yellow Deck). It lets Spectral cards appear in the shop and starts you with a Hex card.
The physical cards are a standard 52-card poker deck, so you can play any card game with them. You don't need to know a single Joker to enjoy them, but if you do, the Joker cards are the part you'll care about most.
The original Balatro Playing Cards (the "Red Deck")
Fangamer's first Balatro deck is simply called Balatro Playing Cards. Fangamer doesn't call it the Red Deck. We're using that name here because of its red card back and red tuck box, and because it matches the game's starting deck.
According to Fangamer's listing, it's a deck of linen-finish cards based on LocalThunk's original in-game designs. It has 52 standard playing cards plus four Jokers, packed in a tuck box accented with silver foil. The four Jokers are:
- Joker, the plain one every Balatro player meets first (+4 Mult in the game)
- Juggler, which gives you +1 hand size
- Blueprint, which copies the ability of the Joker to its right
- Gros Michel, the banana that gives +15 Mult but has a 1 in 6 chance of going extinct each round
That's a nice cross-section of the game. You've got the starter Joker, one of the most powerful Rare Jokers, and the banana every player has lost at the worst possible moment.
PlayingCardHub lists this deck as a 2025 release from Fangamer, and it's already in 18 collections.
Balatro
Fangamer
2025
3/5
The Balatro Playing Cards: Ghost Deck
Fangamer announced its "second set of Balatro playing cards" on June 9, 2026, and opened preorders that day. The product page has the best line in the whole listing: it's "like the Ghost Deck you know from Balatro, only it won't cause Spectral cards to appear in the shop."
Like the first deck, the Ghost Deck is based on LocalThunk's original in-game designs and includes 52 standard playing cards and four Jokers in a silver-foil tuck box. This time the Jokers are:
- Séance, which creates a Spectral card when you play a Straight Flush
- Mr. Bones, the skeleton who saves your run if you score at least 25% of the target, and then destroys himself
- Sixth Sense, which destroys a single 6 played as your first hand and gives you a Spectral card
- Castle, which gains Chips for every discarded card of a suit that changes each round
It's a fitting lineup for a ghost-themed deck. Two of the four Jokers create Spectral cards in the game, and Mr. Bones is literally a skeleton.
Fangamer's listing also says the Ghost Deck is printed by the United States Playing Card Company. The EU listing is €18 and says preorders won't ship until fall 2026.
The Ghost Deck doesn't have a PlayingCardHub page yet.
Ghost Deck vs Red Deck: side-by-side comparison
| Balatro Playing Cards (Red Deck) | Balatro Playing Cards: Ghost Deck | |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Fangamer (official) | Fangamer (official) |
| Price at Fangamer US | $16 | $16 |
| Cards | 52 standard + 4 Jokers | 52 standard + 4 Jokers |
| Jokers | Joker, Juggler, Blueprint, Gros Michel | Séance, Mr. Bones, Sixth Sense, Castle |
| Card back | Red | Blue and gold swirl |
| Tuck box | Red, with silver foil | Blue, with silver foil |
| Printer | Not named on Fangamer's listing | United States Playing Card Company |
| Finish | Linen (per Fangamer) | Not stated on Fangamer's listing |
| Size | Poker | Poker |
| On PlayingCardHub | Yes (2025) | Not yet |
The back colors, tuck colors and size come from Fangamer's product images, which carry a note that the final product may differ from the mockups.
The faces look slightly different too
This is the detail most people miss. In Fangamer's product images, the two decks use different suit colors. The original shows green clubs, pink hearts, orange diamonds and navy spades. The Ghost Deck shows blue clubs, red hearts, orange diamonds and black spades. The court art and pip layouts follow the same pixel-art style in both.
It's a small thing, but if you're choosing one deck for game night, lay the product photos side by side and see which faces you'd rather look at for three hours.
Which Balatro deck is right for you?
It depends on how you'll use it.
If you want one deck to play with, either works. They're the same size and card count, and both follow the game's designs. Pick the Jokers and the back you like better.
If you love the starting experience of the game, the original is the natural choice. Its red back and Gros Michel Joker are about as recognizable as Balatro gets.
If Spectral cards are your thing, the Ghost Deck's Jokers tell a little story of their own. It also has the USPCC printing credit on its listing, which some collectors care about.
If you collect, you'll probably want both. They're clearly designed as a pair, with matching formats and different colors and Jokers. Fangamer's Balatro collection lists only these two decks right now, so don't assume a full set of in-game decks is coming.
Where to find each deck
Both decks are official Fangamer products.
- Balatro Playing Cards: Fangamer US
- Balatro Playing Cards: Ghost Deck: Fangamer US and Fangamer EU
When we checked on November 9, 2026, both Fangamer US listings were showing as out of stock with a back-in-stock email signup, so availability may change quickly. Check the listing before planning a gift around either deck.
You can browse every Fangamer deck we have on file on the Fangamer company page, and USPCC's catalog on the USPCC company page. For more gift ideas this season, see our best playing card decks to gift. Video game fans can also browse our video game playing cards collection.
Track your Balatro decks
If you end up with both, add them to your free PlayingCardHub collection so you can keep track of what you own and what's still on your wishlist. PlayingCardHub is a free deck database and collection tracker, and you can create a free account in a minute.
FAQs
Are Balatro playing cards real? Yes. Fangamer makes two official Balatro decks: Balatro Playing Cards and Balatro Playing Cards: Ghost Deck. Both are based on LocalThunk's original in-game designs.
What's the difference between the Balatro Ghost Deck and the original deck? The Jokers and the colors. The original has the Joker, Juggler, Blueprint and Gros Michel, with a red back. The Ghost Deck has Séance, Mr. Bones, Sixth Sense and Castle, with a blue and gold back. Both have 52 standard cards and four Jokers.
How much are Balatro playing cards? Each deck is $16 at Fangamer US. The Ghost Deck is €18 at Fangamer EU.
Who prints the Balatro Ghost Deck? Fangamer says the Ghost Deck is printed by the United States Playing Card Company. Its listing for the original deck doesn't name a printer.
When does the Balatro Ghost Deck ship? Fangamer opened preorders on June 9, 2026, and its EU listing says preorders won't ship until fall 2026. Check Fangamer's listing for current availability.
Can you play regular card games with Balatro playing cards? Yes. Both are standard 52-card poker-size decks, so they work for poker, rummy, solitaire or any other game. The four Jokers are extras.
Sources
- Fangamer, Balatro Playing Cards (price, finish, contents, Jokers, product images): https://www.fangamer.com/products/balatro-playing-cards
- Fangamer, Balatro Playing Cards: Ghost Deck (price, contents, Jokers, USPCC printer, product images): https://www.fangamer.com/products/balatro-cards-ghost-deck
- Fangamer EU, Ghost Deck (€18, fall 2026 preorder shipping): https://www.fangamer.eu/products/balatro-cards-ghost-deck
- Fangamer news, June 9, 2026 ("Our second set of Balatro playing cards is coming!"): https://www.fangamer.com/blogs/news/deltarune-balatro
- Playstack, Balatro (developer LocalThunk, release date Feb 20, 2024): https://www.playstack.com/games/balatro/
- Official Balatro site ("The poker roguelike."): https://www.playbalatro.com/
- Balatro Wiki, in-game deck and Joker effects: https://balatrowiki.org/w/Red_Deck, https://balatrowiki.org/w/Ghost_Deck, https://balatrowiki.org/w/Joker, https://balatrowiki.org/w/Juggler, https://balatrowiki.org/w/Blueprint, https://balatrowiki.org/w/Gros_Michel, https://balatrowiki.org/w/Seance, https://balatrowiki.org/w/Mr._Bones, https://balatrowiki.org/w/Sixth_Sense, https://balatrowiki.org/w/Castle
- PlayingCardHub, Balatro (Fangamer) deck page: https://playingcardhub.com/decks/01jq8xv67m55y63e6dqjw4rqzk-balatro
