Balatro is a roguelike deck-building game where players use poker hands to earn points and beat increasingly difficult scoring challenges. You play different hands, such as pairs, straights, and flushes, to reach a required score before running out of chances. As you progress, you can buy Joker cards, tarot cards, and other upgrades that create powerful combinations and multiply your score. The goal is to survive through multiple rounds, defeat special boss blinds, and build the strongest possible deck using strategy, luck, and creative combos.