Which Deck Should You Start With in Balatro?
In Balatro, your starting deck is a run-long modifier you pick on the New Run screen before Ante 1. If you are new, think of it as your safety setting for the whole run. A Blind is one round you need to beat, and each Ante has three rounds: Small Blind, Big Blind, and Boss Blind. In every round, you get a limited number of hands (plays) and discards (throwing cards away to draw replacements).
For most first clears, start with Red Deck (it is also the deck unlocked from the start). The extra discard is always useful and gives you more chances to find a scoring poker hand when your draw is rough. After you unlock more decks, move to Blue Deck if you keep missing score by one play, since it gives an extra hand each round. Yellow Deck is a good next pick because it starts you with an extra $10 for earlier Joker and consumable buys.
Pick by Goal
First clear: Red Deck. Most consistent: Red or Blue, based on whether you need more redraws or more plays. Risky high-roll: Black Deck after you are comfortable, since the extra Joker slot can spike hard but fewer hands makes weak draws much harsher.
Simple between-run rule: if you lose because you cannot assemble hands, prioritize discards. If you lose because you run out of turns, prioritize hands. Use that rule to choose your next deck instead of forcing the same opener every run.