After 300+ hours of play time, finally I completed all gold stake runs! Black Deck was so brutal that it alone took me 8 hours to win the gold stake. My takeaways:
- YouTube videos def helped. However don’t depend on them 100%. Everyone has their own styles and preferences. For example, I love Fortune Teller just because I am a heavy Tarot user. It might not be the best mult joker in a lot of people’s rankings, but for me it always works consistently for the stake runs.
- Careful calculation of scores in the early runs are important before you get a good setup. Try not to eye ball too much.
- Building a good economy is so important but requires so much self discipline. So many times I screwed up by not being able to resist buying Tarot or Planet cards early when I should’ve saved the money to find good jokers.
- Perfectionism doesn’t exist in the game. Early on I was too obsessed with finding the best jokers, or building the ideal deck, or not wanting to use rental or perishable jokers, or discarding too much to get the best hand. The fact is that I have to SURVIVE before considering anything else.
- When you are tired, take a break. The game shouldn’t be painful.
This is such an amazing game and I am so excited to explore more now.