How do you use DNA?

[Green Raven]

It seems like stacking my deck is a bad idea, plus I lose my first hand

[malogoss]

No way around it, you have to spend that 1st hand on it and it often means a low scoring hand.

However, focusing on some specific cards can help you unlock secret hands.

Also, if you have a polychrome card with a red seal in your deck, it can lead to insane scores after you duplicated it enough times. Just remember you can discard many times before playing a hand and dig for that card, often worth it.

If you are just making copies of random plain cards, then DNA would be garbage. Use it right and walk in a whole new dimension.

[LoneHer0]

Good if you want to dupe very strong cards with enhancements, once the duplication gets going it's can be really strong with either Steel, glass, and polychrome cards and whatnot as you'll also be able to go for 4-5 of a kinds more easily if you wanted to or just have that steel mult affect for smaller hands.

I'll gladly pay 1 hand to duplicate a very good card and then increase the chance over and over again for later dupes

[Spawnling]

I think the correct question would be When to use DNA.
When you are stable enough to finish blinds with 2 hands, or at least consistently with one hand less than you have.

[VK]

DNA is a situational joker. For example, if your using erosion for added mult, DNA is the last thing you want to use. However, DNA has lots of situations where it shows its value.

DNA can be used with blueprint and brainstorm to artificially inflate the hand size.

Dependent on what hand types your looking to play, it can make finding specific cards easier untill you have the opportunity to thin the deck. (usually 3/4/5 of a kind and flush 5s.

Where DNA really thrives is playing high card and using DNA on redsealed steal cards assisted by the mime joker. This can get particularly out of hand with jokers like the baron and shoot the moon.

[BeautifulFlowerField]

helps you load the deck with a particular suit
helps you load the deck with 10/4, ace, king, queen, fibonacci numbers and other relevant build ranks
helps you copy powerful modified cards like steel and glass or purple seal.

a lot of players sleep on tarots but enhancements are the key to getting your score to outer space and DNA is an incredible engine for that. i think it's one of the best jokers in the game if taken at the right time.

[Vukmir]

1. Get a polychrome red seal card

2. DNA it a lot (about 10-12)

3. Play flush five rest of the game

4. Enjoy doing millions of chips every hand.

[Amplify]

I'd personally only use DNA if either:
1. I get it in a pack for free early
2. I have a great card I'd like to dupe
In both cases I'd ideally also like to have Blueprint and / or Brainstorm. "A great card" requires that it has a red seal, preferably it should also have an edition too (Foil, holo or Polychrome) and it'd be best if it's a King or Queen and Steel would be the dream card.

It's a "win more" card. It's extremely unlikely to win you any runs you wouldn't have already won, but it has the potential to send your endless run several antes beyond what you'd have ordinarily gotten.

[Winter Wolf]

It seems like most of the time the opportunity cost for DNA is too high to be useful. But under precisely the right circumstances described above it is actually broken.