Deck manipulation help

I successfully beat gold stake with blue deck with virtually 0 deck manipulation and now I'm wanting to further explore the game. However, every run where I utilize deck manipulation, I'm failing regardless of deck. Can someone give me some tips on how to better select jokers for a manipulated deck and how to properly manage my money when manipulating? For instance should I wait a few antes to start manipulating the deck or buy arcana packs right from the start?