Balanced steady state-free precession (b-SSFP) pulse sequences have a number of properties which can be useful in magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP), including short acquisition times, high signal-to-noise ratios, and T2/T1 contrast weighting. The utility and versatility of b-SSFP sequences for MRCP imaging are probably underappreciated, and this pictorial essay briefly discusses benefits and limitations of 2D and 3D b-SSFP techniques used in place of or in addition to conventional single-shot fast spin echo or 3D fast spin echo acquisitions and illustrates their appearance in several clinical cases.