When you open a new box of cards in packs, do you have a system? Is there a certain sequence you pull the packs out in to assure quality pulls? There are several possible patterns depending on the configuration of the box.
I got two retail boxes of the latest release from Topps - 2020 Series 2.
They are 2 stack boxes.
They are 2 stack boxes.
Two flat stacks of packs. A left side and a right side stack.
I always prefer to open my boxes "evenly" - that is, one pack from each stack. In this case, one from the left and then one from the right, and repeat as you go down.
The first alternative is to open one stack in its entirety and then the other. (The "Whole Stack" method.)
So halfway through would look like the above photo.
The third pattern is the "Dump and Mix" technique, which would be to remove all the packs in the box and dump them on a table or floor and randomly open packs. This usually involves the contents of all boxes at once. (Too much randomness for my tastes to be honest).
Same basic choices for a 3 stack box like Allen & Ginter. I would open one pack from each stack - left, center, and right in succession and repeat until finished.
Same holds true for the common hobby box - the 4 stack box. My sequence would be top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right, etc. You could switch it up and do the left stacks first and then the right side ones.
And again, the other options are to pull each stack as a whole, or the dump & mix method.
Of course, in reality, none of this has any bearing on the amount of luck you'll have with what you receive. But it's kinda fun to think about.
I didn't really pull much of anything earth-shattering from my first 2020 S2 retail box, so I may not bother to post about it. The only insert that I could not pull was the 2030. I got lots of Turkey Reds, some '85s, Decade Greats, one Significant Stat, a couple Home Run Challenge cards, one Topps Now! review, two of the ugly WARriors, and the usual parallels.
How do you open your boxes?
I open using the same patterns you do. Never dump, ever. If I open a box with a friend, she gets heck for going out of order. All in good fun but seriously, do it my way.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a long time since I bought a box. But when I bought A&G boxes, I'd open all of the left row first, then the center, then the right.
ReplyDeleteDumping seems borderline disrespectful.
If you bought the box, it doesn't matter. But I would open the top row from left to right and work down instead of opening one side first.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was opening packs from my dealers' hobby boxes and "hits" were involved, I would randomly bounce around. There were four stacks usually, so it was easier to be unpredictable.
As you mentioned, opening in a certain order doesn't change the contents of the packs, but that doesn't stop me from doing it. I'm VERY systematic about it and usually keep notes to see if their are patterns with the packing out of a product. I recently bought five Big League blasters and found a numbered parallel in four of the five. 10 packs to a blaster and the parallels feel in packs 10, 5, 6, and 1. No pattern whatsoever, but still fun to see what happens!
ReplyDeleteIf I open a box like A&G (3 stacks) I like to do a "Pack Wars" type game to see which row has the best cards. Sometimes I even have an inner announcing monologue going. . . . I'm such a nerd. LOL
I'm kind of the opposite--I'll sort of reach in and grab something random, not the first or last pack. (I'm mostly thinking in terms of blasters, because that's what I usually buy.) If I'm happy with the pack, I'll keep grabbing from the middle. If not, I'll try to break the luck by doing something different.
ReplyDeleteThe last box I opened was a blaster. I pulled them out at the same time and opened them up from top to bottom. Sometimes I'll look at the sides to see if one pack is thicker than the rest and put it at the bottom (even if 90% of the time it's a coaster).
ReplyDeleteFor a time I tried the "dump and mix" method, taking out all the packs, shuffling them into three of four piles, and then shuffling again before opening. I thought this would bring me luck, but I didn't notice any difference so I stopped.
ReplyDelete