The Ultimate Box Break

Box breaks are a rich collector's game.  On a budget as small as mine, I simply cannot afford to throw money on the chance that I might get a card.  Box breaks have their place, and I'll admit, I've gotten some pretty good hits from products I would never have afforded to buy otherwise.  But on the whole, I'm a low-end, low-budget collector and I don't chase after hits much.  Case in point: my Packers collection includes a whopping four autographs and three memorabilia cards.

But every once in awhile, I get the itch to gamble a little.  Black Friday was one of those times, when my favorite breaker was offering some bonuses, including Black Friday packs, along with the breaks.  My go-to breaker is Ultimate Box Breaks because Brian, the guy who runs it, is the most entertaining breaker I've seen out there and his prices aren't extraordinarily high.  Plus, I like his system of "drafting" teams and then he offers you the opportunity to trade your teams and picks from various breaks with other people.  So, I got sucked into a couple breaks on Black Friday.  And, this time at least, the gamble paid off.

The first break was a 2016 Panini mixer, and I drew the Packers.

My team collection additions of these three rookies.  Kenny Clark comes from Infinity, Blake Martinez from Panini's new incarnation of Playoff, and the Trevor Davis cards from Elite.  And make that 5 autos in my Packers collection.

I also joined a Spectra break.  This break was buy one entry, get two teams, and I drew Cleveland and Dallas.

The first card in the box was this filthy Joe Haden patch.  Yes, I mean literally filthy.  I've never seen a patch that dirty before.  This beauty is already claimed, and will be heading out in a trade package shortly.

Then things got interesting.

This sweet Tony Dorsett is numbered to 60.  Dorsett is one of those guys who I don't overtly collect, but I tend to hold onto any of his cards that come my way.

It turns out that I drew the Cowboys in a high-end product Cowboys hot box.

ZEEEEEKE!  The top card is a neon green parallel, numbered to 25.  The second is an auto patch numbered to 99.  I'm not sure if you have heard of this guy, but he is a pretty decent player.  Oh, who am I kidding?  This is big-time hit!  I may not be a Cowboys fan, but I definitely got my money's worth. 

I forget what the bonus was for, but one of my breaks earned a Cyber Monday pack for everyone. 

Here is my Cyber Monday pack.

Well, I'm not excited about either card, but I won't complain about any bonus that comes my way.  Is anybody interested in either of these Cyber Monday cards?  Let me know.

In all, it was a great break.  Still, it exemplifies the very problem I have with box breaks--I could have easily come away with nothing.  Sure the gamble paid off, but in the end it was exactly that: a gamble.  And I can't afford to be a high roller.