With the recent sig chase for the 12 Days of Huddle promotion, I noticed something that is definitely worth everyone’s consideration as they open packs to complete the set. We have all trained ourselves to look at player quality as the prime derivative for which we determine whether we want to open the packs, but I dont think it is that simple when you consider the difficulty of pulling any particular card.

This conditioning isnt shocking at all, as it is clear that player quality drives a lot of what we do in huddle. But there is a rarely considered element at play that should impact your decision to open a pack or look to other means for acquiring a card.

Im going to use the 12 Days of Huddle as a representation of my explanation, as it is the easiest to use.  Topps has also been abundantly clear as to what is going down, but I rarely see people reviewing these things before diving into the pack store.

Low Card Count vs High Odds

There are a lot of inserts that are released in Huddle, many of which have ever dwindling card counts. We would expect lower card count cards to be tough pulls all around, but it is in your best interest to study JUST how tough that pull will be. Just because there are two 100 count holiday sigs, does not mean that both are the same ease in which to pull from packs. That’s also not saying that a 150 card count release will be easier to pull either.

For example: Jamaal Charles 150 count holiday sig was as difficult to pull at 1:100  packs as the two lower count Brown and Thomas at 100 copies. Jeremy Maclin was 1:90 packs despite being at 200 copies, where Teddy Bridgewater (also 200 count) was 1:50 packs if memory serves correctly.

An even better example: Jags vs Titans sage boosts were all 100 copy cards, but all had different odds. Scobee was the toughest pull at 1:100 packs, whereas Marcedes Lewis was the easiest at 1:60 packs. All the same card count – different odds. Scobee therefore is the hardest to pull.

What Does This Mean?

The only thing it means is that you need to pay attention. You need to read the articles, and make a determination of difficulty if you have limited funds in which to spend. These articles are deliberately detailed so that there are no questions in the methods of constructing each release.

It also means that a tougher cards to pull may have a different value than the ones that are easier to pull – at least at first. If it is a harder card to acquire, it means that there will be less supply to go around.

Similarly, cards like the Peyton Manning boost sig at 1:500 yellow packs is going to be an impossible card to get, especially when you consider how few people will be opening those due to the cost.

Other Considerations

It behooves every user to familiarize themselves with each type of release. If you are going to be spending your coins, you need to be able to know what you are getting yourself into. Huddle has done a great job in providing resources as a guide, but its up to us to do the homework.

If you are not reading the article in full, you are really doing yourself a disservice. Odds are provided to showcase exactly how much you should expect to spend with each release, and limited funds may prevent you from going in guns blazing.

Hopefully this post serves as a helpful reminder.