when i was in sec 1 & 2,
i often accompanied eugene
to play those wwe card games.
(or whatever card games there
were for us to play)

we usually go to bishan,
outside the mrt station
where all the hardcore
players were.

those players are really
those siao type.
they spent hundreds of dollars
for each box of booster packs
(around 24 packs),
just to find that few foil cards.

and for your info,
foil cards are the most valuable
cards in the market.

one foil fetches around 20-30 bucks,
and the more valuable ones can
worth around 80-90 dollars.

do your maths,
and you'll know that the chances
of getting a foil in a
normal booster pack is
very, very small.

that's why you cannot
really blame the players
for being so desperate
to buy the whole box just
for the few cards they want.

anyway,
the poorer group of blokes
like me will have to
resort to tactics
like choosing the packs we want.

their many ways to choose,
you know.

let me go through the different
techniques with you,
one-by-one.

1)the one-finger touch

first seen: at the bishan card shop.

comment: i saw one guy asking for a
few packs to choose,
and he placed them on the counter,
then held out his hand.
using his index finger,
he began to tap each of
the packs lightly.

i stared at him doing the action
over and over again,
and finally,
his frown turned into a smile
and happily picked up the
pack that he had chosen.

hmm, exotic.

2)the bent

first seen: at the small stall
at heartland mall, kovan.

comment: this one is a long-lost
technique banned long ago by
the shopkeepers themselves.

it requires a person to bend
the foil packs to check out
the thickness of the pack,
and i admit,
i have used it often last time.

oh man, how shameful.

nevertheless,
i managed to get one (and only)
foil out of this method and
sold it for 20 bucks.

3)the feel

first seen: at the bishan card shop.(again!)

comment: one guy asked for
a few packs of cards,
and he arranged them neatly on
the counter as if he
was playing with tarot cards.

anyway,
he began to feel (or carass)
those packs like some
kind of guru,
and picked one in the middle
after a few seconds.

i did not know whether he
got any foil or not.

all i know is,
that that method
is complete shit.




after leaving the card scene for two years,
i am a bit sua ku on the newest tactics
used by teens nowadays.

once,
i even saw a guy putting one pack
near his ear to listen
while pressing the plastic cover.

wah,
how fast technology changes.