Card break glossary

89 definitions for the words on break listings, live streams, and shop pages — formats, hits, sealed product, shipping, and how BreakRadar labels a row. For the long version, read how card breaking works.

How a break is sold

The words on the spot button. These decide what you actually own when the box is open.

Box break: A breaker opens one sealed box live and divides the cards among the people who bought in. You are not buying the whole box unless it is a personal.
Case break: The same idea as a box break, but a full case (several boxes). More spots, more cards, higher ticket. Configuration still comes from the listing — a “case” is not a fixed card count across brands.
Half case / multi-box: Two, three, or half a case ripped together. The format is still PYT or random; you are just splitting more wax. Price should scale with box count, not with hope.
Group break: Several buyers each take a spot. You get whatever matches your team, player, digit, or random slot. Everyone else in the room is splitting the same box.
Personal break: One buyer pays for the whole box or case and keeps every card. No spots. The stream is still live; the division is not.
Spot: One slot in a group break: a team, a player, a random, a digit. Buying a spot is not buying the box.
Board / spots left: The grid of unsold slots. A 4/32 listing means four spots remain. Breakers often wait to go live until the board is full, or they razz the leftovers.
Presale: Spots are for sale before the stream starts. You can pick a team or a format in advance instead of jumping into a room that is already live.
Fillers & razzes: A cheap mini-lottery on an unsold expensive spot. Winners of the razz move into the main break. Read the rules on the seller’s page — razz odds are not the same as buying the spot outright.
Breaker / host: The person or shop running the stream. They take payment, open the wax, sort cards to spots, and ship. BreakRadar is not the breaker.
Room / show: The live stream. Fanatics and shops often list a start time. Whatnot rooms usually only exist once the seller goes live.
Wax / rip: Wax is sealed product. A rip is the act of opening it on camera. “Rip and ship” means they open it, then mail your hits — you never hold the sealed box.

Formats

PYT, random, mixer, and the rest. The format is how cards get assigned after the rip.

PYT (Pick Your Team): You choose the team (or player) before the box opens. If that team’s card hits, it is yours. Popular teams cost more because the checklist is not even.
Random / random team: Spots are assigned by wheel, RNG, or a similar draw. You do not pick the team. Cheaper entry than PYT on a star franchise; you can also draw a team nobody wanted.
Team break: Spots are organized by team. Sometimes you pick (PYT); sometimes they are pre-assigned or randomized. Read the title — “team break” alone does not tell you which.
Player break: Spots are named players, not franchises. Useful in sets built around rookies or a short auto list. One player can still have several cards; the listing should say how duplicates are handled.
Divisional / tiered mixer: Spots are sold by group: a division, a conference, or a value tier the breaker built. You share hits across that group instead of owning one team.
P3K2 (Pick 3, Keep 2): You are given three random teams or spots and keep two. The third goes back in the pool. Interactive, and the keep/pass choice is the whole point.
Stash or pass: You are handed a random spot and must keep it or throw it back for a new one. Rules vary: some rooms limit passes; some charge to pass.
Serial number / left digit: You buy a digit, 0–9. Numbered cards whose serial starts (or ends, if the listing says so) with that digit are yours. One hit can be a /10 or a /99 — the digit is the only filter.
Color / rainbow break: Spots are colors or parallel names (silver, gold, /99) instead of teams. You take every card that matches that finish. The listing has to name the color map.
Bounty break: The breaker names a target card or insert before the rip. If it hits, the matching spot gets extra cash or credit on top of the card. If it misses, you still only have your normal hits.
Duck duck / duck race: An on-stream animation some rooms use to pick draft order, stash-or-pass order, or a giveaway winner. It is a randomizer with a cartoon, not a separate product.
Instant rip: A pack or box opened on the spot, often one buyer, often with a buy-now price. It can sit on a timed show page even though it is not a 32-spot PYT. BreakRadar files these with rips/auctions, not next to a fixed hobby box.
Auction break: Spots or the whole box are bid up. A $1 opening bid is not a price you can compare to a fixed listing. That is why BreakRadar keeps auctions on their own tab.
Mystery / grab bag / team bag: You are buying a surprise: a bag of singles, a random team’s leftovers, or a sealed mystery. There is no checklist to compare. Treat it as a lottery, not as a sealed SKU.

How spots get assigned

The randomizer is part of the product. The listing should say which one they use.

Wheel / RNG: A spinner or random-number tool that assigns leftover teams, draft order, or a razz winner. Fairness is “was it shown on stream,” not a guarantee you like the result.
Draft / snake draft: Buyers pick teams in order, sometimes snake (last pick goes first next round). Order itself is often randomized first. Used when one person can own several teams.
Dice / random.org: Older rooms still roll dice or paste a random.org screenshot. Same job as a wheel: pick a spot or a pick order in public.
PC protection: A house rule some breakers advertise: if a named card of a player you collect hits on someone else’s spot, they may offer a trade or buyout. It is a shop policy, not a standard, and it is not on every row.

What comes out of the box

Hits, parallels, and the words breakers use when a pack is good.

Hit: A card people notice: an auto, a relic, a low-numbered parallel, or a rare insert. “Hit” is not a grade. A base rookie can be a hit in the wrong room and a throw-in in another.
Case hit: An insert so scarce the hobby talk is “one per case,” not one per box. Color Blast, Downtown, Kaboom-style cards live here. The sell sheet — not the chat — is the source.
Base card: The common photo that makes up most of a set. Not an insert, not a parallel, not an auto. Flagship baseball is mostly base; Noir and Flawless barely have any.
Insert: A named subset that is not the base set — Downtown, Young Guns, Beam Team, Color Blast. Inserts have their own odds and their own market.
Parallel / rainbow: The same photo in a different color or finish, often numbered. “The rainbow” is collecting every color of one card. Silver Prizm or a Chrome refractor is a parallel; it is not automatically rare.
Short print (SP / SSP): A card printed in much smaller number than base — a flipped photo, a Color Blast, a 1/1 plate. SSP means even shorter. This is a hunt, not a guaranteed hit in every hobby box.
Autograph / on-card vs sticker: A signed card. On-card means the player signed the card stock. A sticker auto is a signature sticker applied later. On-card usually prices higher. Not every “auto” box is on-card.
Relic / patch / memorabilia: A card with a piece of jersey, patch, or other material. A single-color swatch is not the same as a prime patch or a laundry tag. High-end sets (Museum, Noir, National Treasures) are built around relics; Prizm is not.
RPA: Rookie patch autograph: a first-year player, a relic, and a signature on one card. The premium hit in football and basketball high-end. Configuration still comes from the sell sheet.
Booklet / dual / quad: A fold-out or multi-player card — two or four autos, or a jumbo relic. One booklet can claim several spots in a team break if more than one team is on it. Ask the breaker how they split it.
Cut signature: A signature cut from something else and embedded in the card. Common in historical and non-sport. Not the same as a living player signing the card stock.
Redemption: A slip in the pack that you mail or submit for the real card later. The card is not in the box. Expiry dates and “pack-pulled vs code” rules are the manufacturer’s, not the breaker’s.
Numbered card: The print run is printed on the card, like /99 or /10. Lower is scarcer. A /99 is not a 1/1. Serial-number breaks assign these by digit.
1/1 / printing plate: One copy exists. Superfractors, plates, and some sketches are 1/1s. Case-level chase, not a hobby-box expectation. A plate is the metal used to print that color, not a parallel photo.
Rookie / 1st Bowman / Young Guns: First licensed cards of a player in that product line. 1st Bowman (baseball/football) and Young Guns (Upper Deck hockey) are the names that move those boxes. A “rookie” in a later Update set can still be the first flagship card of that person.
Color match: The relic or parallel color matches the team. Collectors pay more for it. It is a market preference, not a printed guarantee.
Heater / brick: Chat slang. A heater is a rip that keeps hitting. A brick is a box that does not. Neither changes what you paid for the spot.

Sealed product

What you are ripping, or what you are comparing on Buy Now.

Sealed wax: Unopened boxes or packs still sealed by the manufacturer. You can break it or buy it sealed. BreakRadar’s buy-now board is sealed prices, not singles.
Hobby box: The breaker format: more packs, better auto/relic odds than retail in most sports products. Configuration is on the sell sheet. Hobby is what most schedule rows are.
Hobby jumbo / super jumbo: Larger hobby: more packs or larger packs, often a better advertised hit rate, always a higher price. It is a different SKU from a standard hobby box. We do not treat them as the same product.
Hobby lite / choice / fast break: Smaller or “pick your pack” hobby formats some brands sell. Choice is often one fat pack you pick from a case. Fast Break is a different configuration again. Read the sell sheet — the name is not interchangeable.
Retail / blaster / mega / hanger: Store formats. Fewer hits than hobby, sometimes exclusive parallels (Ice, Pulsar). A blaster price is not a hobby price — we do not treat them as the same SKU.
Chrome / Prizm / Optic: Chrome-stock product lines. Hits are refractors, color, and autos more than relics. “Chrome” is Topps’ name; Prizm and Optic are Panini’s. They are cousins, not the same checklist.
Hobby vs high-end: Flagship hobby (Series 1, Prizm) is volume. High-end (Noir, Flawless, National Treasures, Definitive) is a short pack of hits. The price per spot is not comparable.
Unlicensed: The card cannot use current league marks or uniforms the manufacturer no longer has. 2026 Panini football after the NFL moved to Topps is the live example. College and retired names carry more of those checklists.
Sell sheet / configuration: The manufacturer PDF: packs per box, boxes per case, advertised autos or relics, exclusive parallels. Our release notes are written from these. They are not a promise that your spot hits.
Checklist: The list of players and inserts in the set. Team-break prices follow the checklist — a franchise with three rookies on the auto list costs more than a franchise with none.
Factory sealed vs searched: Factory sealed means the wrapper and tape look untouched. Searched, weighed, or mapped wax has been tampered with to pull hits. Buy sealed from shops you trust; a “deal” on a fat pack from a stranger is a different product.

TCG boxes

Pokémon, Magic, and other non-sport sealed — different chase words than a jersey relic.

Booster box: The standard sealed TCG case of packs (often 30 or 36). This is the SKU most TCG breaks and buy-now rows mean by “box.”
Elite Trainer Box (ETB): A Pokémon retail kit: packs plus sleeves, dice, and a box. Different pack count and sometimes exclusive promos versus a booster box. Not the same price comparison.
Collection box / tin / blister: Smaller retail with a promo or a figure. Fine to rip; a bad thing to compare 1:1 against a hobby or booster box.
Illustration rare / special art: The chase slots in modern Pokémon. Full-art drawings, not athlete autos. If a release page says none under relics, that is honest.
Japanese vs English: Different print runs, different pack counts, different markets. A Japanese booster box is not an English one. We keep the language in the product name when the listing has it.

After the rip

What happens once your name is on a card.

Rip and ship: The breaker mails your hits after the stream. You never receive the sealed box. Postage, insurance, and combine rules are the shop’s.
BMWT / PWE: Bubble-mailer with tracking versus a plain envelope. Higher-value cards should not go PWE. That is a shop choice — ask before you assume tracking.
Combined shipping: One postage charge across several spots or nights with the same breaker. Common, not automatic. The policy is on their page.
Duties / brokerage / VAT: Cross-border extras on top of the spot price. Canada can see GST/HST and a brokerage fee on a courier. The UK can see VAT. BreakRadar does not calculate them. Confirm on the seller’s page and with the carrier.
Comp / last sold: What a similar card actually sold for, not a listing ask. Comps move. A heater in chat is not a comp.
Raw vs graded: Raw is unslabbed. PSA, BGS, and SGC put a grade on centering, corners, edges, and surface. A break delivers raw cards unless the listing says otherwise. Grading is a second purchase.
Mail day: The day the package shows up. Not a grade, not a hit rate — just the cards in hand.

Platforms and shipping

Where the break happens, and whether the cards can reach you.

Fanatics Live: A live-break platform with shops that run on a schedule. US shops are USD; UK shops are GBP and stay in the UK. A Fanatics shop does not ship across those regions. BreakRadar treats UK Fanatics as its own market.
Whatnot: Live selling. Rooms do not publish a full break catalog before they go live. BreakRadar only tracks an allowlist of sellers, and we show show-start time — not a fake checklist.
Independent shop: A store with its own site (often Shopify or Woo). We only add shops we have checked: catalog, region, and a published shipping policy. If they have an official eBay store, we match that seller only.
eBay shop match: When an independent shop has a confirmed official eBay store, we pull that seller’s Buy It Now sealed listings and show them next to the shop price. Same product key, same currency. A tie goes to eBay. We never attach another seller’s inventory.
StockX ask: The public lowest ask, not a checkout price and not a shop’s shelf. We show it when we have it; it is not “in stock at StockX for you.”
Buyer market (CA / US / UK): The country you shop from on BreakRadar. Shipping chips and “shops that reach me” use this. We do not coerce the UK into Canada. A C$ price and a £ price are not compared as if they were the same currency.
Ships to Canada / ships to me: Taken from the shop’s own policy. “Ships to Canada” is a Canada column — it is not the UK or US filter. If we could not confirm a lane, we do not invent it.
Local / pickup: Some shops offer in-person pickup. That is not the same as shipping to your market. We do not count pickup as a lane to another country.

Money and risk

A spot is a price, not a promise.

Spot price vs box price: Add up the spots and you usually get more than the sealed box. That spread pays the breaker, the platform, shipping, and the chance a star team overpays. It is not a bug.
Hit guaranteed: Some high-end boxes advertise an auto or relic per box. That is the box, not your spot. In a 32-team break, one guaranteed auto still lands on one team.
Overpay / value team: Chat labels. A value team is cheap because the checklist is thin. Overpay means the spot cost more than recent hits from that team. Neither is a rule we print on the row.
Giveaway: A free extra the breaker runs on stream — a pack, a spot, a slab. It is promotion, not part of the sealed configuration, and we do not list it as product.

Reading BreakRadar

Words that appear on our rows and set pages.

Set chip / Set not listed: Every break row shows a product if the listing names one — title and description, not title alone. If the shop never says the set, we show Set not listed. We do not guess.
Unlabeled sport or format: We could not read a sport or format from the listing. Known basketball product lines are not left as Unlabeled. If you see Unlabeled, the source did not give us enough words.
Release write-up: Our notes on a calendar set: hobby configuration, autos, relics, short prints, parallels, chase. Built from published sell sheets. Not a reprint of a shop blog, and not an invented odds sheet.
Buy Now vs Auctions & Rips: Buy Now is a posted price. Auctions and instant rips sit on a second tab so a $1 bid is never ranked against a sealed hobby box.
Allowlist: The Whatnot sellers we actually track. We do not scrape the whole platform. If a seller is not on the list, they will not appear on the schedule or in alerts.
Hot deal: A sealed listing we flagged because the posted price is low versus other tracked asks for the same product in your market. It is still a shop price — confirm on their page.
Preferred seller: A shop we highlight because we have checked their catalog and shipping. Preference is ours, not a paid badge unless we say so.

How card breaking works · Open the schedule · Release calendar.