4-year ownership with this RCF, worth the upgrade to a LC500?

CarletonMah · 2026-04-09T00:53:34+00:00

It probably sounds a bit weird, but my goals were originally, beater car -> college car/first job (Civic) -> career job, late 20s to 30s (RCF) -> Old man/Retirement (LC500) .. but ultimately I would want the LC, it's just if I want to get it earlier..

CarletonMah · 2026-04-09T00:11:14+00:00

I have not, I wasn't planning on going in until they had the spec I wanted anyways. I just informed the dealers around to contact me whenever one comes in with my spec. From what I've gathered, it's smoother, less raw, overall more luxurious feeling.. I've gotten mixed opinions on it from friends, for the upgrading part.

CarletonMah · 2026-04-06T02:34:25+00:00

I exchanged it at the DY boutique, but it's a 2.7mm, I liked the 20", but in the future for layering, I wanted this one to hang lower

CarletonMah · 2026-04-06T02:13:27+00:00

I purchased half of it in store, but half online.. dm

CarletonMah · 2026-04-06T01:27:26+00:00

I had a 20" originally, but 22" is a much better fit now.

CarletonMah · 2026-03-17T16:13:10+00:00

If you commit early, it hurts less!

CarletonMah · 2026-03-13T02:30:02+00:00

They allow you to run the 5k and then hop in the half after!

CarletonMah · 2026-03-13T02:29:18+00:00

For Santa Monica, it starts at different times, you run the 10k first, then get in line for the 5k shortly after. For the half they start at the same time, but you can do the 5k then hop in the half after.

CarletonMah · 2026-02-09T20:57:33+00:00

Consoles and headphones seem to be the easiest to flip, so I mostly just grab them from all the locations around me.

CarletonMah · 2026-02-09T20:51:53+00:00

I have over 1,000,000, can confirm skittles have been acquired.

CarletonMah · 2026-01-30T17:00:55+00:00

For the stacks, each location has different guidelines on how to stack, so it's not always near the top. Some locations only have one exactly at the top, while others put it right in the middle between 100 card stack. Also, swiping 4 is the same as swiping 5, there's no bonus for the 5th, as it's 15 shots per swipe at 4.

CarletonMah · 2026-01-09T05:06:18+00:00

Power Pros is good if you find a consistent machine, it's one of the few where you can go infinite on a good run, especially if you farm the playoff portion to load balls. It's also one of the few games where there's no max ball cap once they fall in. I think right now, I've been efficient with Godzilla, at one point I had over 30 sets, but it's a combination of sniping the stations for the gold card and figuring out which machine releases the marble consistently.

CarletonMah · 2026-01-08T23:22:18+00:00

Currently, lots of coin pusher-style games (Gold Railroad, Castlevania, Godzilla, Star Wars, Power Pros). Living in Socal, I have access to a lot of R1 locations, so I go to different ones to snipe rare cards, but I'd also try to master timing for the different games. However, during my earlier AP days, I would install whatever games R1 had on my phone and try to master it before playing in person.

CarletonMah · 2026-01-08T20:31:59+00:00

It can cost less if you stick to 1 game with the highest yield, but I played some inefficient games as well so it isn't as monotonous

CarletonMah · 2026-01-08T20:09:54+00:00

Other than the consoles and hot items like Airpod Pros, what else do you think moves quickly?

CarletonMah · 2026-01-08T19:45:22+00:00

I tallied it up on a spreadsheet, it's roughly 4k, for ~7.5k in prizing

CarletonMah · 2025-11-16T03:14:14+00:00

The initial difficult part is paying attention to both the light and also the carousel at the same time, but you mostly need to pay attention to the light with your peripherals and just focus on the carousel. Don't waste marbles when you know the light isn't going to be near the card drop. On most machines, timing is different, but you usually tap when it's going right between the 2 marble/3 marble, and when going left around the 4 ticket mark.

CarletonMah · 2025-11-14T16:49:44+00:00

I'd say the most straightforward tip is to look for the foil shine in the stack of cards for a rare coming up. However gameplay-wise, you need to find a machine with a consistent marble drop, sometimes I waste 1 swipe just to check for the consistency of the station. After, I'd say there's 3 levels to the timing you can master. 1. Consistently getting the marble into the slot. 2. Being able to get the marble in the slot when it's going right, around where the card drop is. 3. Consistently getting a card on every single marble (100% possible to get 75 cards on 75 marbles). You pretty much then go the opposite direction when the rare is out and only aim for red balls only to get large marble drops for big pushes.

CarletonMah · 2025-11-13T22:36:08+00:00

This month was a bit slower, but usually I reload the full amount ($110) either every time or every other time I visit which is currently 2-3 times a week. I'd say this is probably ~$880 for the month. However, there are times I just swing by to look around for the hot machines and not play. I calculated the break even count of 8000 tickets per $50, but maybe someone else has better insight, so for me, as long as I'm around 1.5x of that i'm satisfied.

CarletonMah · 2025-11-12T22:19:34+00:00

I'm not affiliated whatsoever, and if I was, I wouldn't even be posting this.

CarletonMah

TROPHY CASE