After I tripled my money by pulling pricey Pokémon cards out of digital packs on the Rips app, I immediately knew what I had to do next: keep on ripping. It was time to lock in, boost my volatility settings, and start spending real money opening even more expensive packs.
Rips exemplifies the current online moment where I’m bombarded with new and inventive ways to digitally gamble everything away. From sports betting to prediction markets, the smartphone in my pocket is the hottest place to lose it all while trying to make a quick buck. Rips did not respond to WIRED’s request for comment.
Since Rips offers to immediately buy back cards, users have a chance to cash out with thousands of dollars more than when they started ripping packs earlier in the day. Well, unless you’re me—then you’re just lighting money on fire and leaving without any cash or cards.
The core mechanic of the Rips app is ripping open shiny, single-card packs. Users can pick from Pokémon, Basketball, or One Piece cards. The cheapest option is the Pokémon Starter Pack, which costs $1, and it goes all the way up to the Pokémon Diamond Pack, which costs $2,500 to rip open digitally. You can change your “volatility level” in the settings for many of these packs. A higher volatility means that you have increased odds of picking cards on either end of the spectrum and a lower chance of pulling something in the midrange price tier.
Every card you pull and decide to keep, rather than instantly reselling, is stored in your collection, though not for long. If you don’t choose to have the card shipped to your house, then Rips automatically sells it after a week has passed.







