If you do best to be there and one of the first in the door in the morning.  The one closest to be 2 hour drive gets cards in almost daily a couple at a time.  First come first serve.

Indeed a gamble...maybe a call prior the trip will give you a good hint?

Depends on how much free time you've got. Definitely would try to call them rather than try randomly

I waited about two hours last week and snagged a card. I think each store has different release schedules and lines tho.

I highly recommend joining the microcenter discord and following the stores you are interested in visiting.

If you want a 3080/3090, be ready to camp out starting at around 2pm the day before. 3070s and lower are readily available if you line up 2-4 hours before opening on Mon/Thurs.

Mondays and Thursdays are the best days for the Microcenter in Cambridge Mass. get there early.

Closest Mircocenter is chicago for me. No way in hell they have extra cards. Sad... 

I've went waited in line here in MI. I've scored a 3070, 3080FTW3U, 3090FTW3U, my step son got a 3080FTW3U. I sold the 3070/3080 to pay for the 3090, the day they sold I scored the 3090, 3pm no line, no waiting, i was in and out in :15min.
You have to get there early, no later than 5am and there was 40 in front of me. Try to figure out what days trucks arrive, here in Madison Heights, MI they come on Tue, Thur, and Sat. Tue being the best day imo.
I went the last 2 Tues, 1st tue all they got in was 3060 TI/3070's, about 60 cards last Tue they only had 1 3070 evga and a assortment of cards prolly 80 cards, I left i was looking for another 3090FTW Ultra.

The Madison Hts store, they are printing out what cards came in on the truck and passing it out early like 8:30am before the store opens. 

Every MC is different. I got frustrated purchased a prebuilt with a 3070, went to pick it up they had 3070's on the shelf. Some stores posts shipment manifest so people know what they are camping for, others dont say anything, and some stores hoard cards.

you should, try every chance

its too big of a risk pal

Can't you pay for it online as soon as it gets in stock and reserve it? I was pretty sure I had that option but it may have been only for the CPU and motherboard that I bought.

Each MC store's stocking and shelfing times and policies are different. My local store has three days of the week where drops always happen, but they dont put out all the cards at store opening. Sometimes there's trickles at noon, and then again at 2, and then again in the afternoon. I've been in there twice to get random cables at 1:30pm and have seen ten 3070s that had just been carted out. I'd do what was suggested above and join the unofficial discord so you dont waste time driving and waiting outside just to find out youre not there on a normal drop day.

People camp out at the Tustin, CA microcenter everyday but your might be different.... way too risky IMO