Looking for an “O” answer:

Does the update ONLY apply to Grand Prix events? Or is this in effect at /ALL/ Competitive REL tournaments?

http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/sealed-pool-procedure-update-starting-gp-sydney-and-gp-madison-2015-10-08

All Comp REL events.

Given that the new procedure applies at all Comp REL events, what kind of guidance should I give to my TOs with respect to the following:

Each player is distributed six booster packs. The boosters will be marked in a way that distinguishes they came from the tournament organizer for that event.

What kind of special markings are appropriate? Do they need to stamp the outside of each pack? Is this really necessary at the PPTQ level?

A paint pen mark down the side of the packs I would think would be sufficient to deter any sneaking in packs, if it's truly a necessity; the other thing to keep in mind is that every player has a witness sitting opposite them who observes opening the packs, so that itself should sufficiently deter shenanigans.

It needs to be

a) obvious and immediately detectable
b) not predictable based on previous tournaments.

Beyond that, it's up to the TO.

based on this change:
1) is the “pool owner” still allowed to drop with his product upon opening his product? must he wait for opposite sitting player to write down his pool contents?
2) further-did the rules for “drop+keep the product” change?
Cheers!

Can someone drop with the product of the person across from them (while checking contents)?

@Bryan; No, this is not allowed as those aren't his cards at any point in
the tournament. They are only in his hands for a cross-check.

2015-10-09 19:32 GMT+02:00 Bryan Li <forum-21858-e3ef@apps.magicjudges.org>:

What happens if the number of players is odd ? Does someone stand in for the missing Player B ?

Originally posted by Jeffrey St-Pierre:

What happens if the number of players is odd ? Does someone stand in for the missing Player B ?

Make a triangle at the end table. That should do it

A few points to clarify, as I'm seeing these come up in various forums…

The TO should mark the *outside* of the booster packs (not the actual cards - make sure they understand that!), and do so in a way that the players can't predict and duplicate. The philosophy here is to prevent players from bringing their own “doctored” packs.

The player that you hand six packs to, is the owner of the cards in those six packs. That's the only person who can drop and keep those cards. The other player, who registers the cards, is just performing a clerical service - they are protecting the integrity of the event.

If you have open seats - no-shows, drops, odd number - then you can have a judge fill that function, or do a triangle.

Please remind players that deck building - including the registration process - is supposed to be a solo and silent process. Some local events have become quite chatty, and deck-building advice slips out so easily…

I also expect that players will want to start building their deck the moment the person across finishes registration. This will require attentive judges, to remind players that they have to wait. Reading between those lines, you'll realize that also means we have to be very pro-active in helping slower players finish registration; the longer players have to wait on that 1% that can't finish in 20 minutes (less for most), the more chatting and pre-building we'll see.

And on the subject of being pro-active, you'll need to be patient while teaching this new process to players. Let's say you announce that everyone facing you will open first, then those facing away … and Larry, the guy who never listens, sees other people opening packs, so he starts opening his. Just watch for this, stop him quickly *but politely*, and carry on.

d:^D

Anne and Norbert sit across one another.
Anne lists in 10 minutes.
Norbert lists in 15 minutes.
Anne has 5 minutes to peek her own deck, while Norbert is listing, and can start making deckbuilding decisions. “Black seems awful”, “maybe splash green”, etc. etc.

Is this fair? Not a concern?
Should we step in, and tell “please Anne don't look” (seems silly), “Anne, can you do a double check of Norbert deck while waiting” (seems a lot of work for judges), etc. etc. ?

Originally posted by Richard Drijvers:

@Bryan; No, this is not allowed as those aren't his cards at any point in
the tournament. They are only in his hands for a cross-check.

2015-10-09 19:32 GMT+02:00 Bryan Li <forum-21858-e3ef@apps.magicjudges.org>:

How do we handle a player wanting to do this?

“Judge, can I drop now and retain this pool?”
“No, you are not allowed to”.
“uhm … know what? I'm doing it anyway. Stop me if you can”.
“Well, I can't physically stop you from doing that, but beware you will be disqualified, and almost surely suspended”.

Is this correct?
Should we involve the TO as well?

Originally posted by Francesco Scialpi:

How do we handle a player wanting to do this?

“Judge, can I drop now and retain this pool?”
“No, you are not allowed to”.
“uhm … know what? I'm doing it anyway. Stop me if you can”.
“Well, I can't physically stop you from doing that, but beware you will be disqualified, and almost surely suspended”.

Is this correct?
Should we involve the TO as well?

Stealing another person's property? Yep, DQ and involve the TO. I suppose in theory the TO (or the player who's cards are being taken) may threaten to involve the police to report the theft, but that's outside of our jurisdiction.

I have typically found that telling/reminding the players before they being
that they are NOT holding their cards, but instead registering someone
else's cards has been good.

I will sometimes also use the analogy:
“Imagine if this were constructed and I asked you to register my deck.
Does this mean that you can now just leave with it?”

Of course the analogy isn't perfect, but it gets the point across!