Card break formats explained: pick your team, random team, draft, razz and more
Card breaks differ in how buyers are matched to cards. Some formats need no randomizing at all; others depend on it, which is where a verifiable shuffle matters.
The common formats
- Pick your team (PYT). Buyers choose a team before the break and receive that team's cards. Prices usually follow how strong the team's checklist is. No randomizing.
- Random team. Buyers pay for a spot without knowing their team. Teams are assigned at random, often by an online randomizer or dice. This is the format most affected by trust.
- Team draft (snake draft). A random draft order is set, then buyers pick teams in turn. Spots usually cost the same. The random part is the order.
- Divisional. Buyers receive every team in a division, sold as pick-your-team or as random.
- Hit draft. All the cards are opened first, then buyers take turns choosing cards.
- Pack or personal break. A buyer purchases a sealed pack or box that the breaker opens live and sends to them. No randomizing.
- Serial number break. Cards are split by the last digit of the serial number; each buyer gets a number from 0 to 9.
- Mixer. Several products are opened in one break.
- Razz. Buyers pay for a chance to win a card or a spot; one winner is chosen. It is the format platforms and regulators look at most closely. See are random card breaks legal.
Which ones need a randomizer
- Random team: match teams to spots.
- Team draft: set the draft order.
- Serial number: assign digits to buyers.
- Razz: choose the winner.
BreakSeal has a mode for each of the main cases: Teams (match teams to spots), Pick order (a random order for a draft) and Razz (prizes among spots).
Which format should you run?
- Want the least dispute: pick your team. Buyers choose what they get, so there is nothing to question.
- Want lower-priced spots and more energy on stream: random team, with a verifiable shuffle.
- Want equal prices and some strategy: team draft.
Sources for the format descriptions: Fanter's break formats guide and Cardboard Connection's group breaking 101.