How to run a fair card break: a checklist for sellers
A fair break comes down to two things: rules buyers can read before they pay, and a randomizing step they can check afterward.
Before you sell spots
- Write the rules down. Say whether buyers get every card or only hits, and what you count as a hit.
- Decide the edge cases. Inserts, players who appear on two teams, defunct teams, redemptions, and what happens if the product is short.
- Say what you do if someone gets no hits. Some breakers credit, some do not. Either is fine if it is stated first.
- Be clear on shipping. Cost, packaging, and when cards go out.
- Price the spots in the open. In a pick-your-team break the price follows the checklist. In a random team break spots are usually the same price.
Right before the break
- Sell all the spots, then freeze the buyer list. Do not add or swap names after you randomize.
- Lock the teams and buyers into a commitment and post it. See how to run a random team break buyers can verify.
- Ask the viewers for a seed after the lists are locked.
During and after
- Randomize once, in public. If something goes wrong, say what happened and re-roll openly.
- Open the product on camera and keep the recording. Many breakers post the video so buyers can check the cards.
- Share the verify link in the stream chat and in your listing.
- Answer disputes with the link and the recording. If you made a mistake, fix it and say so.
Mistakes that cost trust
- Changing the team or buyer list after the randomize step.
- Running a private test spin and then the "real" one, without saying so.
- Vague rules about hits, so each dispute becomes an argument.
- No record of the break, so buyers who missed the stream have nothing to check.
BreakSeal covers the randomizing and the proof. The rules, the product and the shipping are still yours to run well.