Double draft tips
I'm not sure what you want to know, but a rundown of how to run a called draft can't hurt, I'm sure other people are interested as well.
At Grand Prix, where we run competetive drafts on day 2, there is roughly 1 judge per pod. I don't think you can get that level of staffing at your event, so it's even more important that all players know what is expected.
It really helps to have a microphone / speaker system, since shouting a draft is not good for whoever is calling it, and also not good in projecting a calm and fair atmosphere. Also, people might claim not to hear.
What is important to tell the players is what is different from a called draft as from a ‘normal’ draft. The most important points being:
1 Counting the cards fase down before starting.
2 Not looking at drafted cards during the draft.
3 Picking a card on time (when announced).
4 They need to count out the cards they're passing.
5 Not starting with the next booster until told.
6 No talking at all during the draft.
These points need to be explained before the draft, as people unfamiliar with the process will not listen to the announcements as soon as the first booster is cracked.
During the draft itself, the following announcements are used:
'Open your Dragon's Maze pack, count out 15 cards face down, and remove the token'
From this announcement, whoever is calling the draft should get confirmation that everyone has the correct number of cards. If not, hold the whole draft until the pack is replaced / recounted.
'Pick up your cards'
'5 seconds'
'Draft! Shuffle and count out your cards, there should be 14'
'Pick up your cards'
From 6 or 7 cards, change to
'Draft! Count out 6 cards'
leave the 5 second announcement in until you're down to 2 cards.
'Pick up the last card, you have 30 seconds to review'
'Put the cards down'
'Pick up your Gatecrash booster, count out 15 cards face down, and remove the token. note that this pack will be drafted in the other direction' (everyone knows what the other direction is, only 95% knows left from right at this point)
'Pick up your cards, and remove the basic land'
Now repeat instructions from pack one, with a 45 second review window.
The time for each pick is steadily decreasing, each 2 picks, 5 seconds less time. Some judges use a stack of cards, where each card represents a pick, with the number of cards left, and the time to give on it. If you're ever unsure about how much time is left, it's better to give a few seconds more, than less. For pacing the time to shuffle out the cards, you can simply listen to the rumble of cards being shuffled and counted. It's advisable for the person calling the draft to have an overview of at least one table, so he can see how many people have already drafted, and how many cards are counted out, when he has to mention that number.
If there is an issue and the draft needs to be stopped, stop the draft only after completing the current pick. Use:
'Draft! We will pause for a minute, please shuffle and count out 8 cards, but don't pick them up yet.'
If you don't use this method, it's very likely other tables get de-synchronised, since some people have already drafted, and others haven't.
In many cases, it's better to continue the draft for the whole room (after a brief pause), and let a single judge at the problem table handle that table. Very often, the speed of the draft can be quicker, and time can be made up. If not, wait between the full boosters.
Because in between picks, the packs need to be shuffled and counted out, a called draft takes longer than a normal draft. Combined with the ‘don’t peek at what you've drafted so far', the experience is a lot different than a regular draft. The players will, essentially, get bored.
In general, very few draft violations should occur. Most frequent problem will be people genuinly forget to count out the cards. A simple reminder will suffice, if you try to give a draft violation warning there, you're already out of sync with the rest of the room, and the other players at the table will not be happy with the delay and confusion.
Last tip: make sure whoever is calling the draft has something to drink with him.