Circle of Protection: Theft

Theft has gotten way way waaaaaaaay out a hand over these past couple of weeks and twitter seems to be getting a lot of people talking in circles. This is never going to go away, magic cards cost way to much money, most standard decks are the equivalent to a car payment and legacy...actual cars. Imagine a room full of 20-30 year old males, over 90% of them are overweight and out of shape, they all carry books and boxes of card board estimating anywhere from 800-1500 dollars on average, when there is security they man the front door, the halls outside, and they armed with a walkie talkie and can't physically do anything. But it gets better, you don't have to walk down to the pawn shop or swindle people out of the back of your car, there are people in the building that pay cash for this cardboard without having to check id and no documentation. This is candy land for any thief.

I just want to make it clear that things have been taken into consideration, long before any of this the head judge does take time during announcements to address taking care of your belongings, something along the lines of "watch your shit, don't let your buddies watch your shit, they aren't going to treat it like it's their shit", I'm not sure if I'm actually quoting or paraphrasing but you get the idea. But what more do you want than that, it's not the judges job to act as security, they aren't your mother.

So what do we, the players do. There is the obvious, maintaining your belongings under you, putting your chair leg through your back pack strap. There's also the easiest, carry nothing other than your deck strategy, which works if you don't like trading or making money from the vendors.

What to consider:
1. Your bag itself, do all the zippers work? Are there any holes or tearing? This isn't your school books, these are your magic cards, it's money, if your bag isn't in great condition, buy another one.
2. Weight, are your belongings so heavy that you can't comfortably carry them around for 8-10 hours, your probably one of those people that trust your friends casually playing between rounds to watch your stuff, consider some, possibly all of it gone. That extra couple of decks for casual play maybe your clothes and hygiene products, leave it in the room, lighten the load.
3. Size, if it cant fit into a bathroom stall with you, you should of bought vendor space, you need to be able to properly watch your bag under your own power.
4. Deck boxes, the perfect thing to pocket, if you have several of these things your asking for it, keep it simple, what you need, everything else needs to be under lock and key and attached to you or not on the floor.
5. While trading, watch your books, if your belongs make you to stationary your going to have problems moving while your partners buddy shows up and it slowly moves further and further from you.
6. Restrooms, use the ones closest to the floor or the ones on the floor, many events are held at convention centers and I know the line can get long sometimes, but if your not capable of fending off several people maybe it's best you stay with the herd.

Simple stuff no one really takes into consideration, you may not be watching your stuff every second, they are.