Playing cards

The last few years everyone has started playing poker. Even the folks in the old peoples home seem to have swapped their sunday afternoon game of bridge for a pot of no limit hold'em. With so many new players in this field I thought it was time to start reviewing some of the equipment required for this particularly popular game, beginning with the basics, the cards.

I'll compare 2 brands of playing cards in this review. KEM and COPAG are amongst the top brands in the world for playing cards. Most people prefer KEM cards and I hope that after reading this review you will be able to make a choice for yourself. Now I can hear some of you thinking, why such a fuss about a bunch of cards ? Aren't all cards just created equal ?

By no means ! When you play a lot of cards, you want the cards to last long and not get damaged in any way as that would make single cards recognisable (oh you have the card with the bent corner again ! thats the 9 of spades). So some durable cards, but you can imagine if they become too rugid, you cannot handle them nicely anymore and shuffling becomes a problem.

So they qualities you are looking for in good cards are durability, bendability, weight, quality of image and how attractive the design looks. Please note that COPAG and KEM cards are made from 100% plastic (not just plastic coated). This makes them very durable, if you bend them they snap right back into place without any noticable wear or tear. Also, you can spill you glass of coke or orange juice on there and all you have to do is wash of the cards and let them dry. Try this at home.

The first difference you notice between KEM and COPAG is the clarity of the prints on the cards. The COPAG ones look a little pale, while the KEM cards look exremely sharp and well defined. As for the degins themselves, they don't differ much as you can see on the pictures. The shape of COPAG cards is a litte more square, while the KEM cards are more rectangular.

Now if you FEEL both these decks of cards, you will notice another big difference. KEM has very smooth surfaces on the cards but COPAG cards feel almost like they have a rough surface. Since these are both 100% plastic cards they are always quite slippery, so a little roughness is a good thing in my book. However if you're not used to handling plastic cards you will need to get used to the cards slipping out of you hands and stuff. Both decks weigh about the same, the COPAG being slightly lighter and those also bend a little easier than the KEMs'.

I hope you can now decide for yourself which cards you would prefer for your home game of texas holdem ! Stay tuned for more poker accessoires reviews and good luck at the tables.