Flattening Warped KEMs (1 Viewer)

[Ken]

Anyone try one of these? (not my listing)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Acrylic-Pl...545176&hash=item3d3ad7e3d5:g:Y3IAAOSw2xlanj~d

That is an interesting idea. However, it has an easy substitute for temporary use called "book". You can borrow "book" at the library.

Seriously, I might just build something like that for holding several decks for flattening.

I have found that the cards warp way less if stored cool and dry. I kept some cards in a filing cabinet in my office and others in my garage and the garage stored ones all warp after a couple of years stored while the cool/dry ones in the office are better. I have setups never used in both storage places for comparison.

 

[Old State]

Be nice if someone made a card that looked like Kems and felt like Modianos.

Hmmm.....I wish every card felt like Kem (y) :thumbsup:.

 

[Quad Johnson]

Hmmm.....I wish every card felt like Kem (y) :thumbsup:.

Despite the issues, I'm tempted to get a set up just to feel them. It's pretty unanimous that KEM is the "softest" feeling card on the market.

 

[Old State]

Despite the issues, I'm tempted to get a set up just to feel them. It's pretty unanimous that KEM is the "softest" feeling card on the market.

100% and I’ve tried almost every brand. They almost feel luxurious in that every other card feels cheaper in comparison. If you look on Amazon you can find them for $22-23 in some colors.

Designs card stock(s) is/are very nice too. So is cartamundi acetate....but they will bow as well if not properly kept.

 

[DoubleEagle]

I have about 20 setups of Kem 2012 WSOP cards. They have been unbelievably durable and long lasting. No fading like most of the other brands. Some of these decks have been in play for several years. But, as everyone knows, they will warp.

I decided to try a fix. I have a credit card pouch laminator. I thought that if I ran the cards through the laminator, the heat followed by a heavy weight on top, would flatten them. And it worked! See the before and after. Takes about 20 minutes per setup to run through the laminator. I stacked them with alternated facings after running them through. One face up then one face down. After each card, I put a heavy 250 round box of 9mm ammo on them. After running the whole deck through, some extra weight. Three boxes of ammo.

See for yourself. Flat again.

 

[Highli99]

I have about 20 setups of Kem 2012 WSOP cards. They have been unbelievably durable and long lasting. No fading like most of the other brands. Some of these decks have been in play for several years. But, as everyone knows, they will warp.

I decided to try a fix. I have a credit card pouch laminator. I thought that if I ran the cards through the laminator, the heat followed by a heavy weight on top, would flatten them. And it worked! See the before and after. Takes about 20 minutes per setup to run through the laminator. I stacked them with alternated facings after running them through. One face up then one face down. After each card, I put a heavy 250 round box of 9mm ammo on them. After running the whole deck through, some extra weight. Three boxes of ammo.

See for yourself. Flat again.

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One round .45 acp would have accomplished the exact same thing as 750 rounds of 9mm. And you would not have had to heat the cards up first, either.

 

[Jordan Downs]

^^^^^^^

 

[DoubleEagle]

One round .45 acp would have accomplished the exact same thing as 750 rounds of 9mm. And you would not have had to heat the cards up first, either.

.45 acp’s were harder to reach my ammo closet

 

[K ALL IN 9]

Anyone try one of these? (not my listing)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Acrylic-Pl...545176&hash=item3d3ad7e3d5:g:Y3IAAOSw2xlanj~d

I have but instead I made my own out of those clear baseball card cases and didn't work. All of the wsop versions have warped. Although I do have a set of black/gold arrows that have never warped

 

[TexRex]

Double Eagle, if your .45 acps are harder to reach than your 9mm, your ammo closet is seriously messed up! I do like your taste in 9mm practice ammo though.

Hmmm, I never thought about trying to flatten cards by putting ammo on top. I suspect you could do several decks at once using boxed ammo. That's a great idea. Next time I have cards to try to flatten, I'll remember that idea.

 

[DoubleEagle]

Double Eagle, if your .45 acps are harder to reach than your 9mm, your ammo closet is seriously messed up! I do like your taste in 9mm practice ammo though.

Hmmm, I never thought about trying to flatten cards by putting ammo on top. I suspect you could do several decks at once using boxed ammo. That's a great idea. Next time I have cards to try to flatten, I'll remember that idea.

Works a lot better than books or something similar. Ammo boxes are a serious amount of weight.

May a stack of 14g “real clay” casino chips would work as a substitute?

 

[TexRex]

I'm not sure about 14g. I'm sure that true clay, 11.5g casino weight chips would work....

 

[asian bino]

My Kems from ~1999 WARPED A COUPLE MONTHS in to their life. I still have them and am going to start experimenting with fixes here. Thanks!

 

[DonkeyKing]

I started to use DB's as a weight on top of my cards (face up). It works well keeping them flat but there's color transfer from the Custom Buttons. This is after several weeks sitting idle(Copag and Kem). Anybody experienced same thing?

 

[Jimulacrum]

I've only ever owned two setups of Kems.

One was some paisley design, bridge size, standard index. They seemed kinda low quality, especially for $30 or whatever a setup, but I bought them because I found them in a B&M stationery shop and was surprised. Ultimately, I didn't like the feel or look of them and ended up giving them away. They had this weird, rough texture on the edges and generally did not feel like professional-quality plastic cards, which is crazy when we're talking about the highest price point in the market.

The other setup, blue and red Arrow style, poker size, I think jumbo index. Buckled inside the case before I even got a chance to use them. And I mean really bad, like the far edges sit a full centimeter or more off the table. And again, the price point is outrageous for what they are. They cost twice as much as comparable competitors, and so far they're batting 2/2 for unacceptably low quality.

Screw Kem. Buy almost literally any other brand. Hell, play with paper cards. At least you'll get something approaching your money's worth.

 

[longflop]

I've only ever owned two setups of Kems.

One was some paisley design, bridge size, standard index. They seemed kinda low quality, especially for $30 or whatever a setup, but I bought them because I found them in a B&M stationery shop and was surprised. Ultimately, I didn't like the feel or look of them and ended up giving them away. They had this weird, rough texture on the edges and generally did not feel like professional-quality plastic cards, which is crazy when we're talking about the highest price point in the market.

The other setup, blue and red Arrow style, poker size, I think jumbo index. Buckled inside the case before I even got a chance to use them. And I mean really bad, like the far edges sit a full centimeter or more off the table. And again, the price point is outrageous for what they are. They cost twice as much as comparable competitors, and so far they're batting 2/2 for unacceptably low quality.

Screw Kem. Buy almost literally any other brand. Hell, play with paper cards. At least you'll get something approaching your money's worth.

I believe you, but I have had the opposite experience. over a year of play and still straight as an arrow. I just love the feel, its desjgn kem and everything else for me. Although, I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by the setup of Da Vinci's that my wife got me for Christmas.

 

[DoubleEagle]

Kem's hate humidity and heat so keep them cool and dry. The acetate really soaks up the moisture.

 

[Chipandchair]

Hell, play with paper cards. At least you'll get something approaching your money's worth.

No offense but this is terrible advice

 

[Old State]

They had this weird, rough texture on the edges and generally did not feel like professional-quality plastic cards, which is crazy when we're talking about the highest price point in the market.

I’m sorry you had bad experiences with Kems. They do take some extra care but are worth it to me. As far as not feeling like “professional quality”, I’m curious what do you think “professional quality” is supposed to feel like? Feel is subjective but Kems are the de facto “professional” playing cards used in casinos almost exclusively for at least 45 years.

As for them being the most expensive cards...I have to disagree. This is a myth that keeps being perpetuated here. I’ve never spent more than $23 on a setup and I have several and just bought one for $13 on Amazon. Piatniks, Fourniers, Gemaco Superflex are often several dollars more than you can find Kems for and feel cheap in comparison IMO.
https://www.amazon.com/Piatnik-Plastic-Bridge-Double-Playing/dp/B0002HYSZ4

 

[BGinGA]

jeez, the never-ending story.....

Both sides of this debate are set in their opinions, and won't ever change. Those that have had horrible experiences with KEM cards, and have paid a pretty penny for 'em when it was the only real choice, pretty much hate them, for good reason. And there are a LOT of those folks. A much smaller percentage haven't experienced the problem (yet, imo), steadfastly defend them, and refuse to acknowledge the problems faced by the vast majority of users from a wasted money perspective.

Bottom line is, decide for yourselves. Get samples. Use what you like best. And don't come crying to me when your brand new KEM cards warp, because the odds say that they will.

https://www.amazon.com/Arrow-Standa...1551864467&s=merchant-items&sr=1-2&th=1&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Arrow-Standard-Index-Playing-Cards/dp/B000C0ZABW?th=1&psc=1

https://www.bicyclecards.com/product/kem-arrow-narrow-standard-playing-cards/

 

[Old State]

jeez, the never-ending story.....

Both sides of this debate are set in their opinions, and won't ever change. Those that have had horrible experiences with KEM cards, and have paid a pretty penny for 'em when it was the only real choice, pretty much hate them, for good reason. And there are a LOT of those folks. A much smaller percentage haven't experienced the problem (yet, imo), steadfastly defend them, and refuse to acknowledge the problems faced by the vast majority of users from a wasted money perspective.

Bottom line is, decide for yourselves. Get samples. Use what you like best. And don't come crying to me when your brand new KEM cards warp, because the odds say that they will.

https://www.amazon.com/Arrow-Standa...1551864467&s=merchant-items&sr=1-2&th=1&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Arrow-Standard-Index-Playing-Cards/dp/B000C0ZABW?th=1&psc=1

https://www.bicyclecards.com/product/kem-arrow-narrow-standard-playing-cards/

Don’t know that anyone isn’t acknowledging potential issues. I think the record clearly shows in-depth discussion on multiple threads about how to prevent these issues and full acknowledgement of the risk. As a mater of fact, I boycotted them for years until I heard of simply storing them upside down with a cut card and chip or dealer button on them. With this storage method I have five Kem setups that have remained completely flat for several years. This is well worth the effort to me because Kems are superior in feel to all other brands IMO. And my opinion is based on owning basically every brand of card made.....a endeavor originally taken by me to find a Kem alternative.

On the contrary I think there are a several here that are very invested in trashing Kems cards. Some is sincere and some is a bit disingenuous. This was and is the impetus for most of my comments on the subject.

I also noticed you picked the highest priced Kem links to be found on Amazon. If one was to simply go to Amazon at this moment and search “Kems” you will see plenty options much cheaper and certainly cheaper than many of the brands recommended on this forum. It’s actually pretty rare to see them above $30 let alone $40. The price of Kems widely fluctuates on Amazon, but if you check regularly you will often see them under $23.

These for example are under $22 and could be purchased last week for $13.
https://www.amazon.com/Springbok-Pa...+cards&qid=1551880225&s=sporting-goods&sr=1-8

In contrast, the link I posted to Piatnik cards were the ONLY option for a two deck set on Amazon. There is a single deck for $40+ if anyone is interested.....

 

[StackemHigh]

I sometimes use cut card and plaque(s) as a bit of weight. For prevention, and not just for Kem's.
And all cards are stored on lower (cooler) shelves/drawers.

 

[Quad Johnson]

Store them as mentioned above and I think you will be fine

Well 4 years later and I got my first setup in to try them out. Haven't even opened the cello yet, saving it for the game.

Bridge/Jumbo of course.

 

[JFG]

You can prevent warping by making sure no one holds the cards in a mechanics grip while dealing the flop, turn, and river. Also, store kems in their boxes with the jokers and cut card on top.

 

[Quad Johnson]

Watching the 1973 WSOP and I see some warped KEM's out there!

Pre-USPC didn't warp my butt!

 

[DoubleEagle]

Just yesterday, I finally tossed my last box of Kem Arrows. Had them for about 15 years. Hated to do it but they were so warped it was hard to shuffle them.

 

[Old State]

Watching the 1973 WSOP and I see some warped KEM's out there!

Pre-USPC didn't warp my butt!

View attachment 899295

Years ago…before USPC, I bought a setup of used casino Kems. They came very bowed. Because they were $6 I decided to try and flatten them with various techniques. Nothing works.
Store them upside down with a cut card and preferably a dealer button and they will stay flat. If you leave them out of the box or take them from cool dry to warm and humid they will bow and nothing can be done.

I bought my first two sets about 2001-2002. The one set that I played with weekly for over a year, set stayed flat (I still have them). The other was flat until I took them down to a beach house and they warped within a weekend.

I had more pre USPC Kems bow then post …but then again I store them differently since around 2011

 

[Quad Johnson]

Years ago…before USPC, I bought a setup of used casino Kems. They came very bowed. Because they were $6 I decided to try and flatten them with various techniques. Nothing works.
Store them upside down with a cut card and preferably a dealer button and they will stay flat. If you leave them out of the box or take them from cool dry to warm and humid they will bow and nothing can be done.

I bought my first two sets about 2001-2002. The one set that I played with weekly for over a year, set stayed flat (I still have them). The other was flat until I took them down to a beach house and they warped within a weekend.

I had more pre USPC Kems bow then post …but then again I store them differently since around 2011

I picked up a set up of KEM arrows. Since my game is outside these days on the porch in Florida humidity, I've decided to not introduce them since I figure they're guaranteed to be effed.

So I have them at my office where I play with them on my desk. My office is 71°F and low humidity 24/7. I left the deck on my desk overnight out of curiosity.

I swear it had an ever so slight bow the next morning but I wondered if it was my imagination. I packed them up and decided not to tempt fate any further. lol

 

[Old State]

I picked up a set up of KEM arrows. Since my game is outside these days on the porch in Florida humidity, I've decided to not introduce them since I figure they're guaranteed to be effed.

So I have them at my office where I play with them on my desk. My office is 71°F and low humidity 24/7. I left the doc on my desk overnight out of curiosity.

I swear it had an ever so slight bow the next morning but I wondered if it was my imagination. I packed them up and decided not to tempt fate any further. lol

I think the best bang for the buck out there right now is Cartamundi CCPs bridge that can be had for $10-14 on Amazon. They are heavier PVC so I think they would be fine.
I’ve also never seen Copags warp and next to Kem, have owned sets of them the longest. They do have other issues which is why I don’t buy them anymore…but warping isn’t one…and if you aren’t playing with them a whole lot they should be fine (they bleed and fade with routine use)

 

[Quad Johnson]

I think the best bang for the buck out there right now is Cartamundi CCPs bridge that can be had for $10-14 on Amazon. They are heavier PVC so I think they would be fine.
I’ve also never seen Copags warp and next to Kem, have owned sets of them the longest. They do have other issues which is why I don’t buy them anymore…but warping isn’t one…and if you aren’t playing with them a whole lot they should be fine (they bleed and fade with routine use)

I was all Modiano until I got caught up on history. They are now relegated to ModiaNO and all my setups have been replaced by the Desjgn classic diamond Bridge blackjack index.