18 pages
All guides
What comes in Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Lorcana, One Piece and Flesh and Blood booster boxes and starter decks, and how to sleeve, store and grade your cards.
Pokemon
Pokemon TCG booster boxes, Elite Trainer Boxes and how to spot fake cards.
How to Tell if Pokemon Cards Are Fake: 8 Checks That Work
How to spot fake Pokemon cards: the card back, text errors, fonts, Energy symbols, foil texture and edges, plus the warning signs on sealed packs and boxes.
Pokemon Booster Box vs Elite Trainer Box: Which Should You Buy?
A Pokemon booster box holds 36 packs; an Elite Trainer Box holds 9 packs plus sleeves, Energy and dice. How they compare, and which suits players or collectors.
What Comes in a Pokemon Booster Box? Packs, Cards and Odds
A Pokemon TCG booster box, sold as a Booster Display, holds 36 packs of 10 cards plus an Energy. What is inside, and how to buy one sealed.
What Comes in a Pokemon Elite Trainer Box? Full Contents List
A Pokemon Elite Trainer Box holds 9 booster packs, 65 sleeves, 45 Energy cards, dice, a promo card and a storage box. Here is the full list and who it suits.
Yu-Gi-Oh!
Yu-Gi-Oh! Structure Decks and Starter Decks, and how to read a card's rarity and edition.
How to Tell a Yu-Gi-Oh! Card's Rarity and Edition
Read a Yu-Gi-Oh! card's rarity from its foil: name, art and borders. Plus what the gold or silver security foil says about First and Unlimited Editions.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Structure Deck vs Starter Deck: Which to Buy First
Yu-Gi-Oh! Starter Decks are built for new Duelists; Structure Decks for players who know the rules. What each contains, and which one to buy first.
More card games
Disney Lorcana, the One Piece Card Game and Flesh and Blood: what to buy first for each.
Which Trading Card Game Should You Start? Seven Games Compared
Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Disney Lorcana, One Piece, Flesh and Blood, Star Wars: Unlimited and Digimon compared: deck sizes, starter products and how each game plays.
Flesh and Blood Blitz Decks: What They Are and How to Start
Flesh and Blood Blitz Decks are ready-to-play 40-card decks with a hero, weapon and equipment. How Blitz works, what a deck holds, and where boosters fit in.
One Piece Card Game Starter Deck: What Is Inside and How to Start
A One Piece Card Game starter deck holds a Leader, a 50-card deck and 10 DON!! cards. What else is in the box, the deck rules, and when to buy boosters.
What Is in a Disney Lorcana Booster Box? Packs, Cards and Decks
A Disney Lorcana booster box holds 24 packs of 12 cards. What each pack contains, how starter decks differ, and the deck rules to know before you open one.
Card care
Sleeves, toploaders, binders, deck boxes, storage boxes, playmats and how grading works.
How to Protect Trading Cards: Sleeves, Toploaders, Binders, Boxes
How to protect trading cards: sleeves for play, toploaders for valuable cards, binders for display, boxes for bulk, and the room conditions to store them in.
Card Sleeve Sizes: Which Sleeves Fit Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Lorcana
Standard sleeves (about 66 x 91 mm) fit Pokemon, Lorcana and Flesh and Blood cards; Yu-Gi-Oh! needs Japanese-size sleeves. Sizes, thickness, double sleeving.
How Does Trading Card Grading Work? PSA and CGC Explained
Card grading explained: authentication, then a 10-point grade for centering, corners, edges and surface. How PSA and CGC define a 10 and how to send a card.
Sleeves and Toploaders: How to Protect a Valuable Trading Card
Put the card in a penny sleeve, then a 3 x 4 inch toploader. Sizes, thickness in points, and why PSA asks for semi-rigid holders instead of toploaders.
Trading Card Binders: Which Binder Keeps Pokemon Cards Safe?
What to look for in a trading card binder: 9-pocket side-loading pages, PVC-free polypropylene, a zip closure and room for sleeved cards. For Pokemon and more.
Trading Card Storage Boxes: How to Store Bulk Cards Safely
Cardboard count boxes hold bulk trading cards cheaply. What 800 and 3,200 count mean for game cards, which boxes take sleeves, and where to keep them.
What Size Deck Box Do You Need for a Sleeved Deck?
Deck boxes are named by how many double-sleeved cards they hold. A 100+ box fits a sleeved 60-card deck with room to spare. Match the box to your game.
What Size Is a TCG Playmat? Sizes, Materials and Zones
A standard TCG playmat is about 24 x 14 inches (61 x 35 cm), with a cloth top and rubber base. What to look for, stitched edges, and zoned mats by game.
