KEM Cards Review

KEM Cards Review

You don’t play poker at home with those cheap plastic chips from Wal Mart anymore, so why are you playing with a regular deck of cards? After a couple hours of play, someone always spills a beer and you and your buddies spend the rest of the night playing poker with cards that are stickier than a 2 year old’s fingers after a session with cotton candy. If it’s not the beer, it’s the guy who feels it necessary to just barely peek at the corners of his cards…thus warping them in no time. Or it’s the newbie who shuffles like your grandma used to, which ultimately ends up with a card being bent.

KEM cards are 100% plastic, which makes them extremely durable and resistant to tearing, bending and staining. Someone dumps a beer? No problem…just walk over to your sink and take a damp cloth to them. Your KEMs will be good as new in no time because they are washable and fully water resistant. Someone warps a card? It’s not a problem because you can gently bend the card in the other direction to restore it to a normal look. If the warp is severe, place the card under a telephone book for a day or two and it will be good as new. KEM cards are thicker and heavier than other plastic playing cards, such as Copag Cards. This results in longer usability and added durability.

Ok, that’s all well and good, but here’s the main question: How do they actually play? A new deck will be quite slick. Don’t fret because after a few orbits around the poker table, they’ll break in and you’ll love how easily they shuffle and how smooth they feel in your hand.

KEM cards went out of production in 2004 and were unavailable for several months. The production stoppage was due to KEM relocating their manufacturing plant from Pennsylvania to Ohio. Production resumed in early 2005. As a result of the production stoppage, certain styles of decks are tough to come by and a search of ebay proves this case. A call was placed to the customer service number listed on their website, but a voicemail message went unreturned.

Each individual deck of KEM cards comes in a box which can be used for storage. In addition, each deck comes with a replacement card that can be used to order a new card in case one from your deck gets damaged during a poker game.

One very important item to keep in mind regarding KEM cards is that because they are manufactured from 100% thermo-plastic, they are susceptible to damage if exposed to extreme environmental conditions. In other words, don’t store them in your car during the winter or summer and don’t allow them to be exposed to extreme humidity. If your KEM cards are exposed to these conditions, it’s very possible the colors may bleed and your premiere deck of poker playing cards will be ruined.

KEM cards aren’t cheap, but consider the cost of a couple of fresh decks in your regular poker game over a period of time. You’ll soon realize that these cards will quickly pay for themselves. Upgrade your home poker games by purchasing a deck of KEM cards today.