[jojobinks]

a few questions about Kems.

are the old ones much better than the new ones?

where have you / would you buy Kems? i've seen them at ebay, BPC, PC.com, kardwell...but don't really know what's a good price.

that is all.

[JM]

I've heard the new ones can't hold a candle to the old ones. I decided to not bother with KEMs and go with Copag and Gemaco instead. They are pretty much the same thing and both are VERY nice cards. A world of difference between them and probably any other cards you've used. I recommend the poker or wide sized. Bridge size is just too small IMO. You should be able to pick up a 2 pack of either off ebay or amazon.com for 20 bucks or so, sometimes less.

[scottoc]

Hey jojo, see the New ? "Kems" post under Other Poker Gear for some more info. I've been using a USPC red Arrow deck for 4 consecutive Fridays on a dining room table(approx. 6-8hr sessions) and they're as good as new. I'm kinda attached to my older decks won't use them on anything but a felted table. Right now wide Arrows and Galaxy's in reg. index are ridiculously expensive. Wide double decks of super index or blackjack dropdown aces seem to go between $20-30 on ebay. Bridge size(which is what I prefer and what casino's use) seem to go between $14-40 for double decks. Sometimes you can get a better deal on older decks through ebay but be sure you read the post thoroughly, check sellers feedback, and ask questions if you have any. For websites I've used www.chessset.com w/ no problems and free shipping if you spend $50.
Hope this helps.

[BMWrider]

I picked up two twindecks of KEM's on ebay last week. One is the "Arabesque" design in a plastic box and the other was a casino design that came in a brown cardboard box. Both types are nice, but I was surprised to notice that the casino design cards are slightly thicker, enough so that I can tell the diff 100% of the time by feel alone. Does/did KEM produce different grades of cards?

[JM]

Could be that one is paper and one is plastic. Try folding a corner of one of the jokers to find out for sure.

[scottoc]

Kem's California Club cards were made from vinyl, not cellulose acetate. A lot of them have the casino or club design and were made for Ca. cardrooms. They're good cards imo, but you can definately tell the difference.

[BMWrider]

Originally Posted by JM

Could be that one is paper and one is plastic. Try folding a corner of one of the jokers to find out for sure.

Definitely not paper. They appear to be the same material, same texture. Differing only thickness.

[smoore]

I have a setup of Binion's Horseshoe blackjack cards. They are "poker sized" and are thicker than my Arrow, Alhambra and Butterflies Kems. They came in a cardboard setup.

[left]

cardboard boxes are reserved for casino decks.
plastic boxes are for consumer/home use decks.

yes the casino ones seem to be thicker. also they do cost the same as the home decks. the home decks have the plastic box. the money saved from using the cardboard box, maybe went into thicker cards?

i own a whole bunch of og kem cards. half still unopened, which is a bad thing. keeping them unopened in the plastic they come in, they tend to bow as time passes. if you plan on keeping your kems and not selling them, i would recommend you at least taking them out of the plastic.

i bought quite a few sets from chessset.com a few months ago. they were all og kems not uspc, bridge sized and regular index. i just checked the site again, they do not seem to have any uspc cards. but the og kems that they have, have ugly looking backs. ie: dogs, flowers, golf. the only thing i would buy from them would have to be the red double set of regents. but again, that's just me.

a double set of red regents might get mixed up at the table. but i have a few sets of regents different colors. with casino decks, you can't get just one card. like if your jack of spades gets messed up, you can't just get another one. you would have to retire that deck. which is why i have a few sets of each casino type set i own, if that makes any sense to you.

from what i hear, uspc is not honoring the og kem single card replacements. it's just what i hear, i don't know if it's a fact.

kardwell seems expensive to me. ebay is ok if you can find a deal. if you really want og kems, you should contact the seller and find out if they are in fact og. if you are paying 25-30 for a double set, i would say that is on the high side, but some might say that's normal. i recently paid 40 for a rare casino double set. which is still not bad, condsidering some have spent over a 100 just for a double set of kem arrows.

[Murf]

Someone posted a good price on KEM Arrow's, a double deck of bride size for $19.99.