[TenPercenter]

Copag EPOC Playing Cards Review
by ACE’S FULL

Manufacturer: Copag EPOC
Retailer(s): Palm Imports, Caragails, HoldemPokerChips.com
Average Price: $20 per set-up (2 Decks)


Material: 100% Plastic (PVC)

Copag is a pioneer in the manufacturing of cards; COPAG has been in this market since the beginning of the century. Albino Gonçalves, a graphic designer, founded the company in 1908 in the city of São Paulo Brazil. In the beginning, Copag was only importing. However, in 1918 it started manufacturing its own cards. Today, its modern and large industrial facilities are located in Manaus, Brazil. Copag sends part of its production to the international market, exporting decks to the United States. One of Copag’s greatest accomplishments was their deal with Harrah’s and the WSOP in 2005. Copag’s are used exclusively in all of the WSOP tournaments.

Copag EPOC was conceived and designed by Maria Leonor Decourt as a modification of the Standard English pattern. All basic elements of each court card are the same in that pattern but with an artistic flare. The distribution of the suit marks in the numeral cards are also modified, following the look of the other suits. The design uses the general shape of each French suit as a starting point to make the court cards, numerals, jokers and the backs. EPOC, as the name of the set-ups derives from the 4 letters of the French suit marks as spelled in Portuguese.

E from espadas (spades) P from paus (clubs) O from ouros (diamonds) & C from copas (hearts)

Pro's

• Added security for your game
• Unique design
• Thicker card
• Textured feel

Con's

• Color pattern on back of decks is easy to mix up
• Scuffing potential (after several uses)
• Different look
• Could mistake suits

Price

I have found them as cheap as $15 with free shipping and as much as $22 plus shipping. The best thing for anyone looking for cards or chips is to do your homework. Take 10 min to do some research. Copag’s seem to be the value leader in the 100% plastic card market.

Feel

Prior to ChipTalk I had no idea that plastic cards existed, the only thing that I knew existed were Bicycle cards. In addition, when I was in Vegas I spent about $40 on used casino blackjack cards when I was there on vacation. One of the biggest problems with those cards is after one solid game you have to throw them out. After using Copag’s in a game there is no going back. In fact, that $40 worth of used casino cards are sitting in a drawer collecting dust.

Now if you have never been to a casino to play poker or been to a home game these cards are going to feel weird. In fact most of the guys that I play with in our game didn’t like them at all. All plastic cards are slick feeling right out of the case. They will sort of “break in” i.e. hand oils, dirt, beer etc... The nice thing about plastic cards is they are WASHABLE… I love this feature. After washing them they're as slick just like the were brand new out of the box.

Looks

Just looking at the packaging these cards are different. The cards are black in color. The front of the cards includes all of the suits in the design. Hearts & Diamonds are red with the Clubs & Spades in white. The opposing side of the cards carry the same design as the opposite side of the card. Hearts & Diamonds are red and the Clubs & Spades are white. The face cards King’s, Queen’s & Jack’s all have a unique design for each suit. The design is the same on the face card with the exception of using the suit in the design. The design gives the cards a unique but fresh look to them.

Others have commented about the washed out look with Copag’s. With these the black background gives the cards a sharp clean look to them. The font used with these cards has a Olde English feel to it. It is very easy to recognize what you have in your hand without having to look back several times. This will be a pleasure to those that are far-sighted.

Security/Originality

With Copag becoming a market leader in regards to price you are more than likely to see more and more people with Copag. Now with the EPOC style, I doubt this to hold true. This is definitely something that would take some getting used to. If you think you might have security issues at your game then this would give you a good option, you also may want to consider finding a new group to play with.

Durability

This is where Copag is better than most of the manufactures. Copag’s can take a beating throughout a session or tournament and still hold up like brand new. Another high point is Copag’s are washable. Warm soapy water and lay them out on a paper towel and presto, new cards… Not really but they get the new feeling back in them. When I cleaned them they seemed to curl so I put a phone book on top of the paper towel while drying and that issue went away. Looks being one of the major differences in these cards one of the questions that most of you all have is "Do they hold up?" Meaning does the color shift? Do you lose the sharpness of the design. I have used these in several sessions and a small tournament and I haven't had any problems with losing color or sharpness.

In Spaceman Spiffs review Copag Cards - Poker Chip Forums-ChipTalk.net he spoke about the replacement program and it appears that Copag has a full replacement program in place. Not sure on the fees and what not, but it seems fairly quick with turnaround time.

Reviewers Comments

Having Copag’s before writing this review I can tell you I will never go back to the plastic coated paper cards again. I own KEM’s as well and I can tell you that Copag IMO are better than KEM's. I like the feel and the durability of Copags over KEM's, but with anything like this it comes down to what you like. The biggest factor for me was the cost. I am always on a budget with poker related stuff, so Copag’s were the way to go. I must say after buying a set-up of KEM’s I am glad I went with Copag. Ultimately Copag or any other 100% plastic cards are WAY better than that plastic coated paper cards that you are used to playing with. That is after you get your hands on Copags).

---

Earn yourself 25 ChipTalk.net Store Chips!
Have you used this product? Do you want to submit a Mini Review? Earn yourself 25 ChipTalk.net Store Chips! Click here for details and the template, then just click the "Add Mini Review" button on this page to submit yours!