[Spaceman Spiff]

Manufacturer: Copag
Retailer(s): Caragails, Holdem Poker Chips, Chessset.com
Average Price: $15 per double deck setup
Material: PVC plastic
Member Review by: Spaceman Spiff

Copag is a Brazilian company that has become one of the major playing card manufacturers in the world. They have recently made a big push into the United States market and they seem to be becoming more and more popular. This has obviously been helped by the current shortage of Kem cards. Copags are offered in bridge or poker sizes, regular or jumbo index, and with a variety of back designs. A double deck setup comes in a hard plastic case that offers excellent protection for the decks when not in use. A nice touch in the plastic case is a small plastic piece that clips onto the rib between the decks and holds the decks in their places. When transporting other decks that don't have this, the decks always end up getting mixed up as cards spill onto each other. It's a simple, neat little feature that I've only seen in Copags.

Price

The market seems to be settling out somewhere around $15 for the double deck setup, at least online. I'm sure retailers are getting more than that. As always, a key to watch is shipping costs. Caragails is the only supplier I've found that offers decks for $15 and has free shipping. However, it appears as though there may be a price increase in the works at the end of May 2005.

In any case, Copags come in at about half the cost of Kems and comparable to other plastic playing cards. The durability makes them an excellent value.

Feel

If you've never used a plastic card before, the feel is going to be very different than the paper cards you're used to. Once you get used to it and once you realize you won't have to throw out a deck after every game, you'll never go back. I think Copags have a great feel. They're very similar to Kems, both cards have a little bit of texture to them that just makes them feel nicer. Royal cards are also plastic, but they are dead smooth and to me they just feel cheap.

One complaint I've heard is the flimsiness of plastic cards. Of the cards I've tried, Copags are the stiffest. The setup of Kems I have is noticeably flimsier and the Royals are flimsy as well. I've heard good things about Dal Negros, but I personally haven't tried a deck. To me, the added flexibility is an advantage because it makes shuffling a lot easier. Copags are stiff enough to feel sturdy while handling, but they are very easy to shuffle.

Another common complaint is the slipperiness of plastic cards. I've found this to be absolutely true. Copags can be very slick, especially when they are fresh from the pack. However, they do seem to break in and behave a little better now that I've had them in use for a few months. The biggest problem is usually after dealing. If you set the deck down, a lot of times the top card will have a tendency to want to squirt away. Again, this seems to have diminished after some use.

Looks

We use the 1546 style in my games and these seem to be the standard style. The backs are very nice, but nothing out of the ordinary. I have the burgundy and green setup, but the 1546 also comes in red and blue. For poker size, burgundy and green decks have the jumbo index while the red and blue decks are regular index. The indexes are on the opposite deck colors for bridge size decks.

Copag does have a unique printing style for the numbers and letters that I like, but it seems to be either a love it or hate it type of thing with most people. It's kind of hard to describe, but it almost has kind of a retro feel I guess. The print is very blocky as you can see in the pictures. I personally like the font, but there are many who don't. The picture cards are basically standard playing card fare, nothing too fancy there.

For those that are enamored with the Kem Ace of Spades, Copags will be a disappointment. To call the Copag Ace basic would be an understatement. If you're like me though, you see aces so rarely that you probably won't even notice.

One last comment on Copag looks is about the reported washed out look to the colors. This is also true. When you take a close look at the cards, it seems like something that could easily be fixed with a heavier print. The raised texture of the card shows white through the printed areas and this tends to mute the rest of the print. Heavier printing can have problems of its own though and really, once you get used to the faces, you don't notice anything wrong with them.

Security/Originality

Copags are becoming more common as they push into the U.S., so there isn't going to be any inherent security or originality. As with anything else in the game, the best way to keep things somewhat secure is to do a count of your decks before and after the game. If someone wants to sneak a card in, it's going to be hard to stop, but then they'll have to figure out a way to get the same card back out.

Durability

Far and away the big strength of Copags is their durability. Essentially, they are indestructible under normal game conditions. Previously, we used Bicycles in my home game and by the end of the night they would have a distinct bend in them from everyone peeking at their hole cards. This is a total non-issue with Copags. In fact, as you can see in the pictures, you can bend a Copag back on itself and it will snap back to completely flat in a matter of seconds.

In addition to being practically indestructible, Copags are also cleanable. I haven't had to do this yet, so I don't know for sure how well it works, but from all reports I've read, it basically brings the deck back to brand new status after a good cleaning.

One final note, one of the main selling points of Kems was the fact that they would replace any single card in their decks if they somehow were damaged. Copag now has a replacement program going, but it is only going through copagcards.com, the main US distributor. From what I've gathered, if you purchased your setups through copagcards.com or one of their resellers, you can receive a replacement card for any lost or damaged card. Price seems to be $1 + postage. It doesn't seem to be as easy as Kem's program was and if you didn't purchase through copagcads.com, you're apparently out of luck. However, if Copag truly is striving to be the top company in the US, I would expect a full replacement program through Copag to appear in the future.

Reviewers Comments - Overall Rating

As far as plastic cards go, Copags definitely rank in the top tier. In this range it probably comes down to personal preference more than anything. Those that have played more B&M poker are probably going to always like their Kems best because that's what they've always used in the card rooms. In my opinion, Copags are every bit as good as Kems and at half the price, it's hard to beat that value. Both Kem and Copag are an order of magnitude better than Royals and another order of magnitude better than that ratty old deck of Bicycles in your drawer.

Card Pictures

[vrecksler]

Copag Cards
Purchased from: http://www.holdempokerchips.com
Price Paid: free (won in contest)

Plastic cards are not all created equal, and of the brands I have tried the Copag's really stand out. They deal well on a variety of surfaces and they are extremely durable -- difficult to permanently deform, stain, or otherwise destroy during regular play -- making them ideal cards for any poker game.

Pros:

• Quality: They look and feel great whether shuffling, dealing, or checking your hole cards
• Durability: These cards will last and last...like a good poker chip, you will probably get bored of them and want a new look before they ever need replacing
• Variety: Many different graphics are available, as well as index and card size, so finding a set you will be happy with is very easy

Cons:

• Price: They are generally more than the free decks you can get from the casino's, or the uber-cheapie plastic cards that are everywhere
• No Customization: You are stuck with the options that Copag offers...for now

[tikipirate]

Copag Cards
Purchased from: www.5stardeal.com
Price Paid: About $7/Pack

These were my first plastic cards, and I can't stress how much better they are than plastic. I've been very happy with them, and would strongly recommend that if you want to enhance your home game, you pick up a pack of plastics (Copags happened to be some of the cheapest I could find at the time).

Pros:
· Feel: When dealing a shuffling, they kinda of just flow or glide where you want them. They are somewhat slick if not playing on felt, but this isn't a huge issue.
· Card Graphics: Everything is clear; I wound up with some jumbo index cards and things are clearly visible to everyone at the table. >>
· Toughness: These cards are the Volvos of playing cards. You can't hurt them. I don't worry anymore when people have a couple of drinks and get a little wild because unless they try and light them on fire, they can't really hurt them.


Cons:
· Price: They are expensive if you are used to paper; however others have pointed out if you have to buy paper decks for each new game, and play with any frequency, these actually save you money. >>
· Joker: For some reason part of Copags Jokers are faded. I don't know why, and it's not a big issue, however everyone I’ve seen is like this and it's just kinda odd.