Removing Mark on Cards

We just bought a Copag deck of cards for our home games we play often.

However, the 4 of hearts has got a nail mark/dent, which is easily visible from the face, but also can be seen on the back of the card too at the right light angle.

Is there any way to remove this mark somehow? We wanted the cards to last a bit more than 1 game, lol.

Cheers

Where did you purchase the cards? I know that several online sites offer replacements if you purchased from them. I know of no way to get a bend or dent out of a card.

Ok, fair enough, didn't think there would be a way to get it out but just wondered. It ain't a major nail dent, but it's enough that you can just catch a glimpse of it in the right light.

Bought them off Ebay (brand new), however they were definitely in mint condition when received.

If the mark was made after you received the deck, there's not really much you can do I'm afraid - Copags are plastic and once they're damaged like that it's pretty much permanent.

If they arrived in that condition I'm pretty sure the company replaces them (though you might have a problem if you got them from EBay), but if they were OK when they arrived, I dunno if there's much you can do.

Most Copags come in setups of two though, can't you just use the other deck?

Why would someone mark the 4 of hearts...... utter genius I tell you.

^^ kenny tran? ..."i'm such a genius"

If you really want to use the cards more than once, and you can't get that darn dent out, and your worried that dent is a dead give away for the 4♥ I have a solution, put the same dent on every other card in the deck! Playing field is now even, lol.......

Monoxide said:

Why would someone mark the 4 of hearts...... utter genius I tell you.

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It usually happens by accident or through ignorance - I deal bar games and we occasionally get cards come back marked. They're usually random cards (ie: it's not as if someone's marking the aces or anything) and it happens by players doing stupid things with them, bending them or squeezing them in some way they're not supposed to.

You have described just one of the reasons why paper cards are actually better than plastic cards....

Once a plastic deck is marked, you are stuck using the marked decks for a long time....But, for the $2-$4 per deck of paper cards (ie. Bees or Bicycles, etc.), you can change decks every night and know that old marks are no longer there.

expertmagician said:

You have described just one of the reasons why paper cards are actually better than plastic cards....

Once a plastic deck is marked, you are stuck using the marked decks for a long time....But, for the $2-$4 per deck of paper cards (ie. Bees or Bicycles, etc.), you can change decks every night and know that old marks are no longer there.

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Well if you play with paper cards you'll HAVE to replace the deck every time you play and there are some pretty good plastic cards are only about $5/deck now. Long term, plastic cards are cheaper than paper.

The best cards to buy that will last a lo9ng time without having to worry about markings is KEM cards because you can bend them, get wet or whatever and they still look the same. They are like $30 for two decks but they are good quality for the money.

I have a two decks from poker stars that were low fpp to purchase. They are plastic and work fine...do this imo

jasonallen28 said:

The best cards to buy that will last a lo9ng time without having to worry about markings is KEM cards because you can bend them, get wet or whatever and they still look the same. They are like $30 for two decks but they are good quality for the money.

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A Kem will mark just like any other plastic card.

Please let me explain....I am not saying that plastic cards are bad (KEM, Copag, Gemaco, etc.)....I am simply saying that if you do not bring in a new deck every session...then you are exposing yourself more to the use of marked cards.

If you think that plastic cards reduce or prevent the use of marked cards then you are sadly mistaken.

This is one reason I prefer paper cards.....they are cheap to replace so you risk of marked paper cards is actually less than with plastic cards. I know that this is contrary to popular myths....But, true

I am not trying to debate...just offer some friendly advise.....each person or group of people can do what ever they feel is best and/or safest To each his own

expertmagician said:

If you think that plastic cards reduce or prevent the use of marked cards then you are sadly mistaken.

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Why do you think casinos use plastic cards? Because they are harder to mark and don't have to be replaced as often.

Tridentcards (google it) has Modianos on closeout for $2.99 a deck. They have at least 7 different colors and for "cheap" plastic cards they are really nice. We use them a lot in our home games. Regular price on them was $6.99. My group ordered 30 decks of them today (we run a MTT tourney each month). For anyone wanting to try plastic cards but doesn't want to spend a bunch of $$, I highly recommend them.

There is also a promo code "homepoker" that takes an additional 10% off your order (basically pays for shipping).

dsvw56 said:

Why do you think casinos use plastic cards? Because they are harder to mark and don't have to be replaced as often.

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There's an even bigger reason casinos use plastic cards - they're a bajillion times easier to shuffle and deal.

As a dealer, there's nothing that tilts me more than trying to riffle paper cards. After a couple of hands they're generally bowed too, which makes them more difficult to pitch accurately.

Monoxide said:

Why would someone mark the 4 of hearts...... utter genius I tell you.

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I can understand how the 4h would get marked when someone is holding 3 4 os and they chase to the river and dont get the 5 for the wheel and end up throwing the cards.

The casinos use plastic cards to save money because the cards last longer and people are a little less likely to mark cards while in a casino...But, there have been several cases over the past few years where people have done so and the most recent was earlier in 2008 in a legal casino poker room in Connecticut.

Sounds like you guys (and gals) tend to like plastic cards....as I said, that is a personal decision...good luck and have fun

NOTE: As far as marking low valued cards....some clever people will mark low cards and will not mark the high cards. They do this so they will know if someone has a high card in their hand. (ie. if the card is not marked, tehn it is a high card). The reason that this is good is that people will be studying the aces and kings for marks and will not find anything because they were not marked

A little reverse phycology is fun sometimes

SIDE NOTE: Plastic cards are also useful for people who cheat by holding out cards....The reason why is that paper cards may hold the shape of the palmed card, but the plastic card will straighten itself out and not hold the curl which would tip off "holding out".

OzExorcist said:

There's an even bigger reason casinos use plastic cards - they're a bajillion times easier to shuffle and deal.

As a dealer, there's nothing that tilts me more than trying to riffle paper cards. After a couple of hands they're generally bowed too, which makes them more difficult to pitch accurately.

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As far as paper cards holding the "bow". I have only seen this when people use the Roman riffle shuffle. But, if people do a table riffle shuffle like a casino, the bow is not a problem.

As I said in a previous post...if you see a single bowed card, the odds are that someone was palming it and switched in a held-out card. So, the bow is a way to spot a potential mechanic.

NOTE: Even if the cards happen to "bow", that is VERY easy to fix. Simply take the deck and bow the cards in the opposite direction and they are straight again.

Cover the card with the nail mark with a piece of cloth and pound it with a hammer.

(I have no clue if that would work or not, my group plays paper cards. You may end up worse than what you started with)

I heard that you can send a marked card to Copag and they will replace it. I don't know if that was BS or what, but it wouldn't hurt to check their web site.

bovicide said:

Cover the card with the nail mark with a piece of cloth and pound it with a hammer.

(I have no clue if that would work or not, my group plays paper cards. You may end up worse than what you started with)

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Plastic cards are known to break when submitted to harsh blows.

What you NEED to do is to make the exact SAME mark on the other 51 cards.

TriggaLos said:

I heard that you can send a marked card to Copag and they will replace it. I don't know if that was BS or what, but it wouldn't hurt to check their web site.

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That is assuming that your card was marked obviously and by accident and assuming that you saw the marks. But, if someone intentially marks a card secretly then you would not notice the mark.

For example, if the cards were marked with Juice or Luminous solution or daub then you would never know and you may be playing with your "long lasting" marked plastic cards for a long time.

This is good for the person who marked the cards....but, no so good for those who do not know about the marks