Posted Tue Dec 21, 2004 8:25 pm GMT by Iron Butt
Has anyone seen in person the new production Kem cards recently discussed here?
In case you missed it, there was some excitement about Kems being back in production (or so it was said), tempered by a post on another forum suggesting that the quality of the new cards is bad.
So who here has actually used 'em? I'm trying to figure out whether I need to snap up some NOS Kems off ebay in spite of the bendover pricing or can wait for the new production and the market to settle down...
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Posted Wed Dec 22, 2004 5:52 am GMT by raistlin329
Butt,
I started that "Kem's in Back in Production Thread". One of my follow up messages in that thread (http://www.texasholdem-poker.com/forum/t7024/kems-back-in-production) mentions that I should be getting both the New *AND* Old Kems in the same shipment. As soon as they arrive (and my family opens their KEM gifts) I will post a review of them (also comparing them vs Copag's).
-Raistlin329
Posted Wed Dec 22, 2004 7:01 am GMT by Iron Butt
Thanks. Didn't mean to steal your thread, I see this as a slight tangent to your original topic that I thought that had been pretty thoroughly hijacked to death anyway.
So anyone seen 'em yet?
Posted Wed Dec 22, 2004 8:16 am GMT by Flitred
Mine should come in tomorrow sometime.
Posted Wed Dec 22, 2004 12:05 pm GMT by raistlin329
| Iron Butt wrote: | Thanks. Didn't mean to steal your thread, I see this as a slight tangent to your original topic that I thought that had been pretty thoroughly hijacked to death anyway.
So anyone seen 'em yet? |
Didn't steal my thread at all  I know what you mean about that thread being full of "static" and think a new thread is what is needed too.
I look forward to hearing others opinion on this topic. I'd be dissapointed if the new KEMs have a noticeable difference from the "Old" KEM's.
-Raistlin329
Posted Wed Dec 22, 2004 3:57 pm GMT by raistlin329
| Iron Butt wrote: | Has anyone seen in person the new production Kem cards recently discussed here?
In case you missed it, there was some excitement about Kems being back in production (or so it was said), tempered by a post on another forum suggesting that the quality of the new cards is bad.
So who here has actually used 'em? I'm trying to figure out whether I need to snap up some NOS Kems off ebay in spite of the bendover pricing or can wait for the new production and the market to settle down... |
Mine just got delivered. I have attached a scan of the Ace of Clubs - definitely confirms that these are new run production from USPC Co.
First Impressions: (keep in mind I have never played with a plastic card before - that I can recall):
* Seemed a little flimsy to me - I guess I was expecting the KEMs to be more "crisp'.
*Bridge Size: After all my research - I was under the impression that most casino's used bridge size and that poker sized card were over-sized over regular sized cards (that you can buy at the store). Well, my bridge sized KEM's are smaller than every previously played casino deck of cards I have as well as smaller than a pack of Bicycle's I just found in a drawer. The Bicycle pack does say "poker-size". So, I guess this whole time I really wanted poker size, not bridge size. I was under the wrong impression that bridge-size was standard size and poker-size were over-sized cards. Oh well, you live and learn.
I'll post more when I can get my hands on the old KEM's and Copags that I'm giving to family for Christmas...
-Raistlin329
Posted Wed Dec 22, 2004 10:26 pm GMT by pocket_aces
I've seen both bridge and poker sized in tournaments. Normal Bicycles, Bee's, etc, that you'll find at the grocery store are all poker sized. I actually prefer playing with bridge size Kem's in my home game.
As far as quality I'm interested in checking out the new ones as well. I'm hoping they'll be the same quality as the old Kem's since supposedly USPC is using all the old Kem equipment.
Posted Wed Dec 22, 2004 10:48 pm GMT by Iron Butt
| raistlin329 wrote: |
* Seemed a little flimsy to me - I guess I was expecting the KEMs to be more "crisp'.
|
This is common to plastic cards. Copags are maybe even a bit more so.
People often come to like the softer feel once they get used to it. Same with bridge size cards.
Posted Wed Dec 22, 2004 11:37 pm GMT by PanthersHUTCH15
I agree. When I first got my KEMs they were entirely different from what I expected. I shuffled them for the first time and they slid all over the place and felt very thin, and like you said "flimsy". After using them for about 5 months now, I can honestly never use a normal cheap pack of cards again. When people said this before I was skeptical, but it is true.
When someone gets some of the new KEMs that has used the old KEMs, post right away because I am also very interested to see how they stack up. My guess is that they will be identical....At least that's what I am hoping.
Posted Wed Dec 22, 2004 11:57 pm GMT by Abused Rib
I haven't handled an old deck of KEMs, but I ordered a deck along with these new arrows. My tracker thing says they should arrive on the 24th. I'll see how they compare when they come in.
Posted Thu Dec 23, 2004 2:48 am GMT by cmill
I got two double decks of the new U.S. Playing Card Co. Kems today. They seem more or less the same. The printing on the Ace of spades is different as the above picture shows to reflect the new manufacturer. I have been playing with Kems for about a year now and have logged many hours with them. The new deck felt slightly different to me, but I do not know if it was because I was expecting a slight differeence or if it was just because the deck is brand new. If there is a difference, it is very slight,. One difference is that the decks no longer come with a replacement card offer. Looks like U.S. Playing Card may not be carying on that tradition. I have yet to play with the new decks, so I can't speak to the feel of the cards under game conditions. The cards are exactly the same size that they have always been, so don't worry about that. It would appear that Kems are back, so all of you can stop paying outrageous prices on eBay. I wonder if Copag and the other plastic card manufacturers made enough of an inroad during the Kem shortage to take a bite out of the premium card market.
Posted Thu Dec 23, 2004 12:36 pm GMT by TechGuru
Some additional observations:
Colors on the new KEMs are fainter. I compaired the new deck to 2 older KEM decks:
http://www.biblicool.com/images/new-old.jpg
http://www.biblicool.com/images/new-kem2.jpg
The texture is different and feel a little more "plastic", somewhere between old KEM and Royal plastics. I compare a brand new deck of old KEMs, brand new Royals (yuck) and the new KEMs. all decks fresh out of the box.
Arrow graphic is not centered on any of the 4 new decks I received. Offset is easy to notice
Corner cuts are terrible and not "rounded" like older sets. Each corner is cut slightly different, some sharp angles, some more subtle.
Cards came in plastic box, not traditional cardboard box. Plastic box is exactly like the COPAG box, same style, shape, etc... Only difference is KEM logo and USPC name.
As CMILL stated, they feel, shuffle, play, and generally look like old KEMs, albeit without the "perfection" of the older KEMs
My guess is the sets out there now are first production runs and lack some quality control. Hope the bugs get worked out.
Tech
Posted Thu Dec 23, 2004 12:50 pm GMT by redd38
| TechGuru wrote: | Cards came in plastic box, not traditional cardboard box. Plastic box is exactly like the COPAG box, same style, shape, etc... Only difference is KEM logo and USPC name.
|
Traditional cardboard box? Like a bicycle deck? I thought all plastic cards came in a plastic box. My old KEMs came in a plastic box, I thought that's where COPAG got their box design.
Posted Thu Dec 23, 2004 1:04 pm GMT by TechGuru
| redd38 wrote: | | Traditional cardboard box? Like a bicycle deck? I thought all plastic cards came in a plastic box. My old KEMs came in a plastic box, I thought that's where COPAG got their box design. |
Edit: KEM casino cards are sold in 2 deck cardboard boxes. I also have some from the 1960's that are in a black box set.
other KEMS (Arrows, Paisley's, theme's, etc..) are sold in the plastic box.
My bad...
Tech
Posted Thu Dec 23, 2004 3:10 pm GMT by Iron Butt
| TechGuru wrote: | | Some additional observations: |
Well, crap. Sigh. Eh fockit, I like Copags just fine.
| Quote: |
Corner cuts are terrible and not "rounded" like older sets. Each corner is cut slightly different, some sharp angles, some more subtle.
|
Jeez... isn't that a huge problem? It seems to me the deck wouldn't shuffle right once the deck was mixed around and you had corners of different aspects mixed together. Not to mention a cheater's dream... buy a few decks and make one deck of perfectly legit cards where the corners of the aces stick out just a tiny bit...
Posted Fri Dec 24, 2004 1:20 pm GMT by Abused Rib
Well, my KEMs came in today. They seem legit to me. The designs aren't offset on mine. They seem exactly like the old KEMs. However, I am disappointed with my red Paisleys. I guess nicetoys was running out, so I received a deck that said "190" on the As. I looked at the KEM website, and I think that means January of 1990 (didn't receive a replacement card). These ones from 1990 had some bad edges, had a lot residue particles, bad corners, and developed slight hips on many of the cards. I'm quite disappointed with those and I'm going to see what I can do. However, my blue paisley and both arrow decks were absolutely fine.
Another thing to note. On the black plastic case for the cards, the bottom now says THE U.S. PLAYING CARD CO. instead of the old KEM PLASTIC PLAYING CARDS. The new one still has the KEM crown logo thing though. So yeah, another thing that seems like they're the real thing.
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