What grade will my card get?

Before anyone sends a card to be graded, the same question comes up: what will it get? Nobody can promise an answer. But a slow, careful look at home tells you a lot, and it is the best way to tell a card with a real chance at a top grade from one that only looks great at arm's length.

What you need

• Good light. Daylight by a window, or a bright lamp you can move around.
• A clean, soft surface, like a microfiber cloth, so the card does not pick up new marks while you look.
• Your phone camera. Zooming in on a photo shows things your eyes skip.
• Patience. Take the card out of its sleeve only if you need to, and hold it by the edges.

1. Centering

Centering is how even the borders are. Look at the front: is the left border about the same width as the right, and the top about the same as the bottom? Then do the same for the back. A card that is clearly off to one side is unlikely to get the very top grade, even if everything else about it is perfect.

Each grading company publishes its own centering limits for each grade, and they are not all the same. PSA vs CGC vs BGS grades explains how the scales compare.

2. Corners

Look at all four corners, front and back, under the light. You are looking for white showing through the color, soft or rounded tips, and tiny dings. Corners are where cards get bumped, so this is often where a card loses its chance at a top grade.

3. Edges

Run your eyes along each edge, especially on the back where the color is darker. Small white chips, called whitening, are common, even on cards straight from a pack. A few tiny specks are normal. A line of them is something a grader will see.

4. Surface

Tilt the card slowly under the light so it reflects. Scratches, scuffs, print lines, small dents and fingerprints show up as the light moves across. Holo cards show surface marks most easily, so take extra time with them. A dent or crease is usually the biggest problem of all, and it does not come out.

Think in ranges, not one number

After your check, try to name the grades the card could get, not just the best one. "Probably an 8 or a 9, maybe a 10 if the grader likes the centering" is a far more useful answer than "it looks like a 10". People who expect only the top grade are often disappointed. People who plan for a range usually are not.

Be honest about what you found. If you noticed one flaw, a grader will likely notice it too.

Raw cards can be great as they are

Plenty of cards are best kept raw, in a sleeve and a toploader, or in a binder you can flip through. Grading protects a card and records its condition, but it is a choice, not a step every card needs. Raw vs graded cards covers how the two are priced and traded.

When you are deciding whether to send it

Your range of likely grades is the first half of the answer. The second half is what the card sells for at each of those grades, and what sending it costs in full. Look up recent sold prices for the card at each grade, and raw, before you decide. When is grading worth it shows how to put those numbers together, and the card price pages show graded values for many Pokémon cards next to the raw price. You can also try the numbers in the trade calculator.

If you are a younger collector, look through the card with a parent before deciding. Grading costs money and takes time, so it is a decision for the family to make together.

Quick answers

Can anyone tell me exactly what grade my card will get?

No. Only the grading company decides the grade, and graders can disagree with each other. A careful check at home tells you which grades are likely and which are not.

What do graders look at?

Four things: centering, corners, edges and surface. One weak area can hold back the whole grade, even when the other three look perfect.

Is my card worth grading?

That depends on how much the card sells for at each grade, the chance it gets each grade, and the full cost of sending it. When is grading worth it, on this site, walks through that arithmetic.