Pokemon card condition guide.
Buying or selling Pokemon cards comes down to one number — condition. This guide walks through every tier of the TCGPlayer scale (Mint through Damaged), shows the exact defects to inspect, lists the seller phrases that map to each grade, and explains how raw conditions translate to PSA, CGC, BGS, and SGC slabs.
The quick reference
Six raw-condition tiers, top to bottom. Tap any row to jump to the full breakdown.
| Grade | Name | Vs. NM price | Quick rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| M | Mint | Sets the ceiling | Factory-perfect. |
| NM | Near Mint | The reference price | Looks brand new under a quick glance. |
| LP | Lightly Played | Roughly 80–90% of NM market price for modern cards, 65–80% for vintage | Clear signs of handling — faint edge whitening, a couple of minor surface marks — but no creases or major flaws. |
| MP | Moderately Played | Around 50–70% of NM | Noticeable wear in normal lighting — whitening, scratches, maybe a soft crease — but still fully playable. |
| HP | Heavily Played | Roughly 25–40% of NM | Significant wear — clear creases, major edge whitening, surface damage — but card identity is intact. |
| DMG | Damaged | Pennies on the dollar — except for ultra-rare vintage where a damaged copy beats no copy | Major structural damage — tears, water damage, missing chunks, ink. |
Every condition, in detail
Each tier below covers the defects to inspect, common seller phrases that signal this condition (so listings stop fooling you), and what to look for in seller photos.
Mint
Factory-perfect. Pack-fresh, untouched, looks exactly like the day it slid out of the booster.
Sets the ceiling. ~+5–15% over Near Mint when buyers trust the seller.
Mint is a hard standard — no whitening, no surface marks, no print defects, perfect centering. Most cards leave the pack with at least a microscopic flaw under good light, so true Mint is rare for raw cards and is almost always graded.
What to inspect
- Surface — no swirls, no scratches, no print lines visible at any angle
- Edges — sharp, no whitening, even color all the way around
- Corners — crisp 90° on all four, no rounding or feathering
- Centering — borders look symmetrical front and back (≥55/45 on both axes)
Seller phrases that mean M
- “Pack fresh”
- “Pulled today, sleeved on the spot”
- “Submission-ready”
Listing-photo notes
- Backs should be uniformly blue with no white edge bleed
- Holos should rainbow cleanly with no haze or fingerprints
- If the photo is blurry, treat as Near Mint until you see it in hand
Near Mint
Looks brand new under a quick glance. Maybe one tiny imperfection — minor edge wear or a single light scratch.
The reference price. ‘Market price’ in TCG marketplaces is NM by default.
Near Mint is the buy-and-sell-without-asking-questions standard. Raw cards listed without a condition note are typically NM. Tiny print defects, almost-imperceptible edge whitening, or a single ultra-light surface scratch are all acceptable — anything more and the card drops to Lightly Played.
What to inspect
- A maximum of one or two extremely faint marks at angled light
- Edges have minor wear at the back-side only, never on the front border
- Corners look sharp from 12 inches away; under loupe, microscopic feathering is OK
- No creases, no bends, no holo scratches
Seller phrases that mean NM
- “NM”
- “Pulled and sleeved”
- “Near Mint or better”
- “Light play at worst”
Listing-photo notes
- If a listing photo is taken with the card naked (no sleeve) and looks clean, it's usually NM
- Watch for back-of-card whitening — sellers rarely photograph the back
- Most ‘NM’ vintage cards (Base Set, Jungle, Fossil) are actually LP under careful inspection
Lightly Played
Clear signs of handling — faint edge whitening, a couple of minor surface marks — but no creases or major flaws.
Roughly 80–90% of NM market price for modern cards, 65–80% for vintage.
Lightly Played covers cards that have clearly been handled but stay structurally pristine. The whitening on the edges is visible without effort, but corners are still crisp and there's no surface damage you'd notice in a binder page. This is the sweet spot for collectors who want vintage cards at a discount without sacrificing display quality.
What to inspect
- Edge whitening visible to the naked eye on at least one side
- Up to three minor surface scratches, none deep
- Corners may have very slight rounding when held to bright light
- Centering and back are still acceptable — no major shift
Seller phrases that mean LP
- “LP”
- “Light edge wear”
- “Played but no creases”
- “Excellent condition”
Listing-photo notes
- Front + back photos almost always reveal which side has the wear
- If a Charizard from Base Set is listed ‘NM’ but cheaper than market, assume LP
- PSA submission from LP is risky — usually grades 7 or below
Moderately Played
Noticeable wear in normal lighting — whitening, scratches, maybe a soft crease — but still fully playable.
Around 50–70% of NM. Vintage chase cards can hold value better than modern.
Moderately Played cards have lived a full life — pulled, traded, played, possibly stored loose in a box for a while. They're still cleanly identifiable and protect-able, but the wear is obvious and unrepairable. Common on second-hand vintage where the original owner didn't sleeve immediately.
What to inspect
- Heavy edge whitening on multiple sides
- Multiple surface scratches, including some you can feel with a fingernail
- Rounded corners or one corner with a small chip
- May have one minor crease visible at an angle
Seller phrases that mean MP
- “MP”
- “Played condition”
- “Some wear, no creases”
- “Good condition for the age”
Listing-photo notes
- Side-light photos expose almost all MP flaws — ask for one if not provided
- Surface scratches on holos look like silvery streaks across the foil
- Bent backs are common — check for warping when card is laid flat
Heavily Played
Significant wear — clear creases, major edge whitening, surface damage — but card identity is intact.
Roughly 25–40% of NM. Below this, only chase cards retain any premium.
Heavily Played is the ‘player-grade’ tier. The card still functions in a deck and is clearly the card on the front, but the flaws are immediately obvious. Often used to acquire a key card cheaply for play; rarely a collector target unless it's a high-end vintage rarity (Base Set Charizard, Trainer Promos) where any copy still commands money.
What to inspect
- At least one visible crease through the picture or text
- Major edge whitening on all four edges
- Multiple deep scratches, holo damage, or print rubs
- Possible writing or stickers on the back
Seller phrases that mean HP
- “HP”
- “Playable copy”
- “Has wear, no tears”
- “Heavily loved”
Listing-photo notes
- If you can see a crease in the listing photo, it's at least HP
- Some HP cards are ‘holo bleed’ where the foil layer flaked — irreversible
- Authenticity matters more than condition here — verify before buying expensive HP vintage
Damaged
Major structural damage — tears, water damage, missing chunks, ink. Tournament-unplayable.
Pennies on the dollar — except for ultra-rare vintage where a damaged copy beats no copy.
Damaged cards have lost structural integrity. They may have been torn, water-stained, marker-written, or have chunks missing from the corners. Tournaments don't allow them, but they remain identifiable. The only buyers for DMG cards are collectors hunting set completion at any cost.
What to inspect
- Visible tears, holes, or missing card material
- Water marks, food stains, ink, sharpie
- Multiple sharp creases that split the picture or text
- Severe warping or layer separation (front and back peeling apart)
Seller phrases that mean DMG
- “DMG”
- “Reader copy”
- “For set completion only”
- “Bad shape, see photos”
Listing-photo notes
- Always demand photos — sellers underestimate damage when grading visually
- Check both sides for ink or sticker residue, which is often hidden in main shots
- Damaged vintage chase cards still sell, but verify authenticity first
The six defects that decide a grade
Whether you're sorting a binder or vetting a buy, these are the inspection points professional graders fixate on.
Edge whitening
The colored ink chips off the very edge of the card, showing the white cardboard underneath. Most common on dark-bordered cards (Base Set holos, EX-era ‘ex’ cards). One worn edge alone can drop NM → LP.
Surface scratches
Run a fingertip across the card under bright light. Light scratches catch the light but you can't feel them; deep scratches you can feel. The latter usually drop a card by one full grade.
Centering shift
Measure the front borders top-vs-bottom and left-vs-right. PSA accepts ~60/40 for a 10; BGS wants 55/45 or better. Off-center cards can be NM in every other way but still hit the grading cap at 8 or 9.
Print defects
Stray ink, miscuts, missed holo layer, print lines through the artwork. These are factory-original and don't ‘count against’ raw condition, but they will cap a graded result.
Holo bleed
Only on holofoil cards. The foil layer peels or flakes, leaving visible silver streaks across the picture. Irreversible. Usually drops a card to MP at best regardless of other condition.
Corner damage
Sharp 90° corners are the hardest thing to keep on a card. Even sleeve-stored cards can develop microscopic corner whitening from binder pressure. A single rounded corner takes NM → LP.
Raw vs graded — how the slabs compare
A graded card is the same raw card sealed in a tamper-proof slab with an assigned numeric grade. Four major companies dominate Pokemon submissions.
The market leader. PSA 10 ('Gem Mint') sets the ceiling on almost every modern and vintage Pokemon card. Strict on centering and surface — many cards that look perfect raw come back PSA 8 or 9.
Top-tier pop: Tens of thousands of PSA 10s exist for modern chase cards (Charizard ex SIRs); only a handful for vintage chases (Base Set Charizard Holo 1st Edition).
Gaining ground fast on PSA in Pokemon, especially for modern. Generally seen as slightly more lenient than PSA, with cheaper turnaround. CGC ‘Pristine 10’ and ‘Perfect 10’ tiers sit above their Gem Mint 10.
Top-tier pop: CGC's perfect/pristine tier is rare even on modern; market premium over plain CGC 10 is real but smaller than PSA 10 vs 9.
Famous for the ‘Black Label’ — a BGS 10 with all four subgrades at 10. Strictest of the three on centering. Slower turnaround; collectors often submit only top-tier cards.
Top-tier pop: BGS 10 Black Labels are vanishingly rare and command 5–10× the price of a regular BGS 10 on premium cards.
Smaller in Pokemon than PSA/CGC, but gaining traction for vintage submissions. Tuxedo-black slab design is distinctive.
Top-tier pop: SGC 10 generally trades at a discount to PSA 10 for the same card — pop reports are usually smaller, which can cut either way.
How raw grades typically translate to PSA
Not a guarantee — centering and submission variance matter — but a reasonable expectation for what a clean raw card grades to:
- MintPSA 9 or 10 (centering decides)
- Near MintPSA 8 or 9 most often
- Lightly PlayedPSA 6 or 7
- Moderately PlayedPSA 4 or 5
- Heavily PlayedPSA 2 or 3
- DamagedPSA 1, possibly Authentic-only
Condition guide — frequently asked
Quick answers to the questions collectors ask most often when grading raw cards.
- What does NM mean on a Pokemon card listing?
- NM is Near Mint — the card looks essentially brand-new under a quick visual check, with at most one tiny imperfection (a faint edge mark or a single light surface scratch). NM is the default condition assumed when a marketplace listing doesn't specify otherwise, and it's the reference price ‘market value’ is tied to.
- What's the difference between Near Mint and Lightly Played?
- Near Mint cards look new at arm's length and only show flaws under angled light or a loupe. Lightly Played cards have flaws (edge whitening, minor scratches) that are obvious even in normal lighting. Structurally, LP is still perfect — no creases, no missing material — it just clearly has been handled.
- How much less is a Lightly Played card worth than Near Mint?
- Modern Lightly Played cards usually trade at 80–90% of Near Mint market price. Vintage drops harder, often to 65–80% of NM, because collectors paying premium prices on vintage are condition-sensitive. Chase cards (Base Set Charizard, etc.) hold value better than commons even at LP.
- Can I grade a Lightly Played card with PSA?
- Yes, you can submit any condition to PSA, CGC, or BGS, but Lightly Played cards usually grade out at PSA 7 or below. Whether grading is worth it depends on the card's PSA 7-value vs the raw LP-value plus the submission fee (typically $20–$50 per card). For high-end vintage where any authenticated copy commands a premium, grading LP can still make sense.
- Is a PSA 10 always more valuable than a raw Mint card?
- Almost always, yes. A PSA 10 carries authentication, a tamper-proof slab, and a pop-report number that makes the card's scarcity comparable. Even a flawless raw card trades at a meaningful discount to its PSA 10 equivalent because the buyer can't be sure it will grade — and submission risk is real (PSA 9 vs 10 prices can differ by 5–20× on chase cards).
- What's the most common reason a raw NM card grades less than PSA 10?
- Centering. The card can have perfect surface, edges, and corners but still cap at PSA 8 or 9 if the borders aren't within ~60/40 on both axes. The Pokemon Card Scanner centering tool measures this for you before you submit.
Ready to put this to work?
Measure centering before you submit, look up live market prices to gauge whether grading is worth it, or check the latest most-valuable rankings to see what condition collectors are chasing right now.