Best playing card on the market.

Plastic vs Paper: If you're going to play a game every week with your friends, I think plastic cards such as these are definitely worth it for various reasons. If you have food and drinks around, you'll eventually spill liquids on the cards and the paper cards will get ruined. These plastics just need to be wiped off. Also, marks will eventually appear on the paper so people will know what specific cards you have. Plastics can get marked too but not as much. So, if you're going to play a lot, definitely get plastic. You'll just end up buying another paper set as your first one gets ruined.

Kem vs Copag. Right now, Kem cards are about double the price of copag cards. Are they worth it? No. If money is tight, then there really is no valid reason to get Kem cards. Kem cards might feel a little better and have a better design (subjective), but actually play is unaffected. So, if you have the extra $15 because you want a prettier set, get the Kem cards. If you're frugal, get the Copag. No practical reason you shouldn't.

Customer Service. Copag's customer service is STELLAR. If you mention that there is something wrong with the cards that came with the set, they will immediately send you a replacement cards within a couple of days. I was pretty surprised that they got it to me pretty fast. (maybe 3 days).

*My experience: I've used both copags and Kem cards for years. Actually, decades. They are both great cards. I believe Kem cards have been around for longer and that's the brand that every poker player knows of. In my personal opinion and many others, Kem cards might a little better but it's not worth the extra dollars.

*If this review was helpful, please click that it was helpful. (I'd like to know if my reviews help anyone.)

These cards are very nice. They are the first plastic cards I've ever bought. I will not use paper cards in a Hold 'em game at my house ever again. I will occasionally buy the "specialty" paper Bicycle cards (ie: Alchemy, Karnival), but only as novelties, not for game use.

Da Vinci comparison:
Compared to Da Vinci, I would rank them half a star less. If I could, I would give these a 4.5 star rating and the Da Vinci's a 5-star. The difference comes down to personal taste.
The Da Vinci's are slightly stiffer than the Copags.
The Da Vinci's have more of a paper feel on the backs than the Copags, and about the same feel on the faces.

Positives:
As with any plastic card, these are washable. If beer or greasy fingers or even pizza - whatever gets on them, just fill the sink with soapy water, and throw the whole deck in. Gently wash and dry each card. They come out like new! And they last a LOT longer than any paper deck. Once you get a set of good plastic cards, You won't be hurrying to buy another plastic-coated paper deck.

Negatives:
The Copags STINK out of the pack. Literally! Some kind of plastic/chemical odor. I just washed them two or three times in soapy water and the odor goes away. The odor will also fade after a few hours of use. The Da Vinci's I bought did not have this problem. It may have something to do with the manufacture process or the ink used.

Some people have complained that the Copags get dirty faster than the Da Vinci cards. I haven't seen that happen, and we've played probably 200-250 hands with each deck. Beer has been spilled on both, with no staining, etc. Just clean as mentioned above.

The two-deck hard case for these decks is nice, BUT, it doesn't fit nicely into the typical chip case. Those chip cases are designed to hold single card boxes. I had to buy empty card boxes to put each deck in, and not use the double-deck hard case that they came in.

Overall:
Great value. These will probably outlast paper cards 10 to 1. The finish is great. No printing defects have been found yet, nor do I expect to find any. Cards are not scratched from dropping on the floor and scraping up, despite my abrasive ceramic tile floor. I only wish they had more back designs available in the Poker-Size. They seem to have more varieties of the Bridge-Size.

I like these cards for the most part. They're nice and big, they slide across the table well, and are durable. One problem, I find, is that they can stick together while dealing. There's times that I've received 2 cards or dealt 2 cards accidentally. You have to make sure you push just the one card from the top (you do deal from the top, right? ;) ). Also, like any other card, once you get a bend in it, it's there to stay, but I think it's a little harder to mark these cards since they're not paper.

Overall, good quality cards, just need to find a way to stop them sticking while dealing.

Excellent product 👌