KEM cards bowed

[leden]

Hi all!
I purchased a pack (2 decks) of KEM cards two years ago, red and blue. I played regularly with the red deck, after a few months I opened the other blue shuffled it a few times and then stored it in the box and put a can of soda on the top to prevent bowing.
I started using that blue deck from time to time, and some day I noticed that they are bowed - when a card was put face up the center was lifted about 1 mm which is enough to notice and feel. The other deck I played regularly with, the red one, showed no signs of bowing. I think the blue deck bowed because I once left it without a weight for a few days.

I tried to "unbow" the blue deck, by experimenting with leaving it with and without weight with face up and face down, hoping that it would bow the opposite side but it didn't, there was no way to reproduce the bow by purpose.

Now my questions about bowing:
1) If kept unopened in the cellofaine (i.e. staying for a long time in a store) will they bow?
2) What is the usual direction of the bow or does it have to do with the side that is facing up in the box?
3) Is a weight of a dealer button enough to prevent bowing? I guess not, so what's the recommended weight and how it should be distrubuted (center/edges/?)? And should the deck be stored so that the the front face is facing down or up and does it matter?

Any experience or advice is welcome.

[rug07]

Just keep the jokers and a couple of cut cards on top and they wont bow  opened or unopened

[leden]

Do they bow this way

Code:

(top)
  ____
 /    \
/      \
(bottom)

or this way

Code:

(top)
\       /
 \ ____/
(bottom)

?

[Jacks Up]

I've had decks that have bowed both ways.

Bowing up is better than bowing down, as the latter causes the cards to catch on the cloth as they're pitched.

[leden]

I've had decks that have bowed both ways.

Bowing up is better than bowing down, as the latter causes the cards to catch on the cloth as they're pitched.

You mean face up or face down?

[Jacks Up]

Do they bow this way

Code:

(top)
  ____
 /    \
/      \
(bottom)

or this way

Code:

(top)
\       /
 \ ____/
(bottom)

?

The top diagram is bowing down.

The bottom diagram is bowing up.

[leden]

This depends whether you observe the card as face up or down.
So is this way better than bowing the opposite way?

All my KEMs are bowed this way.
Has anyone tried storing face up (opposite of shown in the picture), hoping that the deck would unbow?

[Jacks Up]

In my nomenclature, that is bowing up. It's far preferable to bowing down. At least these cards will pitch OK. If they were bowed down, they would catch on the cloth.

I've tried storing them upside down when they bow that way (with weights). Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

[mike32]

I have 2 old decks of bridge size kems (green/brown)that are also bowed. From the date on the ace of spades they were made in 1997. I would love to straighten them out but have had no luck. Not only does it affect the pitch, it affects the shuffle.

Any other suggestions to fix them?

[Jacks Up]

I have 2 old decks of bridge size kems (green/brown)that are also bowed. From the date on the ace of spades they were made in 1997. I would love to straighten them out but have had no luck. Not only does it affect the pitch, it affects the shuffle.

Any other suggestions to fix them?

Here's a couple of ideas from these forums.

Give them a good clean: http://forums.homepokertourney.com/index.php/topic,12170.msg141927.html#msg141927

or

Use a coffee cup: http://forums.homepokertourney.com/index.php/topic,12687.0.html

I've tried both methods with varying degrees of success. The coffee cup was the most effective, but I did think that I'd ruined the deck that I tried it on.  Now both are pretty flat - although not like new.

[AzCat]

Both of the set-up's I purchased have bowed to the degree of the photo posted by leden.  I have since threw them out as they are unplayable. 

I don't think you should have to manipulate your plastic cards to keep them flat, but that's just my opinion.  I wouldn't recommend purchasing any of these cards but if you just can't resist, it looks like Cara Gails has more of 'em in stock!

[mike32]

I have kept some weight on my Kem's for a few months and am happy to report that the bow seems to have all but disappeared.  The box they came in has wood blocks for extra thickness, and I have kept several other decks of cards on top of them. I do not know the history of my Kem's prior to my ownership but they are older. We played with them this weekend and all is good, you can rehab them.

[K ALL IN 9]

I've had pretty good experiences with all the kems i've purchased, except for the 07 WSOP ones. I have:

Arrow Bridge Green/Brown
Arrow Bridge Black/Gold
2007 WSOP
2008 WSOP (2 sets)
2009 WSOP (2 sets)

I keep all my cards stored like this when not in use:



and place the cover on top.

[Milo]

My Modianos are all in the flip up cases, Copags in the plastic cases they come in.  My Modiano Acetates are in boxes similar in design to the Copag ones.  I have clear plastic hinged cases for my odd set-ups.  The Kems I have all both came in cardboard cases.
I have been fortunate enough to lose only one deck to bowing (so far).  For the record, I would not discard a deck similar to what Leden posted, but worse than that needs to be fixed or tossed.  I have had success with the cup method of straightening, albeit temporarily.

I do nothing beyond storing my cards flat to prevent bowing . . . just been lucky, I guess.

[Eralis]

I have 1 setup of KEM Circlebacks, stored just in the cardboardbox, and they haven't bowed at all.

Might just be lucky.

[Magoddi]

I have had Kem Pantheon and Arrows and both set ups bowed horribly to the point where I won't risk buying another set up of Kems.

[Milo]

For the record, all my Kems are pre-USPC, including the Foxwoods set-up.

[Jaxen]

I had a setup of pre-USPC Kem circlebacks that I got on eBay. They were flat when I got them but developed a bow (probably due to being stored in a warm room), not enough to make them unplayable, just enough to annoy me. I tried one of the run-under-hot-water (http://forums.homepokertourney.com/index.php/topic,12170.msg141927.html#msg141927) solutions, and it didn't work out too well. I have since sold those cards.

Now I have a setup of Kem Arrows. One deck has seen play, the other is still in the cello wrapper. The deck that's been used is still flat, I store them with the jokers and the "special offer" card on top. The top 2 cards have developed a bit of a bow, but since the first actual playing card is about 5th from the top the deck is fine.

Problem with plastic cards is that once they develop that bow and it sets in over time, the fiber in the plastic has a hard time "un-learning" it. I tried putting those bowed Circlebacks upside down under my chip case to try to flatten them out, it never worked.