Pokémon card conditions explained

Pokémon card condition describes how worn a raw card is, on a five-word scale: Near Mint (NM) is nearly unworn, Lightly Played (LP) shows light handling, Moderately Played (MP) shows clear wear, then Heavily Played (HP) and Damaged (DMG). Each word covers a range, judged by eye on both sides. The definitions follow common seller standards.

Check a card in good light

Hold the card flat under a lamp and look at the front and back. Tilt it to catch scratches, then check each thing in turn:

• Edges and corners: white specks or worn color along the border, fraying, nicks or soft corners.
• Surface: scratches, scuffs, cloudy patches, and dirt or smudges from handling.
• Shape: bends, creases, dents or curling.
• Anything serious: tears, writing, water marks or peeling.

The five conditions

• Near Mint (NM): minimal handling or play wear. A few slight flaws are fine, like a tiny white speck on an edge or a light scuff, but no creases, bends or dirt.
• Lightly Played (LP): shows signs of handling or play, but nothing significant: minor edge wear, a few scratches or scuffs, maybe a small bend.
• Moderately Played (MP): significant play, use or wear. Expect clear edge wear, scratching or scuffing, and possibly bends or creases.
• Heavily Played (HP): significant wear across the card: heavy edge wear, whitening, creases and scratches together. It’s still whole and still clearly genuine.
• Damaged (DMG): beyond the other four: tears, punctures, splitting, water or other liquid damage, writing, or missing card information.

NM, LP and MP side by side

The three conditions people ask about most differ in how much wear you can see and how many kinds of wear there are. Check each row against the card in your hand.

Near Mint, Lightly Played and Moderately Played by what you can see

Look at	Near Mint (NM)	Lightly Played (LP)	Moderately Played (MP)
Edges and corners	Clean, with at most a tiny white speck.	Minor whitening or slight softness.	Clear whitening along several edges and rounded corners.
Surface	Glossy; at most a very light scuff.	A few light scratches or scuffs.	Obvious scratching, scuffing or dull patches.
Shape	Flat, with no bends or creases.	Flat, or a very small bend.	May curl, bend or show light creases.
Dirt and marks	None.	Light, if any.	Possible, but no writing or tears.

Scroll sideways for the full comparison.

A card with a tear, writing, water damage or a heavy crease has left all three; look at Heavily Played and Damaged. Condition describes the physical card only, so two cards in the same condition can look different: one has worn corners, another a scratched surface.

Condition isn’t a grade

Conditions are words for raw cards, judged by eye. A grade is a number from a grading company, given to a card sealed in a slab. What card grades mean covers PSA, CGC and Beckett. A slab in House of Holos has a grader and grade instead of a condition.

Record condition in House of Holos

• Adding a card: choose Raw and pick a Condition: Near Mint, Lightly Played, Moderately Played, Heavily Played or Damaged. It starts on Near Mint. If you can’t tell, choose Not sure.
• Two copies in different conditions? Add each one. They’re kept as separate copies.
• Changed your mind? Open the card from My collection and press Edit.
• Lists show the short form, like NM or LP, next to each card.
• Importing: our import reads the full names, the short forms, and other apps’ words for them. “Excellent” comes in as Lightly Played, “Good” as Moderately Played and “Poor” as Heavily Played. See bring your collection over.