Have some YuGiOh cards you want to protect? You’d be a fool to collect rare cards without sleeving them! While any sleeve is better than no sleeve, choosing the incorrect size and type can lead to potential damage. YuGiOh cards are smaller than most trading cards, so choosing the right sleeve is key.
Why Sleeve Your Cards?
Sleeves protect a trading card from various dangers such as light scratches, scuffs, edge wear, corner damage, and more. Condition is the most important factor when it comes to value, so preserving a mint card is critical.
It is so important to sleeve the cards that you care about. It is the most basic and efficient way to care for your cards. If you keep your cards in a binder, on display, or anywhere else, they should first be sleeved!
If you one day choose to sell some cards, having them sleeved is the ideal first impression you want to make upon the buyer. If the buyer sees that you have not sleeved your cards, they might back out of the deal before it is even started. Unsleeved cards are indicative of poor collecting practice, and an uneducated collector.
YuGiOh Card Dimensions
The size of a YuGiOh card is smaller than the standard trading card size, at 86 X 59mm, or 3.25 X 2.25 inches.
Inches | 3.25 X 2.25 |
Inches as a Fraction | 3 ¼ X 2 ¼ |
Millimeters | 86 X 59 |
Centimeters | 8.6 X 5.9 |
What size card sleeve is best for YuGiOh cards?
The advantage of a smaller form factor is that YuGiOh cards will fit into pretty much all sleeve sizes. However, it is best to use 59 X 87mm sleeves made specifically for YuGiOh cards.
However, there are a couple of other sleeve sizes that will fit, if you’re in a pinch.
Standard
A standard-size card sleeve is 2.5/8 “ X 3.5/8”. This will leave a small margin of space on either side and above the card. This is the standard size that is most easily found in stores and fits other trading cards like sports cards or Pokémon.
Slim
If you want a tighter fit on your card, there are 2.5” X 3.5” sleeves. These are a tight fit over standard-size cards, but will not be tight for YuGiOh. If you want to find these, they are often referred to as ‘perfect fit’, ‘slim fit’, or ‘pro fit’ sleeves. These are great for sleeving a card before inserting it into a binder, screw-down, or magnetic holder.
Using a slim-fit sleeve on a YuGiOh card will be like using a standard sleeve on a standard card.
Double Sleeving
Some collectors choose to double-sleeve their cards for extra protection.
Double-sleeving is using two sleeves on one card. In this case, you’ll want to begin with a 59 X 87mm sleeve (an inner sleeve) and insert that into a larger sleeve.
Sleeving your card before inserting it into a top loader, card saver, or binder, is not double sleeving and would be considered standard practice. Click here to learn the differences between a top loader and a card saver.
Rigid and Sem-Rigid Sleeves
Top loaders are rigid sleeves that are 3” X 4”. It is common to sleeve a card, and then insert it into a top loader. If you insert a raw card into a top loader, it will slide around and cause scuffs. For this reason, all cards inserted into top loaders must be sleeved.
A semi-rigid sleeve (also known as a card saver) is a much larger type of sleeve that is primarily used for shipping cards. These will hold your sleeved cards in a way that will allow for no movement. However, they are easy to bend.
Binders
There aren’t a lot of binders specifically for YuGiOh, so we make do with what we have.
These days the best binders are no longer 3-ring binders with clear plastic pages. The industry standard is to use binders made specially for trading cards. These binders don’t have rings, and unfortunately, you can’t add/remove pages. But binder rings are known to cause damage in some cases, so this is a better choice.
You’ll want to look for page pockets that are side-loaded. This means that cards are inserted from the side and not the top. If the pockets are top-loaded, you risk your cards falling out if the binder is turned upside down at any point in time.
Final Thoughts
If you have some YuGiOh cards that you believe may be valuable, please make sure they have the appropriate sleeves. Card condition is everything when it comes to this hobby, so always be prepared. Most places where you can buy YuGiOh cards also sell YuGiOh sleeves, so keep an eye out.
