Pokémon Card Centering: How to Measure It and What PSA, CGC and BGS Allow

Centering is the easiest part of a card's condition to check before you pay for grading, and one of the most common reasons a clean-looking card misses a 10. Corners, edges and surface can take a loupe and good light to judge. Centering only takes a ruler or a photo and a little arithmetic.

This guide explains what centering means, how to measure it on the front and back of a Pokémon card, and what the major grading companies say they allow at the top of their scales.

What "centering" means

Centering describes how evenly the printed design sits on the card. On most Pokémon cards you judge it by the yellow (or silver, on some newer sets) border on the front and the dark blue border on the back. If the left and right borders are the same width, and the top and bottom borders are the same width, the card is perfectly centered.

Graders look at two directions on each side of the card:

• Left to right (horizontal centering)
• Top to bottom (vertical centering)

That gives four measurements in total: two on the front and two on the back. The worst of them is usually what limits the grade.

How centering ratios work

Centering is written as a ratio such as 55/45. The two numbers are the share of the total border width taken up by each side, with the larger side first.

To work it out for one direction:

1. Measure the two opposite borders, for example left and right.
2. Add them together.
3. Divide the larger border by the total and multiply by 100. That is the first number. Subtract it from 100 for the second.

For example, a left border of 2.2 mm and a right border of 1.8 mm add up to 4.0 mm. 2.2 ÷ 4.0 = 0.55, so the card is 55/45 left to right. Perfect centering is 50/50, and the further the first number climbs above 50, the more off-center the card is.

How to measure centering at home

You don't need special tools, but the more precise your measurement, the more useful it is. A 0.2 mm difference can move a border ratio by a few points.

Option 1: A ruler or calipers

A fine-graduated ruler works for a rough check; digital calipers are better. Keep the card in a penny sleeve so you don't touch the surface, and don't press the jaws of the calipers onto the card hard enough to dent an edge. Measure each border at its midpoint, since borders on a slightly miscut card can be wider at one end than the other.

Option 2: A straight-on photo

Lay the card flat on a dark, plain surface and take a photo from directly above, with the phone parallel to the card. Any tilt makes one side look bigger than it is. Then zoom in and compare the border widths in pixels using a photo editor or a centering app. Measuring in pixels works the same way as millimeters, because the ratio is what matters.

Option 3: A centering overlay or tool

Plastic centering tools and phone apps put a grid over the card so you can see how far the design sits from the middle. They are quick and handy for sorting a stack of cards, but treat the result as an estimate and double-check the cards you plan to submit.

Whatever method you use, measure the back too. It is easy to focus on the front and forget that the back has its own limit.

What the big grading companies allow

Each company publishes centering guidance with its grading scale. The figures below are taken from their own pages, and all three describe them as approximate, so graders can use some judgment, especially for cards right on a boundary. Check the linked pages before you submit, since standards can change.

PSA

PSA's grading standards say a Gem Mint 10 must be centered within approximately 55/45 on the front and 75/25 on the reverse. For a Mint 9, the standard is approximately 60/40 on the front and 90/10 on the back, and the tolerances keep loosening at lower grades. PSA also notes that graders may allow a small variance based on the card's overall eye appeal, and that a card can technically fall within a centering standard but still be held back if it looks off-center.

PSA also uses an OC (off-center) qualifier in some cases. A qualified grade means the card would otherwise earn the number but has one condition issue, and qualified grades generally don't sell as well as the same number without a qualifier.

CGC

CGC's grading scale has two kinds of 10. A Pristine 10 requires 50/50 centering, along with flawless color and registration, and gets a special label. A Gem Mint 10 allows centering of approximately 55/45 on the front and 75/25 on the back.

Beckett (BGS)

Beckett gives every card four subgrades, one of which is centering, so you can see exactly how centering was scored. Beckett's grading scale lists centering for a Pristine 10 as 50/50 all around on the front and 60/40 or better on the back, for a Gem Mint 9.5 as 50/50 one way and 55/45 the other on the front with 60/40 or better on the back, and for a Mint 9 as 55/45 both ways on the front with 70/30 or better on the back. Beckett's top-tier Black Label requires 10s in all four subgrades, so near-perfect centering is a must.

What this means in practice

For PSA and CGC's Gem Mint 10, a front that measures 55/45 or better in both directions and a back at 75/25 or better is the usual target. Beckett is stricter at the top, and CGC's Pristine 10 and Beckett's Pristine 10 both expect essentially perfect front centering. If a card measures right on the edge of a limit, assume it could go either way.

Centering is a ceiling, not a guarantee

Good centering doesn't make a card a 10. It only means centering won't be the thing that holds it back. Corners, edges and surface are graded too, and a perfectly centered card with a whitened corner or a scratch on the holo will still come back lower.

The reverse is also true: a card with flawless corners and surface can be capped by poor centering alone. That is why it is worth measuring before you decide which cards to submit, especially if grading fees are a large share of what the card is worth.

Tips for Pokémon cards specifically

• Check full-art and borderless cards carefully. Without a plain border it is harder to judge centering by eye. Compare the position of printed elements, such as the frame lines or text box, against the card edges, and compare with another copy if you have one.
• Look for miscuts. If the border is wider at the top of one side than at the bottom, the card was cut at a slight angle. That shows up as uneven centering and can affect eye appeal.
• Compare copies before you buy. Centering varies from card to card within the same set, so if you are buying a raw card to grade, ask for straight-on photos of both sides and measure them before paying a premium.
• Don't trim or alter a card. Cutting a border to improve centering is considered altering the card, and graders look for it.

Get a centering score before you submit

If you want a second opinion before paying for a grade elsewhere, Poki Grading scores centering as part of every grade. Our $19 Basic grade gives you an AI score from a phone photo, and our Advanced and Platinum tiers capture the card with macro imaging and report a separate centering subgrade alongside corners, edges and surface. Platinum adds an authenticity check, which is worth having on any card you're unsure about; our guide on how to spot a fake Pokémon card covers what you can check yourself first. Compare every tier in our pricing section.