Pokémon Card Ratings Explained: What Each Grade From 1 to 10 Actually Means
Card grades compress an entire condition story into one number. Here's what each number on the 1–10 scale actually means in hand — plus real data on how often cards achieve each grade, from the 55,000+ cards graded on TCGrader.
10 — Gem Mint (6.7% of cards)
Effectively flawless: centering around 55/45 or better, four sharp corners, clean edges, pristine surface under angled light. Only 6.7% of cards graded on our platform earn a 10 — and remember, these are cards owners believed in enough to grade. On raw cards in the wild the true rate is far lower. The 10 is where the enormous price premiums live, which is exactly why it's rare.
9.5 — Gem Mint (24.4% score 9.5 or higher)
A hair from perfect — typically one barely-there flaw: centering nudging 60/40, or a single microscopic corner touch. Many 9.5s are "10s that got unlucky under better lighting."
9 — Mint (56.3% score 9 or higher)
One minor flaw visible on inspection: slightly off centering, a soft corner under zoom, a faint surface line. This is the majority outcome for a well-kept modern card — the platform average is 8.67, meaning the typical graded card lands just below here.
8 — Near Mint–Mint
A card that looks great in hand but shows its flaws under a loupe: light whitening on two or three corners, minor edge wear, or noticeable off-centering (~65/35). For modern cards, 8 is usually below the value line where grading fees pay off; for vintage, 8 is a strong grade.
7 — Near Mint
Clean at arm's length; obvious wear under inspection — visible corner whitening, edge wear, or surface scratches you can find without trying. About 10% of cards graded on the platform land exactly here.
5–6 — Excellent
Honest played condition: rounded-ish corners, continuous edge whitening, scratches, possibly minor print-era flaws. This is where vintage lives — Base Set cards average 6.21 — and for vintage it's completely respectable. A slabbed 6 Base Set holo is a real collection piece.
3–4 — Very Good
Heavy wear: creases visible from angles, significant whitening all around, surface loss. Value survives only on iconic vintage.
1–2 — Poor
Creases, tears, writing, water damage. Grading only makes sense for authentication of genuinely important cards.
How grades map to value
The price curve isn't linear — it's exponential at the top. The jump from 9 to 10 is routinely a multiple; 8 to 9 a healthy step; below 8, modern cards converge on raw value fast. That's why the whole game is knowing your card's likely grade before paying fees: a predicted 8.5 changes the decision entirely.
You can get that prediction in seconds: TCGrader's AI grading returns the overall estimate plus the four subgrades that drive it. Then our worth-it guide turns the estimate into a submit-or-hold decision.