Grading Guide

How Pokemon card centering affects PSA and CGC grades

A practical guide to front and back centering, including why the back can have wider tolerance.

Compare left/right and top/bottom separately.

A roughly 60/40 front can still be a strong mint centering result.

Pokemon backs often have wider centering tolerance than fronts.

Camera angle can exaggerate borders, so flat photos matter.

What is Gem Rate?

Gem Rate is PocketGrader.ai's proprietary pre-grade signal. It combines visible condition, centering, likely grade limiters, and value context to estimate how attractive a card is as a grading candidate.

Start with your card

Get a grade estimate, Gem Rate, and value spread.

Estimated pre-grade only. Not an official PSA or CGC grade.

Scan your card

Cards mentioned in this guide

Charizard ex

Pokemon 151 #199/165: raw, PSA 8, PSA 9, PSA 10, and Gem Rate.

Giratina VSTAR

Crown Zenith #GG69/GG70: raw, PSA 8, PSA 9, PSA 10, and Gem Rate.

Keep learning

Pokemon card grader

Scan cards and estimate grade outcomes.

PSA grade predictor

Estimate PSA 8, PSA 9, and PSA 10 outcomes.

Best cards to grade

Find cards with strong graded value upside.