Pokémon Binders

A Pokémon binder is the way to store your collection and be able to look at it at the same time. The cards sit in fixed pages, so they do not slide past each other and pick up scratches — and you can page through a set without handling every card.

We focus on the 9-pocket binder: nine pockets per page, the layout a set row fits into neatly and the size almost every collector uses. Every binder you see above is made by Ultra Pro, the brand that sets the standard here. You can choose between versions with a zipper, which you can close completely when you take it with you, and versions with a fixed cover.

Look at two things when choosing: side-loading pages rather than top-loading, so nothing can slide out, and enough room if you keep your cards in a sleeve. Cards that are already graded will not fit these binders; for those you want a case or a display.

A 9-pocket binder holds 360 cards. That is easy to work out: nine pockets per page, two sides per sheet, and twenty sheets in the binder. Nine times two times twenty.

Two things to keep in mind. Cards in a sleeve are thicker, so a binder filled entirely with sleeved cards closes less easily — pick a version with a zipper in that case. And a card in a toploader does not fit in a binder page: you keep those separately.

Got more than 360 cards? A second binder per series or per set is clearer than looking for something bigger. That way the layout of your collection stays the same throughout.