How to Organize Pokémon Cards in a Binder: By Set, by Pokémon or by Artist

Four ways to order a binder

Each order answers a different question when you open the binder: what am I missing, how many Pikachu do I have, whose art is this.

By set, in card-number order

Good for completing a set: a gap shows at once. The catch: every new set needs a new binder, or room at the end. Start with "Build this set as a binder" on any set page.

By Pokémon

Good for a favourite Pokémon, across languages and eras. The catch: popular ones never end, Pikachu has more than 650 cards in our catalog. Start with "Make a Pikachu binder" on a Pokémon's page.

By artist

Good for following an illustrator's work from set to set. The catch: it is never quite finished, every set brings new cards. Start on an artist's page.

By colour or type

Good for a binder that looks good lying open on a table. The catch: every new card means shifting the pages after it. Start with a blank binder and place the cards by hand.

Pick a page size

Nine pockets is the usual size; smaller pages show off big artwork, bigger ones save space.

• 4 pockets (2 × 2): 8 cards per two-sided sheet. For a few cards you want to show.
• 9 pockets (3 × 3): 18 cards per sheet. The size of most binders and loose pages.
• 12 pockets (4 × 3): 24 cards per sheet. A set fits in fewer pages, with cards packed tighter to the eye.

The builder also lays out 4 × 4, 4 × 5 and 5 × 4 grids; switching grids moves the cards across the pages for you.

How many pages a set needs

Count every card, not only the printed total: secret rares, numbered past it, add a quarter or more to a recent set.

Why the numbers run past the printed total is in our guide on secret rares. Decide from the start whether they stay at the end of the set or move to a binder of their own: moving them later means shifting every page after them.

Leave room for the cards you don't have yet

Give every card its slot from day one, even the empty ones.

In card-number order, an empty slot is a missing card you can see at a glance, and a card you find later goes straight to its place without moving anything. The builder keeps one slot for every card in the set; signed in, it dims the ones you don't own yet.

Protect the cards in the pages

• Choose side-loading pockets: cards don't slide out when the binder stands upright.
• For cards that matter, a soft sleeve inside the pocket adds a layer; check that the page is sized for sleeved cards.
• A ring binder lets you add sheets; a binder with fixed pages doesn't, but nothing presses on the cards next to the rings.
• Store the binder upright and out of direct sunlight.

Plan it before you buy pages

The binder builder lays the pages out for you: a whole set in order, every card of a Pokémon or an artist, or a blank grid. It shows the price of every card and the binder's total value. Without an account the binder stays on your device (up to 300 cards); a free account backs it up and lets you share it with a link.

Plan a binder