This is JyPsy here, and I have some important news on how to protect yourself against counterfeit (fake) yu-gi-oh cards.

Heres how i found out: I own a game store in wauwatosa, WI, and i had one of my regular yugioh kids come in, and ask me why his cards looked different.

At first glance they seemed normal, but then i noticed the borders, they were a light grey, so i pulled my versions of the cards, and noticed a TON of differences.

Now this is a list of what i found to be different from the real and fake cards, things you should ALWAYS look for when trading or buying cards......

1. FIRST and foremost, check the hologram in the lower right hand corner. no matter what, when you shine it one way, you should be able to see "yu-gi-oh" and the other way you should be able to see the millenium eye. ALSO if it is a first edition card the logo should be gold, if unlimited it should be silver. if any of these things are missing, its fake.

2. next, look at the border on the front and back, it should be a thin dark gray & white line on the front, not a solid color. the back border should be orange and white, not a solid coor.

3. On The Back: make sure that the konami logo is clear as well as the yugioh logo in the lower corner.

4. holding the card up to the light, you should not be able to see through it at all. if you can its either really played, or a fake.

6. Comparing it to a normal one of your cards that you KNOW is real, look at colors, thickness, and shapes, and quality. if there are a lot of differences its probably fake.

7. this is more common sense than anything else, but if you can get any really hard to get cards really cheap, like a blue eyes or thousand dragon for only a dollar or two, beware of fakes! (basically if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.)

8. also common sense, but if the person selling/trading it wont let you take a close look at it, be suspicious.

9. If the person selling/trading the card is trying to rush you or pressure you into selling, take your time and check all the cards out.

if it is at a tournament or event and someone is trying to sell them, tell the people in charge. Counterfeiting is illegal and can hurt a lot of people.

or if you dont want to rat the person out, just say no thanks, and walk away.

The best way to prevent yourself from being ripped off or scammed is to know what the signs are and what you can do about it.

Be careful but dont let this scare you away from trading and playing. this is not new, this happened with other card games like Magic, and especially Pokemon.

I personally play and trade myself so if you are unsure of the quality of your cards or just have a question in general, please email me JyPsy@gamecastleonline.com or Instant message me and i will do my best to help out