I have been thinking a lot about how I would create a room like this in my next house. Just thinking aloud and dumping some of my thoughts into this. I host a game on an community location where we have done a lot of trial and error. Eventually I plan to make my own.
I would always go for tables with a dinner top so I could play board games on the same tables. Also a plus that one table can hold food and stuff if you have a single table event and want to spread something on a table.
The most of the time I need to stand up from the table is to
- Charge someone's phone (Have a place to plug in)
- Rebuys ( I like a seat in the corner with the bank or chip setup behind me. It sounds great to have it at the bar but when running two tables it is better to have. a drawer or a small table behind you. )
Wall art makes the room pop, this can be anything from a TV or Darts to posters and images. What every rocks your boat. You have amazing natural light there use it for your advantage.
A foldable table is great if you want the option to run a third table, safe some space on the wall to hang it up if that is the plan. Same for a table top you can store it on a wall when it is not in use.
For the bar area, do a need analysis. Do you give away drinks or not? Do people bring their own?
I plan to have two beer coolers as my players like to bring their own. One is private and one is community. IF you plan to "sell" beer or include some drinks in buy-ins then use beer chips and have a jar at the bar.
Hot dog roller is great thought, but also plan trash area, bottles, and trash are quick to start being in the way. Having the trash under the sink in the corner is a guarantee to find trash where it does not belong. Air fryer or a small oven is also a amazing thing to have to provide snacks and food for both poker night and family night.
Glasses seem simple but they are not, rule number one is that they must fit in the cup holders unless you love cleaning tables and floors. A specialized glass for a single drink is a space wasted, find glasses that can be multipurpose.
Ice machines are loud, a small one can easily stock you up over the day if you give it time and throw them into a freezer, a refrigerator with a small freezer is a great bet for this.
For a family room TV area, there are some cool things to keep in mind. You want to be able to connect that TV to the computer that hosts the tournament and you want to be able to play music out of the speakers you choose. Lets try to have the HDMI cable not longer than 10m if possible and a simple HDMI input switch is great so you can just change inputs easily. If you plan on having extra screens/tv's or extra speakers make plans on how to make them run together.
The three windows provide great lighting for poker tables but natural light and TV's are not always best friend, you should aim to have your tables on that side and the bar area and TV area on the other side.
Two permanent tables and a great permanent bar area with nicer options for family nights and other events paired with portable tables are in my opinion, better than more permanent tables and fewer options to use the room for other things.
we are thinking 18-27 people for a poker event. Keep that in mind when it comes to trash and cans, where people can stand when there is a break and so on. I always run a guest wifi as I hate when people mess with my smart things like music and screens.
A small camera on the cash inn, cash out table is a very good investment if the bank is short. Count chips in front of the camera and voila you can find your mistake in the end of the night. If you are running 2+ cash tables then mistakes are easy to make.
