Basic topper for dining table (1 Viewer)

[bmacpoker]

I've had some bad luck with the poker mats on Amazon, and I'm not looking to spend much. At this point I'm wondering if there is any drawback to just getting my own material cut to size, roll it up, and throw it on the table when time for a game. I'm not desperate to have any design on it.

Given it is just a wood table, does it make sense to just get neoprene from a joann's or something? Anyone do this and find the material works?

 

[Andrew Marks]

I just bought a Triton topper on Amazon ($99) for a dining table and everyone loves it. Card slide is amazing (maybe even too much). Thick enough to comfortably pick up cards, yet firm enough to easily stack chips. All of the other mats on Amazon are either too thin or don't have the same surface.

 

[Astra]

Triton toppers are awesome. There are also custom toppers you can have made to your spec. Check out @rjdev7

 

[tallsbutler]

Another vote for Triton toppers! I have multiple and love them.

 

[MrBoosh]

You can get a custom table topper with any design you can think of sized perfectly to fit you table for not much more than a Triton topper. @rjdev7 is you key to eternal happiness in the table topper realm!

This is a wood grain design he did for my mom's dinning room table.

 

[bmacpoker]

I've thought about the Triton one. I know about the custom toppers, but a little pricier than I want to go just to throw on my dining room table. Would like to do that with something a little more dedicated to poker. In the meantime just wanting something affordable but workable.

 

[MrBoosh]

This was a cheap topper I bought off of Amazon back in the day before I had any custom toppers made. It was probably under $40 when I picked it up. It works well if your table is large enough for it.

 

[Grimace]

I've had some bad luck with the poker mats on Amazon, and I'm not looking to spend much. At this point I'm wondering if there is any drawback to just getting my own material cut to size, roll it up, and throw it on the table when time for a game. I'm not desperate to have any design on it.

Given it is just a wood table, does it make sense to just get neoprene from a joann's or something? Anyone do this and find the material works?

There are gb’s on here for Poker chip form toppers that are awesome. Oval and rectangular ones. I have a rectangular one for my dinning room table and it’s perfect. Cards slide nice and it’s nice and thick. @Tommy just completed one for smaller toppers. A new one for the larger ones shouldn’t be too far off.

 

[BGinGA]

I've had some bad luck with the poker mats on Amazon, and I'm not looking to spend much. At this point I'm wondering if there is any drawback to just getting my own material cut to size, roll it up, and throw it on the table when time for a game. I'm not desperate to have any design on it.

Given it is just a wood table, does it make sense to just get neoprene from a joann's or something? Anyone do this and find the material works?

Cheapest way (if you don't like the cheapo thin Amazon roll-up toppers) is to buy a few yards of headliner ($20/yd from Jo-Ann's, use a 50%-off coupon) and cut it to fit your table. It is 1/4" fabric-backed foam (54" wide) and works reasonably well as-is for $25 or so. Three or four colors, last I checked (grey or tan works best imo).

You can fancy it up a bit for cheap, too -- you can glue it down (using 3M Super 77 spray adhesive, $7) to a piece of lightweight 1/8" hardboard ($13, 4'x8' cut to size). If using 1/4" MDF ($15 per 4'x2' piece), you can easily make it a folding design. You can also add a poker felt of your choice to either one if desired -- cheap speedcloth $30) or a cheaper poly/nylon fabric from Jo-Ann's ($6-$16/yd, minus coupon discount).

The cheaper solutions range from $25 to $60 for the basic roll-up headliner up to a cloth-covered headliner-on-hardboard table-top.

The multi-piece folding 1/4" MDF project is a little more work (and cost, closer to $100 total) but makes a nice portable table-top and can even be modified with a padded solid or sectional rail.

 

[wickedwonka121]

There's also big viking mats. I bought one for magic before I started shopping for poker toppers. They work great. My circle was impressed when we played a tourney on one. If you don't mind a plain color surface.

https://vikingmats.com/

 

[bmacpoker]

There's also big viking mats. I bought one for magic before I started shopping for poker toppers. They work great. My circle was impressed when we played a tourney on one. If you don't mind a plain color surface.

https://vikingmats.com/

I looked into them a long time ago, but honestly they aren't really a cheaper alternative or anything. But if the make my own with fabric seems like a bust I'll probably go that direction or the triton mat.

 

[Andrew Marks]

I've thought about the Triton one. I know about the custom toppers, but a little pricier than I want to go just to throw on my dining room table. Would like to do that with something a little more dedicated to poker. In the meantime just wanting something affordable but workable.

Just rake for the topper then cost shouldn't be an issue. Even it takes several games in rake to reimburse you. My general rule is that if you go cheap, you get cheap.

 

[bmacpoker]

Just rake for the topper then cost shouldn't be an issue. Even it takes several games in rake to reimburse you. My general rule is that if you go cheap, you get cheap.

I'm not hosting raked games.

 

[bmacpoker]

And again, maybe the context isn't clear. I'm not saying I want cheap to be my forever poker table. I have a friend with a full on poker room and we play there with our usual group about half the time. She's even getting one of the custom toppers. Otherwise we just go house to house and use an available table, and for me that's a dining table that I'm not even sure I'm keeping for much longer. But I hate asking someone to bring a mat, but I really don't want anything from Amazon aside from maybe the Triton mat.

Eventually I may build my own table with a custom felt, or my next dining table with a more elaborate poker top available. In the meantime I was wondering about some options that aren't meant to be a permanent solution.

 

[Andrew Marks]

When I said to rake for it I didn't necessarily mean as part of a typical raked game where the house takes a cut simply because it is the house. In our game (and we play split pot games like hi-lo) when there is an odd chip in a split pot, we simply take that chip as the rake to reimburse the host for providing food and drink up to a certain amount. So what I was suggesting was that you do the same for the mat (which everyone benefits from). But the custom topper your other hosting friend is getting should be quite portable (the Triton toppers roll up and come with a carrying case) so maybe the answer is to tote it to wherever the game is.

 

[bmacpoker]

When I said to rake for it I didn't necessarily mean as part of a typical raked game where the house takes a cut simply because it is the house. In our game (and we play split pot games like hi-lo) when there is an odd chip in a split pot, we simply take that chip as the rake to reimburse the host for providing food and drink up to a certain amount. So what I was suggesting was that you do the same for the mat (which everyone benefits from). But the custom topper your other hosting friend is getting should be quite portable (the Triton toppers roll up and come with a carrying case) so maybe the answer is to tote it to wherever the game is.

I get what you're saying, but the games I typically host are among my best friends, it's just not something I'd ever do to charge them.

 

[wickedwonka121]

I get what you're saying, but the games I typically host are among my best friends, it's just not something I'd ever do to charge them.

I think most of us are "cut from this cloth". At some point you need to make a decision to foot the bill and upgrade the experience as a good host, or try to play the community card. Community doesn't really work, so I upgrade the experience for my own enjoyment. I also like presenting a great atmosphere as a host in general, so I buy the gear and try not to go overboard. At the end of the day, most of my players will use dice chips and paper cards. It's the game and party they come for. I'm slowly winning them over.

 

[Andrew Marks]

I play with friends, too. Same group for 20 year plus or minus a few players along the way. All upgrades to the game are for the benefit of all so they have no qualms about chipping in for cards, food, or an upgraded cloth (admittedly I never made them chip in for the three sets of chips or the original table I have). Raking makes it even more painless. All that being said, those of us who host games can never fully be compensated for all that we do in terms of organizing, purchasing and making food (if that is done at your game), setting up, cleaning up, etc.

 

[bmacpoker]

I play with friends, too. Same group for 20 year plus or minus a few players along the way. All upgrades to the game are for the benefit of all so they have no qualms about chipping in for cards, food, or an upgraded cloth (admittedly I never made them chip in for the three sets of chips or the original table I have). Raking makes it even more painless. All that being said, those of us who host games can never fully be compensated for all that we do in terms of organizing, purchasing and making food (if that is done at your game), setting up, cleaning up, etc.

I completely understand that, I certainly don't criticize raking with friends overall. I played at a game this past weekend with a small rake. I just mean the relationship we have with this group isn't really going to happen that way. We all hang out and pay for each other's meals and other costs all the time outside of poker. It would just add a weird dynamic that would probably mean we go to someone else's house for the games.

I'm sure if I asked them to pitch in for something, it wouldn't be an issue. But again, this isn't just a money issue, it is a temporary vs permanent issue. I just want something in the meantime until I get more involved in a longer term investment. From the suggestions in this thread, I'm probably going with either a Triton mat for prefab or gathering some fabric to make something for myself. Appreciate the suggestions!