I ordered 2 of the PCF Table Toppers in the second order. Here is my review of them after using them for two tournaments – one each with my two primary chip sets.
Size – 35”x70”
What I like about it:
Thickness – 6 mm (millimeters)
What I like about it: 6mm is a nice thickness to play on. I was concerned that being that thick, especially since I put it on top of a 2mm or 3mm neoprene pad, it would be too thick. Thinner wouldn’t hurt as I like the 2mm thick ovals, but the 6mm gives it a nice, rich feel.
What I dislike about it: As far as the thickness, I don’t have any dislikes, but related to thickness is the challenge of rolling it up.
Design
What I like about it:
Edges
What I like about it: The edges are sewn and appear very durable. Time will tell, but I really expect no problems. Neoprene is a pretty durable product.
What I dislike about it: Slightly more likely to knock over a chip stack with the thickness, but that’s really minor.
Surface
What I like about it: This is a very smooth surface. They did a great job of making the design part of the surface. I have found nothing in the design that is raised at all.
Cards slide really well on the surface. They slide better than my other toppers, but that is probably
What I dislike about it: No dislikes.
Rolling it up
What I like about it: It’s thick enough that one wrap of double-sided velcro will hold it. These are easily the two thickest pads I have when rolled up. They still store reasonably well.
What I dislike about it: They are so thick it is hard to roll them tight. My other toppers are in a small zipper case. I might be able to get some kind of folding chair case for them. I’m not sure they will every roll tight around a dow rod like my others.
Storage
What I like about it: The thickness actually makes it possible for them to stand on the side without a dow rod for support. That creates some additional storage options.
What I dislike about it: They take more room than the others because of the thickness.
Overall:
For anyone not using a dedicated poker table, this would be a deal worth getting in on if Tommy offers up another one.
My very best recommendation for them: The two I have are NOT for sale! I love them and expect years of great use out of them.
Size – 35”x70”
What I like about it:
- I suspect this size would fit on most rectangular eating tables. It’s the same length and width as the common oval toppers, though the different shape means it covers more area.
- I like the width as it is plenty wide to play on. Both my tables are 42” wide, so there are 3.5” to the edge of the table. That’s enough room for the chip stacks. Much less and you would have to keep your chips on the topper. That’s not bad, but I like having my chips off the topper.
Thickness – 6 mm (millimeters)
What I like about it: 6mm is a nice thickness to play on. I was concerned that being that thick, especially since I put it on top of a 2mm or 3mm neoprene pad, it would be too thick. Thinner wouldn’t hurt as I like the 2mm thick ovals, but the 6mm gives it a nice, rich feel.
What I dislike about it: As far as the thickness, I don’t have any dislikes, but related to thickness is the challenge of rolling it up.
Design
What I like about it:
- I like the gray background, and the suits design on the outer edge. It fits well on my black neoprene table pads and makes a nice combination.
- I like the betting circle and the color of it. It shows up very well on that background. The color is orange/gold to me, but a bright orange/gold.
- I like the oval betting circle. I would have bought even if that was rectangular, but I really like the oval!
- This is purely my personal preference and is not intended to be critical. I personally don’t care for having the logos on them, though I completely understand why they are there! I don’t dislike the logos so much as I would have preferred a plain surface. Despite that, the logos are very nice and don’t detract from it. The logos are very tasteful, and do add some color to the topper.
- The second dislike is not critical, but the design created one unexpected issue. One set of my dealer plaques hides very well when outside the better circle. We used those in the second tournament we played on them. I didn’t notice this issue with the set from the month before. My dealer plaques where I noticed this are black or red around the edges. I realize what they really need is a white part around them – either on the outside or the inside. I realize this is really the design of my dealer plaques. It’s not horrible – just wasn’t expecting that. It’s likely to result in a vendor getting an order for a small number of plaques designed for this surface. Since I expect to rotate the surfaces, I’m going to have to think this through, but I just didn’t expect to have the gray suits design camouflage the dealer plaques so well. It’s actually kind of funny.
Edges
What I like about it: The edges are sewn and appear very durable. Time will tell, but I really expect no problems. Neoprene is a pretty durable product.
What I dislike about it: Slightly more likely to knock over a chip stack with the thickness, but that’s really minor.
Surface
What I like about it: This is a very smooth surface. They did a great job of making the design part of the surface. I have found nothing in the design that is raised at all.
Cards slide really well on the surface. They slide better than my other toppers, but that is probably
What I dislike about it: No dislikes.
Rolling it up
What I like about it: It’s thick enough that one wrap of double-sided velcro will hold it. These are easily the two thickest pads I have when rolled up. They still store reasonably well.
What I dislike about it: They are so thick it is hard to roll them tight. My other toppers are in a small zipper case. I might be able to get some kind of folding chair case for them. I’m not sure they will every roll tight around a dow rod like my others.
Storage
What I like about it: The thickness actually makes it possible for them to stand on the side without a dow rod for support. That creates some additional storage options.
What I dislike about it: They take more room than the others because of the thickness.
Overall:
- This was a good deal to be involved in!
- The high quality easily justified the price that was a little higher than I hoped. The quality was higher than expected. For the thickness, I think the price was actually pretty fair. With any custom item like this, I knew shipping would have to be part of the price. I couldn’t just run to a local store and pick these up. Even with the additional shipping cost, the price was good for the quality.
- The chips showed up quite well on them, as did the cards.
- It was the cards showing up so well that made me realize the value of an white edge either outside or just inside the outer edge.
- This surface if very easy to play on. It’s easy to pick up chips and cards, and chips stack just fine on it. The surface is not too soft. I was concerned about the thickness and the softness, but that concern was unjustified.
- Cards slide very easily. In fact, we had a few slide off the table. Since I don’t have a bumper, that’s is something that sometimes happens. It’s not excessive, and dealers adjusted quickly.
- I’d love to see a larger version. 80” long would be great to me. It would fit both of my tables. I still like the 35” (or 36”) size.
- I’d love to see an oval version. While I have rectangular tables, I like the oval. It works really well with my table pads. While the rectangular topper works just fine as well, I’d love to see an oval that is 80”x35”.
- I’d like to see a 4mm version (though not a rectangular 35”x70” as I have that covered with these). It would roll up easier, and would be plenty thick to play on, especially on top of my pads.
For anyone not using a dedicated poker table, this would be a deal worth getting in on if Tommy offers up another one.
My very best recommendation for them: The two I have are NOT for sale! I love them and expect years of great use out of them.