Poker tables (1 Viewer)

[SixSpeedFury]

Obviously a lot of these come in different shapes and sizes, and everyone has their own preferences, but what do you think would be the dream table comfort wise? The sweet dimensions? Round, oval, ellipse, etc. for easier access to reach pots? Just a thought that I wanted to share.

 

[Junior24xx]

I've never played at an ellipse, it's a cool looking shape and I'd like to actually sit at one before committing to build one.
The 10 man oval shape is tried and true, I rip my plywood sheets to 44" before building making the final width 44 (not an original idea, stolen from chan on poker table forum). I'd like to try one at 40" as well, not sure how it would look (wether or not it would be proportional).

 

[MeridianFC]

Round or octagon suits most home games that are self dealt. Used and 84" oval for a while but folks the end just can't effectively pitch the cards the length of the table. If you have a dealer, oval is your boy.

 

[abby99]

Round, around 54", for self-dealt games. My 44 x 66 oval also works great for self-dealt games with up to eight players. Although the size was dictated by the room, it's nearly perfect.

I'm not too keen on octagons because it's tough for 5-7 players to spread out without having somebody at one of the points.

 

[BGinGA]

Many of the featured atrocities in the Fugly Table thread are either square or rectangle. Avoid those shapes.....

 

[Mr. Cheese]

I've had a 96" oval table and tho 48" octagon tables as well. I ended up selling my oval table because we self deal and it was very annoying dealing across the far sides of the table and also everyone had to chip in (no pun intended) to slid the pot to whoever won that hand.

I think the perfect table would be a 54" octagon. Everyone gets their space with their side of the table and there is plenty of room for each person. If I build another table someday I'll be building a 54 inch for sure.

 

[CdnBeerLover]

I have an 84" oval, a 84" topper, and a 48" octagon. The octagon is too tight for 8 players...54" would be better. I think a round table would work better though if you had fewer players, as you could adjust player spacing.

If you wanted up to 9 players at a round table, how large should it be. 60"?

 

[Poker Zombie]

I have a 57" octagon, and it works great for 8 players. Each player gets a 12" side of the octagon. You have to stretch to pull in a pot from the center of the table, and some will need help. I fear a 60" 10 player circle runs two problems:

1. Only very tall people will have the ability to reach the middle of the table.
2. Upholstery fabric is the widest fabric available. It comes 60" wide. To cover your rails you would need a seam, and the table itself would be cutting it awfully close when you consider the extra material needed to wrap around the padding and to attach to the underside of the table.

 

[T_Chan]

Actually there is 64" vinyl available that's pretty decent and very stretchy . Plus you can strategically stretch vinyl to be wider without using seams.

My preference is a 42-44" x 82-92" oval. As long as you have a good playing surface and your players can pitch even a little then it's the most comfortable and flexible table shape.

If a player is at the end dealing and doesn't do a good job then the players in the middle can help out. With a very large round of octagon table, chips and cards have to be pushed and passed more often than an oval table IMO.

An oval table can accommodate many players with plenty of room and it's not difficult to play on when it's down to 2 or 3 players. Heads up on a 56"+ is challenging.

 

[Jeff]

With a proper surface (slides cards with proper pitch), my preference is a long oval table to comfortably fit 10. I would rather have to shove pots for others or pass cards than spend several hours cramped up.

 

[Andrew Marks]

Agree with Jeff. My own table is a 92" oval, but the other house we play at has a 78" elongated octagon (room for 10). My table has suited speed cloth (just refinished) and the slide of that surface is necessary to allow the self-dealers at the end to get the cards across. The 78" has gaming felt, since slide is not as important. Both tables have their pros and cons, but I prefer the longer oval because there is more leg room. Also, the octagon is about 6" wider than the oval so it's a little harder to properly locate the table so that everyone has good leg room

 

[Junior24xx]

No love for the elliptical table?

 

[Shanghai Sparky]

I'm thinking of making my first table after seeing the works of art at Trihonda's house. I bought a roll of 48" wide construction paper used to protect new floors from the local big box home improvement store. I drew a table top on it and then drew in chairs to check spacing. I have two designs, and now have to decide which I like better.

 

[SixSpeedFury]

No love for the elliptical table?

This. I was hoping that someone would chime in regarding play on an Ellipse. I know there were a few members on CT that have them. All good valid points.

 

[Lars]

I loved my octagon but it was 60" across and was just too hard to reach pots and gather cards. I now have a 48" x 84" oval and I think it is perfect. People in the middle have to help move chips and cards but we are using seating buttons now and if you draw a seat in the middle it is your job for the night.

 

[abby99]

This. I was hoping that someone would chime in regarding play on an Ellipse. I know there were a few members on CT that have them. All good valid points.

Since you asked . . .

I've played at an elliptical table several times. They're great in terms of being able to see all the players' faces better. However, the host seated his players with 3-4 on each side and one at each end. The person at the end and the player on either side shared a very limited amount of real estate in the betting area and jockeyed for leg room. I know that some people think elliptical tables are the bees knees, but I don't care for them at all. If everybody were seated on the long sides and nobody on the ends, I wonder whether it might be more comfortable.

Just my opinion with no offense intended to those who love their elliptical tables.

 

[BGinGA]

Since you asked . . .

I've played at an elliptical table several times. They're great in terms of being able to see all the players' faces better. However, the host seated his players with 3-4 on each side and one at each end. The person at the end and the player on either side shared a very limited amount of real estate in the betting area and jockeyed for leg room. I know that some people think elliptical tables are the bees knees, but I don't care for them at all. If everybody were seated on the long sides and nobody on the ends, I wonder whether it might be more comfortable.

Just my opinion with no offense intended to those who love their elliptical tables.

Glad you chimed in, Marsha. I've never built or played on an ellipse table, but just visualizing the dimensions led me to believe that the player areas on and near each end would be cramped, especially leg-room.

I'm thinking a 'fat' oblong table (with standard end arcs and a bulging center section on one or both sides) might be a better way to go. Or maybe something like this (with the corners rounded a bit):

 

[Lars]

Glad you chimed in, Marsha. I've never built or played on an ellipse table, but just visualizing the dimensions led me to believe that the player areas on and near each end would be cramped, especially leg-room.

I'm thinking a 'fat' oblong table (with standard end arcs and a bulging center section on one or both sides) might be a better way to go. Or maybe something like this (with the corners rounded a bit):

This look like a stretched octagon. I like the idea but don't have the skills to make a decent looking rail.

 

[Mr. Cheese]

If you ever want to mess around and see how much space each player would have for a particular octagon size. This website has a simple calculator. I used it when deciding how big to make my last table.

Octagon Calculator

 

[Randy]

My preference is a 42-44" x 82-92" oval. As long as you have a good playing surface and your players can pitch even a little then it's the most comfortable and flexible table shape.

If a player is at the end dealing and doesn't do a good job then the players in the middle can help out. With a very large round of octagon table, chips and cards have to be pushed and passed more often than an oval table IMO.

I like big ovals too (about to build my second oval, then maybe a smaller round one from a cheap used table.) But I agree with the point above regarding dealing from the edges. I'm surprised that some people find it to be a dealbreaker since it's such a non-issue for me, although I assume that the SSC makes a big difference. If the cards can physically slide to the other side it's more manageable than if you have to assist with nearly every card, every deal because of the playing surface material. That could get tedious.

 

[Poker Zombie]

I used to have a program for building tables that allowed for player's legs as well as table legs - all the stuff that goes bump under the table. Bumping legs causes a lot of "sorry"s during the evening, and bashing into a table leg hurts and causes chip towers to tumble. Unfortunately, it was all done in Microsoft Composer, which is no longer compatible with Microsoft operating systems. Sparky's Idea of using paper to simulate everything is a good call. Just remember to allow room on the chair for knee placement. IIRC I allowed 2' for legs and knees.

My 3 tables are:

• 57" (145cm) Octagon, Moleskin surface. Seats 8. For those not familiar with moleskin, it has a very soft suede-like surface, with a fur backing. Everyone can pitch cards on this surface, and most players can pull pots easily. In a game with anties, the chips in the pot may make dealing a little more difficult. This table allows for the most elbow room as well, giving each player 2' of rail space. If I know I will have 8 or fewer players, This is always my preferred table.
• 7'6" x 45" (229cm x 114cm) Elongated Octagon, Velveteen surface. Seats 8. Feels great to the touch, dealers at the ends usually will need help pitching cards or pulling pots. If it had SSC (suited speed cloth) dealing from the ends would be only moderately difficult. elbow room is on par with any casino table - you know your neighbor is right there, but you aren't cramped. The 4 outside seats have more breathing room as there is nobody top one side. A favorite table for players sitting in the middle 4 seats that appreciate comfort over function. This is my least favorite table, mostly due to it's difficulty to set up, but it also lacks cupholders so drinks are set on tile coasters. It also lacks a raised rail. This table also converts into a counter height sewing table with a cork surface, hence the anomaly of a short rail and lack of cupholders.
• 8' x 4' (244cm x 122cm) Oval, SSC surface. Seats 10. Again, players on the ends will need help pulling pots. SSC allows skilled dealers to pitch cards from the ends, all others will need help passing cards to the correct target. This is the standard oval, nothing tricky here. It is my favorite table for most events, since there hasn't been an event with 8 or fewer players in years, and it was a ladies' night event.