Questions on 10 person table w/dealer spot (2 Viewers)

tkang

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Hello all. Great forum here! I was wondering if there are any links about building a 10 person table, raised rail with a permanent dealer spot and chip tray. I am wondering it needs to be longer than standard size. Right now we have a basic fold up big box store table with dealer spot but I want to build my own and see amazing videos and pictures but not much detail about what I'm looking for specifically. Any insight would be greatly appreciated! Thank you
 
http://www.buildyourownpokertables.com/

There is a section for dealer station. If you find plans that you like better, I think you should be able to get by with essentially any set of plans and just cut the rail in the spot that you want and add some trim to the edge.

I highly recommend making both the rail and playing surface easily removable (use T nuts and bolts instead of nails or screws). If you use a piece other than plywood for the trim, I'd make sure it is aesthetically pleasing when placed next to the plywood in the rail. Because the upper corner of this portion will be exposed and subjected to regular wear and tear, I'd advise against using a veneer edging here, as it will likely rip off. I'd instead replace this portion with a nice looking solid piece of wood, and likely would attach it to the table instead of the rail.
 
What do you mean by longer than standard size? Longer than 8 ft? There are a lot of plans out there and a lot of pics people took during their build. BYOPT has some plans I think. Just a few things for advice, if you’re building an 8’ table with dealer cutout 10 people is a little cramped. Besides 10 people at a table is too many IMO, but that’s me. It will work though. Your auto trim (yat) is a good place to find most of the supplies. Do you have all the tools? How high of a raised rail? If 3/4” or less you can just cut 2 rails and use one as the raised portion if more you can cut spacers to go higher. Do you plan to have lights in the rail? Theres not too many tables around for home use that are bigger than 4’x8’ unless you get a professional company to build it. So most of the plans you’ll find will be from a standard piece of 4x8 plywood. It’s hard to find bigger plywood.
 
Is there a reason you need a dealer cutout? Or is this just a cool factor, since it makes it more like a real casino table? There are few benefits of building a table with a dealer cutout. And many benefits to simply building a standard table. This topic has been discussed in many forums about tables, and most of the advice I’ve seen is to skip the cutout.

Ultimately it boils down to THIS.... Even with a dedicated dealer, it’s usually not a huge issue to deal on a regular railed table. BUT if you ever think you’d host a game without a dedicated dealer, the dealer spot (with a cutout) plain sucks ass for a player. No rail, and trays and such getting in the way.

Just my 2 cents.
 
You can also build a dealer cutout but don’t put in a dealer tray. Instead use a rack to hold enough chips for change and rebuys. That way you can use it as a player position later. You can even put in a smaller low profile arm rest to make it more comfortable when you are playing from that spot and it’s not in the way for the dealer.
 
Is there an unshakeable reason why you want to play with 10? Just curious. (I hate playing 10-handed. It sucks on so many levels.)

But even if you really must play 10-handed, I wouldn’t go too much beyond 8 feet, especially in an oval shape. The longer the table, the worse the usability issues.
 
Thank you for all of the replies. I host a game twice a week using a cheap folding table with a dealer cutout and tray. Never had a game without a dedicated dealer and always a wait for a seat. I'd rather just have 1 really nice table with 10 people than having 2 tables going. I've seen a lot of videos for these tables finished as you say by professionals, but no real plans. I take pride in doing things myself and would like to learn how to accomplish this. I guess I will just wing it and take pics along the way :)
 
Thank you for all of the replies. I host a game twice a week using a cheap folding table with a dealer cutout and tray. Never had a game without a dedicated dealer and always a wait for a seat. I'd rather just have 1 really nice table with 10 people than having 2 tables going. I've seen a lot of videos for these tables finished as you say by professionals, but no real plans. I take pride in doing things myself and would like to learn how to accomplish this. I guess I will just wing it and take pics along the way :)

So are you still planning to build a table with a cutout? If doing a normal full fell and full rail table, I’d love to see the progress and would be happy to give any advice I can. I’ve built a few tables... :).
 
Back on the topic of dimensions: I have a 97" x 39" dining table which sometimes gets used for poker (with a homemade topper). We never play 10-handed; but if I have to put 9 at the table it can squeeze 4 on one side. It’s pretty snug. Still, in theory it’s big enough to fit 10. Just not very comfortably.

So if I were regularly using it for 10 players, I’d want to have something slightly longer.

For it to also accommodate a dealer, i.e. 11 players, the thing would need to be huge. It’s already a bit of struggle at 8 feet long; over 100" would be like looking across an ocean, imho.

To me, it isn’t worth the extra size necessary to cram 10 in. Stick to 9 plus a dealer, or even just 8. Or find a few more guys and run two tables of 6-8. It’s a more fun and action-y game that way—harder for players to just fold endlessly until they get premium hands.

(As for dealers: In a non-raked private game where everyone either is a trusted friend or occasionally an invited guest of a trusted friend, I’d never bother to bring in a dealer. It’s not worth the hassle to me, and it’d just drain money from the table. I’m not concerned about cheating in my crowd. And pretty much all of us are by now at least decent at dealing cards. But I understand that wasn’t your question—just stating my personal preference.)
 
118"x44" oval table with dealer spot. Chairs with armrests take up a lot more space but this size of table still fits them.
2018-01-15 12.34.44.jpg
 
Nice work, @T_Chan. (118" is very long in my book -- nearly 10 feet! -- but to each their own. I’m sure your customer was pleased.)
 
building a 10 person table, raised rail with a permanent dealer spot and chip tray. I am wondering it needs to be longer than standard size.
A 4' x 8' oval table (outer rail dimensions) provides 24.68" of linear space per player when seating 10, or 22.44" if seating 11 people. Less than 22" per body is pushing the limits of being comfortable over very long periods of time. 24" per player is a good minimum number for long-term comfort, imo.

For comparison, we routinely seat 9 final table tournament players plus dedicated dealer at 7-foot tables (84" x 42"), which provides 21.59" per person (until somebody busts out, then it's 23.99"). Works fine for nine total, but I certainly wouldn't want it to be any less for 10 bodies.

Working with the limitations of 4x8 plywood, you can design the base table to those dimensions, and cut out sectional rail pieces from another 4x8 sheet that, when combined together into one solid piece, actually extend an inch (or more) outside the circumference of the base table itself -- essentially making it larger than 4x8, and providing additional linear space for players (and without requiring expensive custom-cut lumber or extension/joining building techniques).

A 2" rail overhang (creating 100 x 52 overall dimension) would generate 23.58" of linear space each for 11 seats (ten players plus dealer) or 25.94" if seating ten, and probably how I'd handle your specific parameters. You can minimize the amount of space needed to be controlled by the dealer by a) incorporating a dealer station inboard recess in the table, and b) marking the betting line so that all chips placed into play are within the dealer's reach.

I'd also make the dealer tray an optional feature that can be swapped out for a flush table-surface plug for when you don't need/want the tray in place (or just go with an under-table drawer solution).
 
I don’t see why it should be harder to make, or require a CNC machine. Drawing an ellipse is not significantly more difficult than a half-circle... You just use two points rather than one:

https://www.finewoodworking.com/2006/04/11/a-precise-method-for-drawing-an-ellipse

As for cutting, if you’re making either shape from plywood, both can be done with a jigsaw. That’s how I cut elliptical shapes (on sawhorses in my driveway) from 8 x 4 birchply. Then I eased the edges with a palm sander.

If I had been building an oval table, it would have required all the same tools, and the same amount of work.
 
I’d also add that arguably the number of inches needed per seat ought to vary depending on the shape of the table and the location of each seat, since curves change the angle at which a chair “addresses” the middle of the table—which is where players spend their most time looking.

Seats next to each other along a straightaway (as with the impressive T-Chan 11 seat cruise ship table above) may have less elbow room than seats around the curves, depending on how they are distributed around the table.

At the curves, the same number of linear inches along the edge of the table (where the front of the seat approaches or even goes underneath the tabletop) may result in more more “breathing” space toward the back of the chair, due to the angle at which the seat faces the dealer or the board.

It’s not easy to articulate the above, and my math skills aren’t up to quantifying it, but with hope I’m making at least a little sense...
 
Thank you for all of the input. Ended up doing 96×48 with flat cutout for dealer. Total cost was $647 and 2 weeks worth of work. I have 153 pictures if anyone wants to see specific parts
 

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Thank you for all of the input. Ended up doing 96×48 with flat cutout for dealer. Total cost was $647 and 2 weeks worth of work. I have 153 pictures if anyone wants to see specific parts
wow looks amazing. any chance you want to move to Boston for two weeks and make me one? :tup:
 
A lot of parts were trial and error, like the diffuser. Had to glue plastic onto small pieces of wood
 

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Damn! that sure is pretty. what a rail! if you said you were going to use crocodile skin for the rail i would have thought "Ewww" "Really?!?!

But holy crap Batman! that works!

You should be very proud!
 
One thing to note... because the table was a full 48" wide, the fabric was 55" wide. Going completely down the sides of the rail with foam, the fabric was not wide enough. I had to put the rail fabric on completely backwards doing the INSIDE first. Because the dealer spot has no fabric, it allowed me to then cut out the middle and bend the fabric at an angle to get the sides.

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Need some opinions here for anyone who has built a table with a dealer cut out. I am in line to have Tchan build me a custom table. We always have a dedicated dealer in my weekly game. based on how much space i have to work with I am going with a 92" x 44" table. How wide would you make the dedicated dealer spot? Although there will be a dedicated dealer I will not have a tray. We just have the dealer operate out of a standard chip rack. Thought is 9 players +1 dealer spot. I want to give everyone a decent amount of room (including the dealer to operate). Based on how our game plays we always end up loosing a play or two before the night is over so space opens up after a few hours. No cup holders in case anyone is wondering about configuration and being bound by alignment with those. Also it will have a 1" raised rail.
 
My 96” x 48” has 9 and a dealer and is roomy. We sometimes run 10 with a dealer and it’s still ok. If you’re getting Chan to make it he’ll know what to do. Just talk to him about it.
 

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