Space required around a poker table (1 Viewer)

[dkersey]

I've seen a lot of references to the amount of space is needed per person at a poker table...width wise, but how much space is required behind a table for the player and to get in and out of?

I'm going to have a new game room and trying to figure out how many tables and where I can put them. I want everyone to be comfortable and I don't want the walls banged up, so how much is enough room? 1 foot? 18 inches? 2 feet?

I'm thinking 2 feet if against a wall, and 3 feet if its shared between 2 tables (2 players back to back). Am I close?

 

[Wils]

I would say at least two and a half feet per side. So for a seven foot table you'd need at least a 12ft room. A little less if you don't mind everyone on one side having to get up when someone wants a toilet break.

ETA: between tables, I'd say three and a half feet but YMMV

 

[Bill]

 

[T_Chan]

I usually use the rule of thumb of 2' around the table on all sides. Not sure about the amount of space needed between tables.

 

[BGinGA]

I don't want the walls banged up

If this is a concern, three feet should be plenty for (most) chairs to get moved back enough to allow enter/exit without hitting the wall.

To gauge how it works with your equipment, take a TV tray and a poker chair, and set it up with your back against a wall. Scoot the chair back until you have enough room to comfortably get up without hitting the wall with the chair back. Measure the distance from the tray edge to the wall.

3 feet if its shared between 2 tables (2 players back to back).

I don't think three feet is enough distance between tables, if you plan on having any traffic between them at all (even players just getting up individually and going to the restroom or whatever). Four feet would be better, and that will still be cramped.

 

[dkersey]

I can't quite do that yet. I'm building a new home. All I have is the measurements. The game room is 13'10 by 17'6. Hoping to fit 2 8ft ovals in there.

 

[BGinGA]

You can do it with any wall, and a chair that approximates your poker chair size.

 

[BGinGA]

The game room is 13'10 by 17'6. Hoping to fit 2 8ft ovals in there.

If your room is 166" x 210", you should be able to fit two 48" x 96" tables with 35" of space around the perimeter and 44" of space between them.

Place them lengthwise in the the 166" direction, centered in the room: 166 - 96 = 70, leaving 35" from the table ends to each wall.

Space each table's long side 35" from the two opposite walls: that's 210 - 70 = 140 available space, minus the 96" combined for the width of the two tables = 44 inches of space between them.

You won't have room for much of anything else, however. Might consider slightly smaller tables. I'd advise going with 44 x 88 with a narrower 4.5" rail to preserve playing area -- the extra inches gained in increased move-around space will make a much bigger difference in player comfort than they will if used for a slightly larger playing surface area.

 

[BGinGA]

Here are the amounts of respective player space per table size for table sizes 88x44 through 96x48:

 

[dkersey]

Place them lengthwise in the the 166" direction, centered in the room: 166 - 96 = 70, leaving 35" from the table ends to each wall.

In my sketchings, I was thinking the same thing direction wise. I'm going to have a TV hung on the long wall, and was going to put table, fridge, storage, etc on same wall, so would probably scoot the tables toward the opposite wall a little bit.

 

[BGinGA]

Yeah, every inch of space you can squeeze lengthwise will really help. I think the longest I'd go with is 90".... that extra six inches will make a huge difference in access to the fridge and storage, and in player access to table seats at the opposite end of the room. 23"+ of space per player (with a full 10-players) is plenty.

 

[CraigT78]

Here are the amounts of respective player space per table size for table sizes 88x44 through 96x48:

View attachment 118557 View attachment 118560

View attachment 118558 View attachment 118561

View attachment 118559

You got one of those for a 84x42 table?

 

[BGinGA]

You got one of those for a 84x42 table?

 

[Irish]

+1 to pretty much everything BG noted. What's the access to the room like, is the room completely walled in with a single doorway to enter/leave the room, or are there multiple (or oversized) access points. The poker area in my basement is only roughly 15.5'x11' - I can fit two 10 man ovals (44"x92") where everyone is comfortably seated but there's not a lot of room for moving around. It works though because that space is only constrained on 3 sides - one of the longer "walls" is open to allow players access in and out to get a drink/food/bathroom break. It works very well for tourneys where there's not a lot of movement while the tourney is active. As BG noted, the room size you have is fine for 2 tables but not much else, maybe a small frig and a skinny table for snacks. If there's only one normal size door in/out of the room for bathroom/smoke breaks, you definitely want to take that into consideration, i.e. if the door is in the middle, give that middle aisle more space, if it's closer to one wall, shift the table over a bit to make it easier for someone to get out. Overall though it sounds like you got a decent size space for 2 tables. I'll throw my 2¢ in and recommend 44"x92" for the table size, I've found that's a great sweet spot that maximizes space per player (~23.4") while keeping the width/length from getting too cumbersome.

Are you always planning on running 2 tables? I have one "full time" table that's always set up and centered in the room and a second table folded up against the wall. Gives us plenty of room for the single table cash nights and easy to expand to two table tourneys. Some food for thought.

 

[BGinGA]

and for future reference.......

 

[dkersey]

What's the access to the room like, is the room completely walled in with a single doorway to enter/leave the room, or are there multiple (or oversized) access points.

Are you always planning on running 2 tables?

Regarding access, there is 1 door (double door) at side of short wall, so I think that is ok.

I have 1 table with fold up legs now, and was thinking to get a nicer table as a 2nd table for a 2 table tourney. I prefer cash games, so having 1 table in the center would be preferred on those nights.

Thanks for the feedback guys!

 

[Poker Zombie]

Rail to wall, I'm set up right at 28 inches. This allows squeezing by if you need to get in/out, but if you have a couple of fat guys, they're trapped until break. I've had some pretty brutish players, and have no wall marks from the chairs.

As far as between tables, I try to plan for how chairs back up and place tables accordingly. 2 long table setup, the Red table seats do not back "into" the 2nd table, rather they back at a 45 degree angle. The flat edge of the green table is minimized.

With an oval and an octagon set-up, it gets easier...

Once people are seated, the chairs kinda weave among themselves. One player at the brown table can lean back and have a face to face conversation with 2 players at the red table. I wouldn't call it "comfortable", but it's not too bad.

 

[One Eyed Dollar]

I like your home theater chairs! Where did you get those? Are they comfy? Do they recline?

 

[Poker Zombie]

I like your home theater chairs! Where did you get those? Are they comfy? Do they recline?

I got them at a local Electronics/Home Theater store, HiFi Buys Nashville. They are comfortable, but are cheaply made. I leaned on the armrest trying to reach a remote, and my arm went through the armrest. Luckily, the service from the store is very good and they replaced the armrest, no questions asked. They are all powered recliners, which I like because I can just partially recline and leave it locked in that position.