WSOP feature table shape (1 Viewer)

[Taghkanic]

The two main feature tables for the WSOP are not racetracks, but boat-shaped.

This is good. Would love to see this become more standard:

 

[Taghkanic]

The ends are flat, putting the two end seats closer to the center of the table.

The sides are gently curved, providing more space per player, and greatly improving sight lines.

 

[Taghkanic]

One thing I can’t tell for sure from the broadcast:

It appears that the dealer side of the table is slightly flatter than the curve on the opposite side.

If so, presumably this would be to bring thr dealer forward a bit for better reach.

There is only one player on either side of the dealer, five on the opposite curve, and two on the ends.

This allows seats 1 and 9 to be a lot less cramped than at a standard (racetrack-shaped) table, and to migrate outward a bit to be able to see better.

At a casino, I loathe sitting in the 1 and 9 seats because unless the dealer is tiny, it is very hard to see what the player on the other side of the dealer is doing, how many chips they have.

The boat-shaped sides cure a lot of usability ills.

 

[Taghkanic]

Similarly, at standard tables the players on the flat have to lean forward to see each other. For example, nine-handed the 4 and 6 seats can’t really see each other unless the 5 seat leans or sits way back.

 

[Taghkanic]

Here’s a straight overhead. It does appear that the dealer side is flatter.

For a self-dealt game, a symmetrical boat shape would be better.

 

[gopherblue]

This is why I firmly believe an ellipse is the best shape, although I like the idea of flattening the ends.

 

[Machine]

The dealer can't reach the pots or push unless they stand up, and the shuffler is on the side of the dealer, eww. I'm all about that ellipse.

 

[ekricket]

Here’s a straight overhead. It does appear that the dealer side is flatter.

View attachment 811398

For a self-dealt game, a symmetrical boat shape would be better.

It almost looks like by flattening the dealer spot it make seats 1 and 9 even harder to see each others chips

 

[Frogzilla]

I like my ellipse table from gorilla for everything but dealing from the ends. Good for 6 or 8 handed though

Flat ends like WSOP has might make it perfect

 

[gopherblue]

I like my ellipse table from gorilla for everything but dealing from the ends. Good for 6 or 8 handed though

Flat ends like WSOP has might make it perfect

I just don’t seat at the ends. The players sit on opposite sides, leaving the very end empty.

 

[warma]

Yeah, I’m curious about this as well. The flat ends look good, and I wonder what a 8-seat no-pro dealer home game table would look like- just the flat end ellipse? Or a shorter boat?

I also like the rail stitching, tells players where their personal space is, in lieu of lines on the felt. Unfortunately, it looks like few people actually pay attention, with the 2 & 8 spots getting the squeeze from 3 & 7. (Or maybe the stitching is only for the flat ends? The card sensors don’t look centered, so I might be wrong. Still, a possible design element if seating positions are standard.)

Very curious how it plays for 1 & 9.

 

[Taghkanic]

It almost looks like by flattening the dealer spot it make seats 1 and 9 even harder to see each others chips

Worse than if they used the same curve as the other boat side, but not worse than a standard racetrack table.

 

[Taghkanic]

This is why I built a super-ellipse table. Has many of the same advantages. Fatter than a standard ellipse, but the flattish rounded ends give a bit more seating flexibility.

 

[Ben8257]

Ignorant in table shapes, is this Ellipse?

This beauty belongs to @Highli99 , beautiful tables but it is long and skinny at the ends, wider and flatter on the ends sounds pretty damn cool. Hopefully get a seat at this one again in a couple weeks at his biggest game.of the year! The Turkey shoot out!

Planning on building something next year. Might have to go for something cool like that!

 

[buzzmonkey]

The final 10 was a bit odd. They had two sitting in the 9 spot.

 

[Taghkanic]

Yeah, I agree that is a problem. Gently rounded ends as with the superelljpse solve the issue of adjusting for different numbers of players / with or without a dealer.

But then I never host 10-handed games, and my games are self-dealt, so squeezing 11 humans around a table is not an issue here.

 

[Taghkanic]

Above is a diagram showing four of the shapes discussed so far... This chart is somewhat subjective since each shape can be drawn with different variables. But generally I would say the ellipse, super-ellipse and boat-shaped tables can be shorter than a racetrack table, without sacrificing elbow space.

 

[grebe]

bulbous.....

he he he...

 

[Machine]

Above is a diagram showing four of the shapes discussed so far...

This is a great image, hard to 'read' by nature but awesome and helpful.
I think there are a lot of pros and cons that come into play with different sizes, but seeing how the ends relate is really nice.

I have a table in the works, currently waiting for a custom chip tray from Alec, and then I'll post some photos.

I went with ellipse shape, the bubbleous shape makes it harder to drag pots for a dedicated dealer, and seems the closest to a round. This is why there are Kidney shaped tables, it gets a dedicated dealer all up in there to reach the otherside and lavish space for the play`ars

 

[LotsOfChips]

From the overhead view it seems like seats 3, 4, 5, 6, & 7 are extremely cramped, while seats 1, 2, 8 & 9 are super spacious. If this was an 8 person table and only 4 places on the side farthest from the dealr, it would make a much more comfortable layout (IMO)

 

[Machine]

From the overhead view it seems like seats 3, 4, 5, 6, & 7 are extremely cramped,

from that photo it looks like only the 6th seat is cramped?

 

[crussader]

My guess is that the table design in question has absolutely nothing to do with poker, and everything to do with getting optimal sight lines for the cameras.

 

[Taghkanic]

Probably, but many of the same constraints/considerations happen to serve both purposes (e.g. camera prefers not to show the dealer if possible; players benefit from being spaced away from the dealer).

 

[gopherblue]

View attachment 812229

Above is a diagram showing four of the shapes discussed so far... This chart is somewhat subjective since each shape can be drawn with different variables. But generally I would say the ellipse, super-ellipse and boat-shaped tables can be shorter than a racetrack table, without sacrificing elbow space.

Good comparison. I like the idea of the super ellipse, but the only drawback I see is the center of the table is very wide. I have an ellipse and it seems to balance all the pros/cons from my perspective. But depending on depth I might be swayed by the super-ellipse or boat shape for a home game.

 

[Taghkanic]

To build my super ellipse table, I used an online lamé curve calculator to tinker with the exact shape:

http://www.procato.com/superellipse/

The shape will be very different depending on what variables you use. I kept the width basically the same as the racetrack table I had previously (46” base, 48” with the rail) but was able to make the table shorter (iirc 89” instead of 96”) thanks to the curve.

So the distance to the center became actually smaller for all the players, with better sight lines.

At the link above, you can experiment with proportions (L and W) shape (var n controls the “bulge”; I used 2.25. Higher makes it more square, lower more traditionally elliptical).

 

[Taghkanic]

Here’s an illustration of how changing the n value alters a superellipse (n=2.0, 2.25, 2.5) …

FWIW, the classic midcentury modern Piet Hein superellipse table used a 2.5 value. I think that is too bowed out for poker and prefer 2.2-2.25.

 

[Taghkanic]

For those still following, here is an in-depth article about how Piet Hein developed the superelljpse for both city planning and furniture applications:

https://piethein.com/superellipse/

 

[TheDirtMerchant]

This is why I built a super-ellipse table. Has many of the same advantages. Fatter than a standard ellipse, but the flattish rounded ends give a bit more seating flexibility.

View attachment 811794

Do you have some plans or measurements of the table you built?
I think an ellipse or super-ellipse is where I'm going with my build...though the boat shape is possible.

 

[Taghkanic]

My recollection is that I used a 2:1 length : width ratio, winding up with a table that is something like 92 inches long and 46 wide (might have been slightly smaller or larger), including the 4" or 5" wide rail.

Bear in mind that the dimensions of a standard sheet of plywood (48" x 96") are the upper limit, unless you use more pieces than the usual two (one for the rail, one for the playing surface).

Anyway, once you choose your proportions and degree of “bulge” (see the plotter site formulas elsewhere in this thread), then you can blow that “plot” up using the tiling feature of most printers, to make a full-scale template which you can trace onto plywood.

Note that to save time you really only need to print and tape together 1/4 of the total shape—say, the upper lefthand quarter of the superelljpse. Then flip/reverse it to trace the full shape.

Since making the template is a bit of a pain, I’d suggest printing that to your rail size. Then once you cut the rail, you can just trace it onto another sheet, and take measurements a few inches smaller all around and freehand draw the slightly smaller base shape. (You’ll never see that underedge once the felt and rail are on, so it does not have to be perfect.) Or if you want it precise, go nuts, make two templates.

As far as the materials and the rest of the build, those are personal choices, but the construction is fundamentally the same as a racetrack table—it’s just a somewhat different shape, but all the same concepts apply. Others have posted tons of table-building guides with far better advice (and tips for all the options you might want) than I can put together. Just use the same techniques but for the superllipse shape.