Here’s a hypothetical scenario that may sound all too familiar if you’ve ever tried to host a poker night at home. Let’s say that you set aside the perfect day to have a game with friends and family. Everyone is excited, chatty, and ready for a good time, but there’s only one problem: you don’t have a poker table at home that can fit everyone who wants to play.   

So, with all eyes staring you down, you wing it as best you can because it is only a home game after all, not the VIP room at Ceasar’s Palace. 

You can undoubtedly get by playing cards and gaming on a kitchen table or coffee table, but it’ll probably be your last poker night in a while, especially if you bust one of your guests after only a few hands! You may drop cards all over the floor, accidentally flash your hand when you’re sitting on rockets in the hole, or get accused of throwing a terrible poker game to take everyone’s money after the first blind raise. 

Either way, what should have been a special, fun time with your closest friends and relatives has now gone off the rails because you didn’t have a way to host a comfortable game or give everyone a fair chance to play in the first place. 

But when you have a quality poker table at home, you can host a full game with as many as eight players, including a spot for the dealer – and you won’t feel as bad when you win a big pot against a fish just learning how to play the flop. 

Poker table basics 

The basics of what makes a good poker table are pretty easy to grasp once you learn the essentials. Not all poker tables are made with the same care and attention to quality, especially the materials’ quality. Some come with nothing but plastic parts, while others may not even fold up for easy storage. 

You may find a table at a reasonable price, yet the question is this: does the table have everything you need to host a great game? 

At the very least, your poker table should include things like: 

• High-quality felt 
• Plenty of elbow room 
• Comfortable seating 
• Cup holders 
• Easily foldable legs and tabletops 
• Slots to organize poker chips

If the item you’re thinking about buying has all of those basic features, you’re looking at a good value. 

Which poker table is right for you? Here’s what we recommend. 

To buy the right poker table, you ought to have a general idea of what you plan to use it for and how often you’ll host games too. Is it one of your hobbies, or do you plan to play poker for profit? Questions like those matter tremendously when selecting a poker table to play cards. 

So, if you only have a poker night once a month, you’ll do fine with a smaller table that will seat six players comfortably. Depending on the type of game you’re planning to host, you may not need a table with cup holders or places to organize poker chips either. A standard table with plenty of elbow room and quality felt top would suffice. 

On the other hand, if you plan to host a long game like a Texas Hold ‘Em tournament every Friday (cash game to follow, of course), you’ll need a bigger table that’s more comfortable and practical because you’ll be sitting in the same spot for several hours if you do it right. 

Another consideration is whether or not you want to be known as “the guy with the portable poker table” if you decide to spend money on a good one, which wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing if you’re practicing playing fast and loose for a casino tournament. 

Here are a handful of other tips from Aosom.com on how to buy a poker table if you’re new to hosting home games. 

Three tips for buying a new poker table 

We only sell top-quality poker tables at Aosom, like the Soozier brand. You’ll see what we currently have available in our online shop, so here are three easy tips for selecting the best time for your needs. 

1 – Choose between a poker table cover or a freestanding product – These are your two choices when it comes to poker tables in general, and table covers aren’t necessarily settling for less because they can be more versatile, if not more so, than a freestanding table. 

2 – Choose whether or not you want an octagon-shaped table or a table similar to a casino poker table – Some genuine poker guys will insist on playing on a table that looks like it came from a real casino. Still, an octagon-shaped table works just as well, practically speaking. 

3 – Remember that legroom counts, too – Having enough legroom is another common issue with poker tables, so if you think your guests won’t fit around a smaller table, you’re probably spot on. 

Ultimately, if you keep these basics in mind, you’ll find it much easier to pick the right poker table at a fair price.