Types of Home Poker Tables

Here is a summary of the different types of home poker tables. Poker tables come in various styles and shapes with the most common being an oval poker table followed by round or polygon poker tables (octagon, decagon). Each type of poker table has its own advantages and disadvantages. Round or octagon poker tables are probably best if you have limited space but oval poker tables are the most traditional and offer the best seating and most room per player. Poker table tops are laid upon an existing kitchen or dining room table and are the least expensive type of poker table - they can be easily stored in a closet or basement. Convertible poker tables can be used as your everyday dining room or kitchen table and then quickly converted into a poker table when needed.

Keep in mind that it can be somewhat difficult for players seated at the ends of an oval poker table to reach out to the center of the table to scoop up the poker chips that they have won that hand. Winning players love to scoop their winnings by reaching out with both hands and pulling back the chips that they have just won. Round/octagon tables have the same problem from each seat rather than just from the end seats. The necessity to be able to reach the center of the table effectively limits the maximum size of your table. Casino's sometimes have very large poker tables to accommodate as many players as possible but the most common poker table size is approximately 84 inches long x 42 inches wide x 32 inches high. Anything wider than 42 inches makes it difficult for players to reach the center of the table.

Some poker tables have permanent legs or pedestals while others feature folding legs. Folding legs are less sturdy but allow you to store your table much easier - simply fold up the legs and hang your poker table on a wall. Your poker table must be able to withstand the weight of one or more players leaning on it, especially when a player is all-in and standing up in anticipation of the flop, turn, or river. A player seated at the end of an oval poker table might be leaning on the end of the table while the board cards are being shown and then that same player might strike the table in frustration when a certain card appears. You do not want your poker table to collapse or tilt from all that added weight.

One style of poker table that is missing from this page is a poker table with a dedicated dealer station. A dealer station is a built-in poker chip tray that allows the dealer to store poker chips for use during the game. A dealer station makes it almost impossible for the person in that seat to play poker because there is no space in front of the player to stack their own poker chips and hole cards. Most home poker games do not have a dedicated dealer, the dealer usually plays as well as deals. For this reason, most home poker tables do not include a dealer station.

Some of the poker tables shown on this page would be considered high quality tables with extra features such as cup holders and foot rests. Amazingly, all the poker tables shown on this page are homemade and would be very expensive to purchase through a retailer. Check out my How To Build a Poker Table page for dozens of free poker table plans, including all the poker tables shown on this page.

Click on any poker table image to be taken to a page that describes how to build that table.
There are dozens of similar poker tables on my How To Build a Poker Table page.

Oval Poker Tables

Oval poker table

This is the most common poker table shape - an oval. An oval poker table will allow you to seat anywhere from eight to twelve players, depending on the size of your table, the size of your players, and the amount of room that you wish to allow for each player. Twelve players is probably too many players to seat at any one table, but eight players at an oval poker table is ideal - you can seat three players on each long side of the table and one player at each end of the table. To seat ten players you can add one seat to each end, meaning that two players would sit at each end. To seat twelve players you would seat eight players on the long sides of the table and four players on the ends.
Most poker tables include rails for players to rest their arms while playing. The rail also prevents poker chips and cards from accidentally falling off the table.

Oval poker table with a racetrack

Here is an oval table with a racetrack. A racetrack is a section of the table that is usually made of wood and surrounds the poker cloth located in the center of the table. A racetrack allows each player's poker chips and cards to be stacked on the wood rather than on the poker cloth. A disadvantage to a racetrack is that it is somewhat noisy as players riffle their poker chips stacked on the wood rather than on the poker cloth. If you do not have cup holders embedded into your racetrack, there is a good chance that you will eventually get water stains from cold beverages sitting on the wood. It is also somewhat difficult to move (shove!) your poker chips from the racetrack on to the poker cloth to make a bet. Some wood racetracks are flush against the poker cloth in the center of the table, but most racetracks are at a slightly lower level than the cloth. When a player goes all-in and wants to shove all their chips forward into the center of the table, it may be necessary to lift your chips off the wood racetrack and up on to the poker cloth - you can't simply shove your chips forward. A racetrack also makes it difficult to lift your playing cards off the hard wood surface - cards lying on padded cloth are much easier to lift because you can press down on the cloth and 'dig' under your cards with your fingers.

Oval poker table with a racetrack and cup holders

Here is and oval table with a racetrack and cup holders. It also features a customized logo printed in the center of the poker cloth. The benefits of cup holders are obvious - no water stains on your wood and a bit more stability to keep your beverages from tilting over and spilling all over your table. Liquid spills on poker tables are never pretty ... and they will happen from time to time! An oval poker table with a racetrack and cup holders is the Cadillac of poker tables - they are very attractive and very practical.

Elliptical poker table

An elliptical poker table is similar to an oval table except the corners are sharper. This is a very stylish poker table but allows less space for players to be seated at the ends of your table. An oval table usually allows enough space for two players to be seated at each end of the table whereas an elliptical table will usually only allow one player to be seated at each end. The end corners on an elliptical poker table are also a bit further from the center of the table, making it harder for a player seated there to reach the center of the table to scoop poker chips.

Round/Octagon Poker Tables

Round poker table

This is the most basic style of round poker table, although it does feature a racetrack and cup holders. A single pedestal leg is common on most round/octagon poker tables - this allows unobstructed leg room for each seated player. Keep in mind that it can sometimes be difficult for players to reach out to the center of the table to scoop in their poker chip winnings. For this reason, you must limit the diameter of your table. Oval poker tables suffer from this same problem for players seated in the end seats.

Octagon poker table

An octagon poker table will allow eight players to be seated - one player for each of the eight sides of the table. Variations of this type of table include pentagons (five-sided), hexagons (six-sided), and decagons (ten-sided).

Octagon poker table with a racetrack

An octagon poker table with cup holders and dedicated space for each players' poker chips. This allows space for each player to store their poker chips on cloth rather than on a wood racetrack. Like any racetrack, it can be difficult for a player to move their poker chips to the center of the table. There is no way to simply push your chips forward, you will have to pick them up off the table and move them forward.

Octagon poker table with an illuminated racetrack

You can build LED lighting into your poker table..

Folding Poker Tables

Folding oval poker table

A folding poker table top for an oval table. This folding table is easy to store and can be placed on top of your existing kitchen or dining room table. This is a good solution for people who live in apartments or do not have enough space in their home for a full-size poker table. One problem with a folding poker table is that there is always a seam or crease in the location where the table folds. This crease can interfere with the ability to smoothly move chips around the table.

Folding oval poker table

A folding poker table top for an existing rectangle table.

Poker Table Tops

Poker table top

This table features a store-bought poker table top set into a homemade wood table. A poker table top is a pre-built section of poker cloth that can be laid on top of another table. Poker table tops are convenient if you do not have a lot of available space in your house or apartment and want to use your existing kitchen or dining room table as a poker table. You simply take your poker table top out of the closet or garage and place it on top of an existing table. Some poker table tops fold in half, making it even easier to store away in a cramped space - you might even be able to store your poker table top in your car to take it to a different location. Poker table tops are the least expensive type of poker table - they do not include legs and do not usually include rails. The cloth on store-bought poker table tops is usually not the highest quality.

Poker table top

This table top covers an existing glass kitchen table and can be separated into three pieces for easy storage. it features an excellent velveteen playing surface with jumbo cup holders.

Poker Table Legs

Oval poker table with folding legs

Folding legs make it much easier to store your poker table - you simply fold up the legs and lean the table against a wall. If you want to get real fancy you can hang the table on a wall. Keep in mind that the legs of your table will interfere with your players' leg room and can be quite inconvenient at times. For stability, it is best to have your table legs as close to the edge of the table as possible but for comfort it is best to have your legs as far away from the edge of the table as possible.

Oval poker table with pedestal legs

An oval poker table with two pedestal legs allows for plenty of leg room for your players. This poker table also features a foot rest made of metal tubing. Notice the expanded metal base at the bottom of the pedestals for added stability.