Cheap Poker Tables… to Avoid

There’s many choices out there when it comes to poker tables for your home. Here’s some less than stellar examples, and why you should avoid them.

Portable Octagon Poker Table Top

This is a travel style table top. It is legless, folds in quarters and is designed to be laid on an existing table. It includes cup holders, chip racks and a felt playing surface.

Pros:

• Lightweight. You can take it with you to your friend’s house.
• Takes up less room in storage.
• One of the cheapest poker tables; retails for about $80.

Cons:

• Drinks are guaranteed to spill. The poker table cupholders are more indentations than actual vessels. They won’t keep your guests from knocking over their beers or glasses. 
• Not stable. The table top has a tendency to slide around as it is not anchored to the table surface.
• Players cannot rest their arms on the table. Unless you happen to have an octagon table that perfectly matches the dimensions of the poker table top, it is likely to overlap the table it is resting on. It weighs less than 20 pounds, so all it takes is one person to lean on an unsupported corner, and everyone’s drinks, chips and cards will go flying.

Wood Veneer Poker Table

Over time, wood is supposed to be more durable than plastic. If you take care of it, it will not get brittle.

Pros:

• Legs fold up for table storage.
• Double cup holders for your leftys and righty players.

Cons: 

• It looks about ready to collapse! Legs are poorly constructed and rickety-looking.  
• Cup holders are very shallow. They will not prevent drinks from getting knocked over.
• Cheap materials. Wood used is a cheap veneer that is not holding up well over time. 

Portable Oblong Poker Table Top

This larger poker table top folds in thirds. It lays on top of an existing table.

Pros:

• Larger size will fit more players comfortably.
• Sunken cup holders may contain drinks better

Cons:

• Uneven felt will interfere with play. Felt on a poker table should be as smooth as a pool table’s surface. Otherwise, the usual table actions will be hindered. Dealt or folded cards can end up getting exposed after being thrown when they catch an edge on the felt. Chips thrown in a pot will scatter or roll around.
• Cup holders are still not deep enough. Because this is only a table top, the cup holders can only be as deep as the table armrest. They look to be about an inch deep. Your beer may survive a graze but not a nudge.

Folding Leg Poker Table

This unusual rectangle-shaped table has metal legs that fold up for table storage.

Pros:

• Table legs are positioned far enough from ends so that the end players won’t bump their knees easily.

Cons:

• No cupholders.
• Rectangle shape means corner players are left out of the action. There’s a reason the tables you see in the World Series of Poker (and in any casino) are oblong with no corners: It is always a disadvantage if you do not have a clear view of your opponents. At a rectangle-shaped table, it is difficult for everyone to see the poker players tucked into the corners.  Conversely, it is hard for the corner players to see everyone else– especially at the far ends. “Are they still holding cards or did they fold? Is she smirking, I can’t see her face!”

Looking for a high-end poker table for low-end prices? Take a look at all six of our models. Free shipping!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009 at 3:15 pm and is filed under Poker News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.