Poker Home Games that Will Impress Your Friends - Part 2

In Part One, we discussed the impact your choice of poker chips has on your home game. Now in Part Two, we'll talk about the furniture element, or the thing that catches the players' eye immediately upon entry-- the table.

The phenomenon poker players like to call the "Poker Boom" has created a whole new industry in this country: custom poker tables. We're not just talking the typical octagonal table for grandpa and his cigar-smoking buddies...we're talking everything from portable table top covers, to custom-built Texas Hold-em style casino poker tables.

Nothing makes a player's home game experience more enjoyable than sidling on up to a nice, soft vinyl rail and a smooth felt surface.

Nothing makes your game more "casino-like" than a good quality table (except for maybe a cocktail waitress or two, but that's your deal, not mine). Besides the aesthetics involved, the practical implications of a nice felt surface are that your cards won't slide onto the floor, and they're easier to pick up without bending the corners.

Just like any other 'furniture' purchase, there are options ranging from the cheap and flimsy to the expensive and excessive, and your budget and seriousness about the game will determine which is a best fit for you.

The first option are the table tops. These are the tables of choice for most weekend gamblers, because they don't take any extra furniture space, they simply fold out and sit on top of your dining table, or a folding table. You can choose octagon or oval. The beauty of the folding top is that stow away nicely in between games. Since most of us don't have a dedicated poker room, this is the most common way to go.

The second option is a table with folding legs. This table is typically done in a "mass production" type of way... there are no options, it's just an economically produced, no-frills poker table with folding-table style legs.