Poker Table

Poker nights are a lot of fun. The memories made as drinks are served, hands are raised and bluffs are exposed can last a lifetime.

However, playing on that rickety folding table that you pulled out of your garage can certainly put a damper on things.

If you're planning on making your poker game a regular night of the week or month, then you want to consider investing in a proper poker table.

There are many different kinds of tables to consider, depending on space, budget, and personal preference. Here are the some considerations and options to help you decide on a table.

• How much space do you have?

If you have a large basement or room where a table will not be in the way, you can consider a more permanent piece of furniture. However, if you are trying to cram eight friends into your family room for a few hours, you should consider a table that can be folded away and stored.

• We're serious. How much space do you have?

A professional poker table is pretty big. A casino grade table might not be necessary if you're only hosting four or five buddies. Authentic, casino poker tables are large enough to seat 10-12 players at a time, and most require at least nine feet of space from end to end. Even a folding table will require enough space to keep it hidden away when closed, as well as a space large enough to place chairs around when fully open.

• What kind of features do you want?

Most casino card tables are covered in green felt, but you can choose a color to coordinate the tabletop with the rest of your room. Red, purple or blue might be a better choice, depending on your personal taste and surroundings. Tables can be basic and plain or adorned with a custom design or logo. If some of your playing mates can never seem to remember if a flush beats a straight, perhaps printing the ranking of hands on the table would help avoid any confusion. Tables also come in different shapes, such as circular, rectangular, as well as elliptical.

Other options include cup holders to make those spills a little less frequent of an occurrence, an automatic shuffle machine, racks for chip storage and bumpers to help keep cards and chips from flying off the table and keep the felt from being easily damaged.

An attractive alternative to buying a whole poker table is a felt tabletop which can be placed on top of any flat surface in your home to create a temporary playing surface. At a fraction of the cost of a complete table, being able to easily store the tabletop will appeal to a person who needs to turn that gaming surface into the breakfast table when the night is over.

For handy poker players, building your own table is another option to consider. You can truly personalize a table to all your wants and needs a few sheets of plywood and felt, cloth or suede fabric. Add a few cup holders and a personalized logo, and the job can be easily completed for a few hundred dollars in a short amount of time.

If you've ever wandered a casino gaming floor in the wee hours of the night, you might be surprised to witness a man with batting and a staple gun quickly making all the necessary repairs on the gaming tables before the morning crowd arrives. It's not nearly as daunting a task as you might think.

Whether you buy a table or make it yourself, your authentic poker experience will be enhanced having made the investment in a table.