RenoPokerPlayer
Waiting List
Teaser:
So I finally cleaned out my garage and started hosting some poker games at my house. It started with a 60” round folding table fitted with a table cloth and a padded round 52ish” poker mat. Although that table worked surprisingly well, I knew I wanted something a bit nicer. I watched a couple videos on YouTube and browsed the forums but didn’t see anything specific that caught my eye. If you are in the same boat as me, I hope you can use this as inspiration that you can build your own poker table with little to no experience!
My needs:
Table must seat 10 people. Each player needs to have enough elbow room to be comfortable. Table needs to be sturdy and not rock when people lean on it. Table needs to be built and assembled with my limited supply of tools.
I actually wasn’t expecting the table to turn out very nice, since this was the first time I had really worked with wood aside from shelving etc. The whole process was much easier than expected, and I’ll let you guys decide the final results. In my eyes, I would build something halfway decent and learn from my mistakes for the next table.
I started with a sheet of plywood and began doing some math on how to make a table for 10 people. I went to Home Depot and tried to bend each type of plywood they had and settled with 3/4” layered oak plywood I believe. It seemed to have the least amount of flex, which I knew would become a problem through building. I liked the idea of an octagon since each player has a defined ‘slice’ of the table to spread out and use. I decided to do an elongated octagon and did some calculations. A sheet of plywood is 48” wide so that’s what I used as the ‘medium angle’ to calculate how much space each person would have. I got an answer of just under 20”. If I made the plywood bigger than I could give people more room, so I thought about how to do this and decided if I built a 2x6 frame around the border hanging over the edge I could give everyone a few more inches of space. So I did the math assuming a 3” overhang then made the long side the length of two short sides of the octagon. I marked out the table and used a skill saw to cut the plywood into an octagon. I think the size was a perfect balance of space while still being able to easily deal from any position and reach the middle of the table.
Next I started cutting some 2x6s to make a border that overhangs. I test fit it together and I was happy. Should be worth noting that the lumber I used was soft pine and very very wet. My neighbor who does woodwork came over and told me it was a bad idea to use wet lumber but I proceeded anyways lol.
I then proceeded to upholster the table with some felt from Joann’s (double layered) and speed cloth from Amazon. I had to iron the speed cloth to get wrinkles out, but it turned out great and was very easy. I played down the fabric and from the back pulled as tight as I could and used a staple gun to secure it to the plywood. The felt gives enough padding to easily be able to pick up your cards and was a lot cheaper than high density foam.
This was the first time doing any upholstery which I was nervous about but it was very easy. Since it was an octagon the folds to hide any wrinkles was intuitive. Next I decided every poker table needs a betting line so I decided to just tape off a measured line and use spray paint. I was pleasantly surprised with the results and wouldn’t hesitate to do it again. It also holds up great, I could have actually got with more paint but I was nervous of bleed. It didn’t bleed at all since the fabric is waterproof, at least that’s my best guess.
Next I finished using my chop saw to cut the 2x6 border pieces. I then drilled and counter sunk screw holes so I could attach wood kinda like pocket screws. I held the frame together with a ratchet strap so it was super tight when I was doing this. I then sanded the top face for a while and rounded the corners. Next I applied a dark grey stain. This was my first time staining wood and it was super easy. I put it on heavy and wiped away the excess with a cloth after letting it soak in for a couple minutes.
I thought I messed up because I had pictured me attaching the legs to the plywood with screws running down through the plywood. I did some brainstorming and thought for a couple of days on how I could make sturdy legs to support a heavy table while keeping the table from bending or sagging. I decided to build a frame around the table on the bottom like the top and then run screw through to hold everything together. I wanted the table to be no more than 30” tall at the border, which meant I needed something short on the bottom for the frame to allow for leg room. I used 2x3’s on their side. Then I framed it up so the table would not be able to sag. This gave me something to attach the legs to as well.
Next I started thinking of leg designs and decided to kinda mimic a saddle horse with 2x4s. I had to get creative and use wood wedges cut at 12 degrees to get them to angle how I wanted since my chop saw doesn’t tilt. Overall it turned out good. I then used metal brackets and wood supports to make the legs sturdy. Once I flipped it over and found which legs needed to be sanded down to sit level I stained them all with a paintbrush to make them a deep grey. I checked everything with a level and was happy. I put the supports in a place to double as a footrest as well.
Overall I am very happy with how the table came out. Everyone who has played on it loved it and multiple people have commented on liking the height and shape for home games. I now use my other table as a backup when we have more than 10 people. I can comfortably sit 8, but I’ve done 9-10 before on that one. So now I can have up to 20 people over if I ever want to. Last weekend we had 16 people and played until way too late. I’ll add a picture of my other table along with some general pictures of the garage for inspiration as well.
Tips for people wanting to build a table that I learned:
- Make sure you think through the legs and ensure how to make sure your table does not sag first. This should be the core of your build even though the top is the fun part.
- Take your time on your cuts and measurements so you don’t waste lumber and have to make 7 trips to HD like me.
- Use high quality wood decking screws, I learned this when I built e levels of shelving in my shed, it helps to prevent splitting in the wood. Also predrill holes.
- Table height and spacing is huge. You don’t want to go through all the time in building and not be happy with the height, elbow room, or leg room to the bottom of the table topper. Be very cautious and always give more space for these than you think you need.
Feel free to ask me any questions and I’ll try and help you best I can. I’d also love to get some feedback on what you think of the table as well. I’m thinking about building more in the future to sell around town, I learned a lot and the next tables should go together much quicker.
60” round table. Also very nice to play on.
Catan IYKYK
Good luck and happy building!
My needs:
Table must seat 10 people. Each player needs to have enough elbow room to be comfortable. Table needs to be sturdy and not rock when people lean on it. Table needs to be built and assembled with my limited supply of tools.
I actually wasn’t expecting the table to turn out very nice, since this was the first time I had really worked with wood aside from shelving etc. The whole process was much easier than expected, and I’ll let you guys decide the final results. In my eyes, I would build something halfway decent and learn from my mistakes for the next table.
I started with a sheet of plywood and began doing some math on how to make a table for 10 people. I went to Home Depot and tried to bend each type of plywood they had and settled with 3/4” layered oak plywood I believe. It seemed to have the least amount of flex, which I knew would become a problem through building. I liked the idea of an octagon since each player has a defined ‘slice’ of the table to spread out and use. I decided to do an elongated octagon and did some calculations. A sheet of plywood is 48” wide so that’s what I used as the ‘medium angle’ to calculate how much space each person would have. I got an answer of just under 20”. If I made the plywood bigger than I could give people more room, so I thought about how to do this and decided if I built a 2x6 frame around the border hanging over the edge I could give everyone a few more inches of space. So I did the math assuming a 3” overhang then made the long side the length of two short sides of the octagon. I marked out the table and used a skill saw to cut the plywood into an octagon. I think the size was a perfect balance of space while still being able to easily deal from any position and reach the middle of the table.
Next I started cutting some 2x6s to make a border that overhangs. I test fit it together and I was happy. Should be worth noting that the lumber I used was soft pine and very very wet. My neighbor who does woodwork came over and told me it was a bad idea to use wet lumber but I proceeded anyways lol.
I then proceeded to upholster the table with some felt from Joann’s (double layered) and speed cloth from Amazon. I had to iron the speed cloth to get wrinkles out, but it turned out great and was very easy. I played down the fabric and from the back pulled as tight as I could and used a staple gun to secure it to the plywood. The felt gives enough padding to easily be able to pick up your cards and was a lot cheaper than high density foam.
This was the first time doing any upholstery which I was nervous about but it was very easy. Since it was an octagon the folds to hide any wrinkles was intuitive. Next I decided every poker table needs a betting line so I decided to just tape off a measured line and use spray paint. I was pleasantly surprised with the results and wouldn’t hesitate to do it again. It also holds up great, I could have actually got with more paint but I was nervous of bleed. It didn’t bleed at all since the fabric is waterproof, at least that’s my best guess.
Next I finished using my chop saw to cut the 2x6 border pieces. I then drilled and counter sunk screw holes so I could attach wood kinda like pocket screws. I held the frame together with a ratchet strap so it was super tight when I was doing this. I then sanded the top face for a while and rounded the corners. Next I applied a dark grey stain. This was my first time staining wood and it was super easy. I put it on heavy and wiped away the excess with a cloth after letting it soak in for a couple minutes.
I thought I messed up because I had pictured me attaching the legs to the plywood with screws running down through the plywood. I did some brainstorming and thought for a couple of days on how I could make sturdy legs to support a heavy table while keeping the table from bending or sagging. I decided to build a frame around the table on the bottom like the top and then run screw through to hold everything together. I wanted the table to be no more than 30” tall at the border, which meant I needed something short on the bottom for the frame to allow for leg room. I used 2x3’s on their side. Then I framed it up so the table would not be able to sag. This gave me something to attach the legs to as well.
Next I started thinking of leg designs and decided to kinda mimic a saddle horse with 2x4s. I had to get creative and use wood wedges cut at 12 degrees to get them to angle how I wanted since my chop saw doesn’t tilt. Overall it turned out good. I then used metal brackets and wood supports to make the legs sturdy. Once I flipped it over and found which legs needed to be sanded down to sit level I stained them all with a paintbrush to make them a deep grey. I checked everything with a level and was happy. I put the supports in a place to double as a footrest as well.
Overall I am very happy with how the table came out. Everyone who has played on it loved it and multiple people have commented on liking the height and shape for home games. I now use my other table as a backup when we have more than 10 people. I can comfortably sit 8, but I’ve done 9-10 before on that one. So now I can have up to 20 people over if I ever want to. Last weekend we had 16 people and played until way too late. I’ll add a picture of my other table along with some general pictures of the garage for inspiration as well.
Tips for people wanting to build a table that I learned:
- Make sure you think through the legs and ensure how to make sure your table does not sag first. This should be the core of your build even though the top is the fun part.
- Take your time on your cuts and measurements so you don’t waste lumber and have to make 7 trips to HD like me.
- Use high quality wood decking screws, I learned this when I built e levels of shelving in my shed, it helps to prevent splitting in the wood. Also predrill holes.
- Table height and spacing is huge. You don’t want to go through all the time in building and not be happy with the height, elbow room, or leg room to the bottom of the table topper. Be very cautious and always give more space for these than you think you need.
Feel free to ask me any questions and I’ll try and help you best I can. I’d also love to get some feedback on what you think of the table as well. I’m thinking about building more in the future to sell around town, I learned a lot and the next tables should go together much quicker.
60” round table. Also very nice to play on.
Catan IYKYK
Good luck and happy building!
