Introduction to building a poker table

Once again, thank you very choosing to use this set of plans for your own custom professional poker table. If you have half the fun I have had on mine, the small investment in some solid plans will be quickly forgotten, not to mention the winnings you will earn as a result of home felt advantage. Before we start, I strongly recommend reading these plans from cover to cover as it may save you a few extra trips to the store.

Using a solid poker table base

You can take a couple different routes with your table. The mantra I recommend is to go solid, solid and more solid. To clarify what I mean, the very first decision you have to make is what the tabletop will sit on. Should you use fold-up legs screwed to the bottom of a piece of plywood, or should you opt to have it sit on a more rigid platform? You can do either, but my strong recommendation is to build a tabletop that sits atop a lightweight, heavy-duty fold-up table. This will substantially enhance the sturdiness of the table, as well as prevent any long term sagging that might occur if you build a heavy tabletop upon some standard bolt on legs.

If you have a Sam's Club, Costco, or Home Depot nearby, they should carry a white heavy-duty 6' fold-up table from a company called Lifetime (see figure 1). This is an insider’s secret to having a solid, lightweight table foundation. You should be able to pick one up for about $40.

The alternative is to buy some fold-up legs to screw directly into the bottom of the tabletop for about the same amount of money. To me, this is an easy choice. Additionally, since the poker tabletop will not be permanently attached to the Lifetime table, you can use this folding table separately for other household uses or entertaining. If you decide to go with the 6' Lifetime table, keep in mind that you can't build the tabletop any shorter than 7', as there won’t be enough overhanging wood at the ends to make a nice curve of the table.

Figure 1: A 6’ Lifetime© Table

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