From when I was a kid I can remember on occasion my parents clearing off the kitchen table, breaking out the playing cards and poker chips, setting up a big bowl of chips or pretzels and some soda's and together with my sisters we would play for hours and hours into the night. We would share our stories of the day or week as we played many variations of poker, like 5 card draw, 7 card stud, blackjack and hold'em. Making our poker games more interesting we would add all kinds of crazy varients like dueces, 7's or one eyed jacks wild. This is probabaly the reason I prefer home poker tournaments over casino and online poker, don't get me wrong I enjoy these too, its just that a game at home with family and friends brings me a feeling of comfort and enjoyment that i always look forward to.
With the popularity of poker increasing faster and faster, many are finding playing at home a great way to enjoy the excitement of tournament poker. And while playing on the kitchen table was fun when I was a kid, I can see why many people like to dress it up a little more with the addition of different levels of equipment depending on their budgets and the atmosphere thier looking for.
Now I've seen many different set ups. Alot of people still play at the kitchen or dining room table with the addition of what's called a poker table top. A poker table top is used for many reasons, it protects your table from the wear and tear of poker chips being tossed and tapped (by fidgity players) on the table, it provides player positions, most come these days with chip and cup holders and when the game is over it is easily removed and stored in a closet. Another type of table is the folding leg poker table. This table is portable and often set up in place of a kitchen or dining room table, perhaps in a family or rec room. This type of table has many of the same features as the poker table top, such as established player positions, chip and cup holders, but also have the added features of usually being full size tables and having the real look and feel ( feel being the action and sound chips make when being played) of a casino style table, this lends to the atmosphere many are looking for. The next entrant in the poker table arena is the premium poker table. This type of table comes in many styles and finishes to fit many decors. Typically this type of table is set up in a dedicated place, such as a game room, rec room, finished basement area or even in what's called nowadays a" mancave". When set up with the right decor and accents these tables give the truest casino action and feel.
Having the right equipment for your desired feel is in easy reach with many options to choose from. One should decide what fits your budget and needs, check around the many options on the net, decide what fits best for you and your atmosphere and go ahead and set up for the many good times to come.
