How to Build a Poker Table: Simple DIY Woodworking Project

Used to be, if you wanted to find a poker game, you’d have to fly to Vegas or wait for the next steamboat to churn upstream. Today, the game is everywhere, bankrupting online hold ’em addicts and keeping eyes glued to the plasma. Still, nothing comes close to the fun and feel of actually flipping cards with buddies. “Playing live gives you a true poker experience and elevates the excitement,” says Mike Sexton, a World Series of Poker winner and a commentator for the World Poker Tour. If you’re going to host a home game, you should do it right, on a table like the one we built. “A kitchen table is hard to shuffle on, deal on, count chips on,” says Gene Trimble, who runs poker events for the Palms Casino in Las Vegas. “When you’re playing on felt, everything runs smoothly.” It feels even better if you’ve built the table yourself.

Step 1: Making the Stand

You have several options for your poker table’s base–including a simple square pedestal design or even metal folding legs that allow for easy storage. Our classier approach is a 12-sided cherry pedestal with three sturdy legs for stability on any floor. The cylinder is easier to build than it looks.

Cut the stock oversize, then set your table saw blade to 15 degrees and rip the edge bevels at finished width.

Step 2: Making the Stand

To join the pieces, arrange them edge to edge and add strips of tape across the seams.

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