How to Be a Good Poker Host: Part 3 -- Chairs

Its time to continue our series on how to be a good poker host! Today's topic: Chairs.

"But isn't it enough to just pull up a log to the dining room table?"

No. Its not.

Your guests will be sitting on their butts for several hours, stopping only briefly to go to the restroom, or to refill their beverages. Wait.. YOU should be refilling their beverages, so they will only get up to use the restroom! All the more crucial that the chairs around your table are comfortable and sturdy. Read on to find out more about what you need to do to be prepared to be the best poker host you can be, especially when it comes to chairs!

(If you missed it, go read Part 1 - The Playing Space and Part 2 - The Table first!)

The Chairs

Imagine the following situation:

Its the sixth hour of a great poker tourney that your friend is hosting. You are on the last table, and its heads up play. You are trying to get deep into the mind of your nemesis... you know who we're talking about.... and the jerk is mopping the floor with you. Your nemesis is winning, because you can't relax. And you can't relax, because your legs are being pinched to pulp by a folding chair that may have been built by Joseph Stalin himself, with all the comforts you know he'd lovingly craft in... namely.. none. The steel frame is too small, and you are sure there is rust on this thing that makes you question if your tetanus vaccine is up to date. Not the best way to figure out your opponent.

You do not want YOUR guests to be in this position.

The chairs around your table are just as important as the table itself. They are critical to keeping your guest comfortable. And comfortable guests are happy guests...oh..and they play longer too!

So what do you need to look for in your poker chairs? Here's our thoughts:

Stability
Size
Comfort

Stability

Stability is in fact, the most important thing to consider in your chairs. Its hard to have a good poker night from the emergency room, so stay away from any chair that wont safely carry its player.

Things you should look for: bowing of bottom of the seat, bent legs, rust or corrosion of supports, exposed innards of chairs where covering has worn through, loose screws / bolts / pins.

Unless its a small group, don't bother with wheels, this is a poker game, not the Indy 500. You don't want people rolling all over the room, or accidentally sliding over each other's feet.

You will also want to avoid any chairs that don't sit evenly on the floor. Any rocking can be very distracting, unless its a feature of the chair.

On a more touchy subject, if you have any friends who are overweight, be sure that they are on good sturdy chairs. Usually without armrests, so they can be more comfortable. Don't make a big deal about it as you don't want to cause embarrassment, but there is alot more embarrassment if they happen to sit on your weakest chair and break it, or themselves.

All in all, the simple rule is, pick sturdy, safe chairs, that you know will hold up for your guests.

Size

Size is the first thing you will see forgotten when playing in a sub-par venue. You will note a mismatch of chairs that make the table look like rejects from an all-chair casting of the Island of Dr. Moreau.

Your chairs should be all about the same height, so that players can look each other in the eyes. They should fit the average person's butt, and not be too narrow for your audience. They should not take up too much space at the table width-wise, as this will reduce your comfortable seating at the table and thus your table size.

Comfort

Even though size, and stability all factor into comfort, what we're talking about here, is the general design of the chair itself. You don't want to see hard flat chairs. Unlike church pews, which are designed to keep you slightly uncomfortable so that you don't fall asleep in the sermon, we want your guest to be slightly drowsy while you take their money.

We like to see some padding on our chairs. It doesn't need to be a down comforter or anything, but a little padding can go a long way to help ease a butt that's been resting in the same spot for hours. Spend the extra coin on some padding, its worth it in the long run. If you don't have it built into your chairs, you can also get some little chair toppers for your metal folding chairs, and that works great too!

Armrests are optional. They can be a nice touch, but in larger games, they really don't belong, as they will take up alot of room at the table.

Cup holders, and any other bizarre contraptions on the chairs, are also no-nos. You will have cup holders on your table, and you don't want to be taking up extra room with needless frills.

Conclusion

If you use your noggin, this whole chair thing can be solved pretty simply. Keep the chairs about the same size, choose stable ones, and put a little bit of comfort in them, and you will have your players sitting for hours on end, playing pot after pot and enjoying themselves. If, on the other hand, you skimp on any of those categories, you may end up with unhappy players, or worse, a trip to the ER. Most importantly, remember that when the chairs are right, people don't even notice them.

If you are looking for a recommendation from us on just what chairs we think you should use, our vote is for the fabric padded metal folding chairs like these. They are relatively inexpensive, they fold away for storage, they are stable, they are a decent size for a ten person table, and they have that added touch of comfort over a standard folding chair. Perfect combo in our book.

Next time, in Part 4, we'll be taking a look at a subject very near and dear to us, the cards and chips!

Part 1 - The Playing Space
Part 2 - The Table

May 8, 2007

How to Be a Good Poker Host: Part 3 -- Chairs

The Chairs