Get To Know The History Of The Humble Poker Table

There are some things we take for granted. Green felt on poker tables is one of them. But why do poker tables look the way they do?

We’re going to take a look at the history and evolution of card tables to tell you just that.

Early poker tables weren’t green

It might surprise you to realise that green felt on poker tables wasn’t always the way.

Let’s head back to Europe in the 18th century, when the aristocrats and regular people alike used to regularly play cards for fun.

Regular joe soaps didn’t need a fancy table to play cards on. Oftentimes they’d play games on semi-circular wooden tables. Nothing fancy. And these tables often used to double up as something else too.

But if you were upper class, you were more likely to have dedicated card tables. These tables would be beautiful, sporting intricate carvings, exquisite veneers and polished inlaid stone from far flung lands.

However, green felt certainly didn’t feature in any widespread way.

Green felt on poker tables is a hangover from illegal activity

From the 1800s, poker began to grow in popularity across the United States. This was even before Texas Hold’em and before Las Vegas, people would frequently play in saloons and other venues. You can see a history of that everywhere from old poker films to legends like the dead man’s hand.

But not everyone was delighted by this development. Poker was seen as a scourge on society and banned in many countries and states. However, people still wanted to play the game.

So they used to go to pool halls to do it. Green, felty pool tables became poker tables, with balls pocketed and layouts mapped onto the tables in chalk.

In the surprisingly frequent event of a raid, people would simply dust off the chalk and start playing pool.

Side note: green felt on pool tables explainer

In case you’re interested, let’s give you a quick little insight into pool tables. As you probably know, green felt covers these tables. And that green material is baize.

Why green? Why that texture? Well, it’s a bit of an imitation game. These tables imitate grass. You see, pool’s roots lie in outdoors games like croquet.

And the texture also slows the ball down a little, adding another element to the game.

Green felt on poker tables stand the test of time

Long after poker became widely legal and people didn’t have to play it on a pool table, green felt on poker tables remains a fixture.

There are several different reasons for this:

• People simply got used to green poker tables
• Green is easy to look at for long periods of time
• Cards, usually white, red and black, stand out on a green background
• Green is a calming colour
• Green is linked with positivity and money

For this reason, wherever you play poker, it’s likely you’ll be playing with green felt on poker tables. From bricks and mortar casinos to online poker rooms like bet365 (bet365 bonus code here) to DIY home casino nights, green tables are here to stay.