how to get tables that look as good as the ones I usually see
Fais-les en verlan, tes bletas. ;)
Well, in fact: if you wrote the mark-up yourself, avoid spaces between the link and the table, and within the table mark-up itself (except for within the text, of course). So, for example:
...clean and tidy><a><p><table><tr><td>"Moi, ce que je veux d'un jeune...
...clean and tidy</a><p><table><tr><td>"Moi, ce que je veux d'un jeune...
