My cutting table is my old drop-leaf dining room table. I open it up to its full size and layer the quilt a quarter at a time, letting the rest drape over the sides of the table. If I will be hand quilting, I hand baste with old Coats & Clark thread, using a herringbone basting stitch. I quilt in a large hoop and pins get in the way.
If I will be machine quilting, I use curved quilter's basting pins. I like the small ones better than the larger ones, they leave smaller holes.
I sit on my rolling office chair as I baste, and roll around the table as I go so I don't have to reach all the way across the table.
I've been basting this way for many years and have never had problems with puckers or tucks on the back of my quilts.