Cuckoo hashing including accessing hash tables using affinity table

A hashing apparatus includes a memory and circuitry. The memory stores (i) multiple hash tables storing associative entries, each including at least one entry key and a respective value, the hash tables are associated with respective different hash functions, and an associative entry is accessible by applying the relevant hash function to a key matching an entry key in the associative entry, and (ii) an affinity table that stores table-selectors for selecting hash tables with which to start a key lookup. The circuitry receives a key, reads from the affinity table, by applying an affinity function to the key, a table-selector that selects a hash table, accesses in the selected hash table an associative entry by applying the hash function associated with the selected hash table to the key, and in response to detecting that the key matches an entry key in the associative entry, outputs the respective value.