This is a really tough question.

Vegas can be a great place to spend time with your Partner, but if they don't play poker, it is always going to end wiht frustrating compromises like you describe here.

I have managed to establish the "precedent" of making an annual trip to Vegas for a week at the WSOP alone. I come and go as I please, eat and sleep at crazy hours, and totally unwind from my, at times, very stressful career.

I am planning to make a second trip to Vegas next year with my wife, to do shows, fine-dining and all of the other stuff that I don't do alone.

Thanks for the report and I think that's a case-by-case, individual basis.

For me, all my trips are solo. I go to play cards and I don't want distractions from that. I don't play that often any longer when at home (on-line or live) so the solo trips work out for me

I have to agree with the SB that solo (or with a small group of guys that play poker as well) is the only way to go. The last time I went to LV with the wife, some 5 years ago, I got blisters on my feet from the Forum Shops, Fashion Show Mall and general Vegas-touristy stuff. I don't go to Vegas for that type of thing. I go to play cards. Playing this game of ours requires, sometimes, long hours and at odd times of day/night. Any one that doesn't play just doesn't seem to get that and they usually find it deviant or abnormal and are happy to tell you so. That is no good.

The short of it is this: if you are going to play cards, either surround yourself with people with the same goals or go by yourself!

My trip to Vegas with my girlfriend wasn't too bad, I didn't get as much poker in as I wanted to, but at least she let me play uninterrupted. At night, I would go out and play while she was sleeping, and the days she wanted to shop, I just gave her some cash, and let her do her thing while I won the money back at the tables, lol.

The question of whether to take the Mrs. on Vegas poker trips is a popular topic with my buddies. We had a guy's only trip last year and had a blast, but the wife quickly squashed talk of making this an annual event. I do enjoy Vegas with the wife, doing dinner and a show, but its different with the guys. I have the freedom to come and go as I please and the occasional LOOK I get if I take a tough beat and drop $250 is hard on the poker psyche. SO this year the guy's trip has four wives added to the equation. It'll be fun, but Im still holding out for a guy's trip next year![/i]

Leo,
I view this as one of the great poker questions for the ages. Overall, I find poker is best played seriously when you do not have your wife or girlfriend with you. My wife knows how much I love to play and is supportive however there is no doubt that I play much less when she is with me then on a guys' poker trip. Also, since I tend to get my poker time in when she is going to the spa I find I am operating at a net loss as it is tough to cover the $150 per hour rake of the spa playing 1/2 and 1/3nl. Of course there are a lot of great things to do with her company that I don't tend to do on the guys' trip and one of my favorite poker memories is stacking a guy the hand after he made a comment to the entire table about my wife as she walked into the poker room. When I stated she was my wife he apologized, after I stacked him I said it’s ok, were even. My way of balancing things is 3 to 4 trips per year split between guys' trips and wife trips.

Mark

This has me really intrigued because i am making my first trip to vegas with the wife next week. I am going with a little different mentality then my last trip in April. Like has been said in april i went with one other buddy and we came and went as we pleased, now i have to be a little bit accountable for my whereabouts and play more poker during the days and not quite so much during the nights. like bgeorgee says though i am really looking forward to doing some of the other vegas experiences that i wouldn't do without the wife (ie eating at the eiffel tower and going to see zumanity)

I am extremely pumped for this trip but not really because i am going to get to play a lot of poker because i know it won't be as much as i like but because it is going to be a completely different experience and hopefully a great one.

I will let you know when i get back how it turns out and if i would go with the wifey again next time

I just got back from a man trip to Vegas.(report pending) Previously I had been a few times with the wife. There is no question that going without the partner is the way to go (granted there are those wives/gf's out there that either play poker, or don't mind sitting in the room alone the whole time, mine is not one of them). There are two big reasons for me to prefer going w/o the wife
1. It costs a hell of a lot less. No shopping. Hotel can be the best deal. Cheaper food. One plane ticket. etc etc.
2. I can player poker whenever I feel like it. Not only the times I'm negotiated or when she's sleeping .

I think playing when the wife is asleep is ok, but it ends up costing me in the end b/c I stay up all night to play poker then have to get up for breakfast at 8:00 AM. Not bad for the first day but I start hurting on day 2.

My vote is to take the wife to the beach for a week and then just use the brownie points for a man trip to Sin City. I haven't gone the solo route yet, but hope to some time over the next couple of years.

Cleats,
You have exactly the right mentality. I have found both trips are great but like I said different. If you can get a room with a nice view of the strip and you may get to truly enjoy Vegas with your wife

Mark

On the with/without wife or sig other issue, I have found three options work:

A) Solo trip: Do what you want, when you want.

B) Guys only trip: You sacrifice some control of the schedule for the benefit of an entourage of fellow poker players / troublemakers.

C) Couples trip: Guys play poker; girls shop, hit the pool, go to the spa, whatever. You sacrifice some poker during the mandatory dinners and shows together, but you get credit for taking the spouse on vacation.

Trying to play more than 4 hours a day of poker with the the wife around is a real drag. Mine whines incessantly and drove me nuts on our last trip. On refecting on the situation, I think that for my non poker playing wife, it's a vacation - and she wanted to treat it that way. Women don't go on vacation to sit without social interaction at the pool for hours on end.

Meanwhile, us 1/2 players are busy trying to make it into a positive expected value trip to prove to ourselves that we're one step away from going pro. This causes us us to resent every little (or big!) expenditure. As well, wives don't really get the variance in NL poker, which just adds to the stress.

So my conclusion is that if you are taking the wife is:

a) don't play in any tournaments

b) Set a budget for your trip for vacation purposes, make it higher than you really want, and blow it all.

c) take separate money in a different envelope for poker only and do not use it for any expenses, (drink tips excepted)

d) don't set any goals poker wise for the trip , and just commit to playing four hours a day.

You can avoid all this by teaching your wife to play 4/8 limit

You guys just need to find wives that play poker.

@AlaskaGal

I've got 9 years in October, so I'm not trading her in

As long as she allows me a few trips each year, we're golden. And judging by her diamond collection, she has no complaints

Alaka gal,you have any candidates?My pokerplaying would definitely have to be well understood in any future relationships.But for now,still single and heading to vegas!Oh yeah,women who like fast/classic cars is a must too.

@starsky76

Since you are moving to Vegas, if I were you I would go play cash games in the rooms that host ladies tournaments. You are bound to meet some there.

Find a hotel with a great pool. Play poker during the days while the wife does the pool thing. Meet up for dinner then spend the evening together. This worked for me last time for about 2.25 days. By day three the wife had enough of the pool scene and my poker was mostly done. Most important, agree on a plan of attack in advance. My wife understood that days were my poker time, so no text messages about being bored, etc. I understood that the evenings were time to mentally and physically leave the tables. It seemed to work pretty good for a short trip.

@stever88ca

Wow stever, I am SURE you must have been to Vegas with my wife in another life!

hey
Hitting Vegas for the first time next week can't wait but I'm not sure if I'll be able to play much poker since my BOYFRIEND doesn't play ....
-can't tell him to go shop
-can't send him off to the spa
what do you suggest

@thatgirl

That's Simple....

Hookers and Blow

@thatgirl

Hello? Strip clubs.

@oski88

Hello? Strip clubs.[/quote]

That would be an ideal girlfriend. Honey....go play some poker so you could make enough for me to spend it on some lap dances. gotta love it!

I think like everyone else has said this is a tough subject. I went to vegas with my girlfriend in January along with some other friends of mine and it was fun. She had other friends there to keep herself occupied. So she let me do my thing as far as poker went without much opposition but we both decided after the trip that we would never go to vegas just the 2 of us becuase what we want to do is so different. I want to hit the tables she would rather go to shows and out to clubs. And if we were alone it would be a conflict of interest. My question is what do people think about making Vegas a couples trip?

I would have to agree with Alaskagal. I taught my wife how to play poker and she is very good. She is now comfortable to play in the 2-5 NL games. So when we go to Vegas, Louisiana, or any other gambling destination we play together. We also host our own home games.
I also taught my wife how to play black jack. After a few years of that we are now starting to count cards. Next will be controlled dice throwing at the craps table. I am also lucky that my wife is not an industrial shopper so that helps on our trips. Good luck guys.

I think Stever88 has the right idea: Like most aspects of marriage, communication (ahead of time) and compromise are the keys (uh oh, I'm starting to sound like Dr. Phil--yikes!)

Luckily, I live close enough to Vegas to make several trips per year; some are with the wife and some without. I enjoy both for the several reasons other posters mentioned above. When the wife and I are there together, she has a simple rule: "do what you want all day, but we're having a VERY nice dinner together at night" (it helps that she also goes to sleep by midnight so I can head downstairs after she's asleep:). Typically, she is a spa/pool person; I like to play cards or bet sports/horses. We will usually spend the first part of the a.m. together (working out, "working out," breakfast), and then split up for a good part of the day and just reconnect in the afternoon/evening.

I can see, however, that if you only had the occasional trip and "had to bring the wife along," that some players might feel they were missing poker opportunites. Ultimately, you should both be able to do what you like on the vacation, and one would just hope that you have at least a few things in common.

As to the question: Is LV a good place for couples? Absolutely. It's also a great place for singles. For solos. For conventioneers. For sightseers. For midget tranny hookers. It's just a great place with so much to offer and it offers it all 24 hours a day. Aaaah, how soon before I can get back?

I recommend that you do two things before you bring a non poker playing companion to Vegas;
1. Explain before you go that you want to spend considerable time playing poker and companion will need to expect that, and
2. Educate companion ahead of time about all the non-gambling things to do ;the spa, pool, attractions around town like Bellagio's Conservatory, Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay, the Titanic exhibit, the Bodies exhibit, and of course shopping at the Fashion Show Mall,the outlets, hotel shops,etc. If companion does not accept these ideas then Vegas is not the place for them to go.

Thatgirl,set him up at a $2 blackjack table downtown!

Alaskagal,good idea,I'll have to keep an eye out for those ladies tourney's!!

Everyone please stop! I'm having flashbacks!

My wife actually introduced me to Vegas as a vacation when we were in our mid 20's -so its hard to pull off solo gigs. I'm in my mid-30's now and have made it out with my friends about 7 times. The other 20 0r so have been with her. Here's a different take.... Make sure she has relatives (that she likes) that live in Vegas. That way she can stay occupied while you get your poker fix in. This has worked well for me. She hangs out with her cousin, I get ample amounts of poker in and we still do enough together where everyone is happy (Give her a few hundred extra from winnings helps also).

Tip. Even if you don't have a winning session/trip have that few hundred to give her anyway. That way everyone will indeed be happy.

This is what gives me hope that i will get in a half decent amount of poker. We are going with another couple, me and the other guy love to play poker and hte girls love the pool and shopping, should make for at least a few hours a day of solid poker. I have even committed to financing a little 2-4 Limit somewhere with the ladies, just to try and get them hooked. Anyone recommend a soft 2-4 game that won't mind a couple of true newbies having not played more then a couple of hours of poker here at the house leading up to the trip???????????

I am really looking forward to the trip and as i said i am well aware and prepared to not play as much poker.

Chris

@cleats

I think you could go with any of the better small rooms and not go wrong. Something like TI, Monte Carlo, PH, IP, or Harrah's should be just fine--small so that the experience seems less intimidating, better chance of friendly dealers, and better chance of lower key game. You can also sell 2/4 as a great way to score cheap drinks and have some yucks. Bonus: you might also get to rack up some hours towards a poker room rate at a place like TI (great sales pich there--"Honey, I need to go play some poker to get the great room rate."). Also, use your poker comp hours to spring for a nice dinner ... make sure you pay for the spouse pass!

Whats the bodies exhibit?is that like a ufo thing?LOL

And while we are on the subject...how did they get the titanic to the desert?LOL

@starsky76