I have done vegas solo, part of a stag do and with a couple of friends and I am from the UK. Personally solo is so much better. Do your own thing, go where you want when you want.

3 years ago I went to vegas for 4 weeks, spent the first 7 days getting plastered on a stag do or that was the plan but most were boring and I couldn't wait for them to leave. When they left I met more cool people in the next day than I had in the whole week they were there.

The cons of going on your own are the long flights/waiting around airports etc, the extra costs incurred by hotels/taxi's etc and eating. It is also pretty pethetic going for a round of golf on your own.

The reason I love vegas is because of the people I get to meet from all over the globe and everyone is there for a good time. I have been more local poker events on my own in europe and they suck once you bust out of the tourney if the sides aren't worth playing.

What is a stag do? Being from America I am not familiar with that phrase.

I believe you call it a bachelor party.

After talking with three different friends about planning my latest trip, I just decided to buy the ticket, get the hotel, and if it's solo, it's solo. Sometimes it's hard to coordinate schedules. Then, if you have the right schedule, they may not be ready to spend on the same level as you for meals/hotel etc. Or if they do, they don't want to play poker. I think the best solution is to know someone going at the same time and meet up with them occasionally each day. But you don't feel compelled to do the same things at any given time.

This thread has some useful info:
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/10...right-1267709/

On some of my trips to Vegas, which are usually short, much time was wasted when a group is trying to decide what to do or where to go. Usually the solution is some least common denominator decision that pleases no one.

My last trip for WSOP in 2014: I was there concurrently with 5 friends. We all stayed at the Rio, I had my own comped room. We met up at various times for food/pit games but most of the time I was on my own and loved it.

I think the biggest issues/conflicts involve food. I live in a restaurant wasteland, so I'm not about to waste my three dinners in Vegas on something lame because, say someone doesn't want to take a cab to Kabuto. I don't mind eating alone at the bar in a nice place.

On the other hand, playing craps with my brother on our various trips, or blackjack with friends, can be awesome. Mixing it up with different trips is likely the solution if you have multiple opportunities to visit.

I pretty much always go on by myself. I am there to play poker for the most part, and hate being tied to someone else's schedule.

+1
If you wanna play poker, solo is the way to go. If you wanna party then going with friends is better

I don't have friends so I always go solo. It works out great if you just want to play poker. The only issue is that your expenses will be a bit higher. Transportation costs are a bit higher but more importantly room prices are at least twice as expensive. Because of that I tend to stay at a 2nd or 3rd tier hotel rather than a top tier one.

Or find another poker degen to go with you.

Quote:
Originally Posted by KatoKrazy View Post
I pretty much always go on by myself. I am there to play poker for the most part, and hate being tied to someone else's schedule. +2
Control over you own schedule plus if you rent a car your options explode.

I've been averaging 3 to 4 trips per year for the past two years. All have been solo. If you're going to potentially make money, there is no other way...unless you're going with other serious players. If going with other players, just agree to be on your own during sessions, with a plan for a late night/early morning steak and eggs hangout.

Alternative is agreeing on the same tournament schedule. Bottom line, going with "civilians" is not good.

At the very least you have to have an understanding that you all may be on very different schedules and have confidence you can all come and go quietly. Even with other poker players I have had this work fine and had it be horrible. Getting woken up multiple times as people inconsiderately come and go or even just can't be quiet despite trying to really sucks.

But I have also had trips where I've shared a room with others who went to bed at the same time and/or understood how to come and go quietly and it was fine.

Of course how well you sleep in these situations is key too. I don't sleep well when traveling to begin with.

+1 again. This is 100% true. Poker trips solo are way better, unless you're going with other poker players, and you probably won't see them the whole trip anyway. I'm up to about 20 Vegas trips now and half have been solo and half have been with friends, and the friends trips are always aggravating.

coming in town Wed night be in town for 3 night. coming in solo I cant wait

When u guys say solo u don't litterally mean not knowing anyone else in Vegas whislt ur there do u? Goes without saying that if ur going for poker and u bring the family it's gonna suck but going with other poker players / friends has to be way better than alone?

I went for a month a few yrs bk on my own and I hated it ( tho it was February so it was kinda dead)I was running bad and when I wanted to chill out away from the tables I couldn't really find anything to do apart from drinking and video poker so I ended up playing 27 days straight... Maybe it was just my general British ness being bad @ striking up conversation with randoms and uncomfortable eating alone etc.

but after reading this thread I'm thinking I might have to give it another go.

Meh, depends on your personality, I guess. The vast majority of my Vegas trips have been alone, but then I dislike people in general. The description of your trip sounds like heaven to me. Being able to sit in my room and watch tv and have someone bring me food and a drink and then go away, and not be bothered otherwise, sounds like a dream come true.

Right. It definitely depends on personal inclinations like introvert vs extrovert. And duration matters too. 4 weeks is a long time. I assume most trips are more like a week.

And from other TRs it seems clear that hookers, strippers, and some bartenders are happy to be friends for the right price. Or buy an MLB team. That really makes it easy to make friends.

Haha yea when u say it like that it sounds pretty great. I have a girlfriend and 2 kids now so that sounds like pure heaven!

I was fine with the poker playing part, im always chatty @ the table not the headphone wearing silent type. I mainly struggled after a session had ended I like to chill out with friends after playing have a beer get the bad beat / poker talk out the way and then head out to a bar or something

That's what I'm doing for this years WSOP. 6 days and 5 nights of cards.

I kind of doubt most solo Vegas trippers are in your situation. I was playing semi-professionally in my mid to late 30s. Not really the right age to be hitting the bars, and not the right age to be putting up with other people's bull****. Going solo for the correct duration was ideal. For me it was about a week. I agree that going for a month solo is pretty brutal. I would definitely say that for any particular day in Vegas, being solo is ideal. You want to be able to play when and where you want without other constraints.

Yea ur probably right there in hindsight a month was to long to do solo. I've always felt in general that 10 - 14 days is the right amount of time if ur coming from the UK cos 24 hrs of that time is spent on the plane and a week is to short,if u don't have a good result in the first 3 days u feel like ur playing against the clock.

I was 27 when I went solo and single etc, 31 with a family now so if I cut the duration in half maybe I'd handle it differently this time

My last trip was ten days. I'd say that was the right amount of time. It felt great to get home.

Ditto on the 10 days being appropriate. I've also found that to be a good number, especially during football season. Fly in on Thursday morning, fly out the next next Tuesday. You get 2 full NFL and college weekends, and plenty of time to play poker in between. Plus the football watching helps break up the poker tedium and gives you something to do if you're getting murdered at the tables.

Ten days is also about all I can stand. Although solo is great for playing poker it is still nice to have some one to share meals with. So I think a couple of buddies that when in vegas go there separate ways, but still meet up for dinner to swap war stories is the best "solo trip".

Echo much of what has been said.
If you are going to really grind poker, solo (or with another real grinder) is the only way to go.
For the world series I also go mid-series for 10-12 days alone, then home for a week or so, then back out with the wife for the main event. Works out perfect.

I am moving there solo