you are going to find grinders no matter where you play, there isn't some secret fish pond
where you will totally avoid grinders.

that being said, if you pick a room that has multiple games going, you will have the choice
to table select and move to a different game that may be more suitable for you.

for 1/2NL:

Caesars > Venetian

for 1/3NL

Wynn > Aria > Bellagio

you can play at the other casinos too, but the above are the busiest rooms on the strip.

Thank you! I appreciate it. I will check out the Wynn. How about the MGM?

If you can't win against grinders, you will never be a winner period. Challenge yourself !!

@Makina wrote: "How about the MGM? "

there was a time when MGM was the best place to play 1/2NL, but those days are long gone.

if it is convenient for you to play there, then you may want to give it a try, but last i heard, they
had increased the rake to $4 + $2, the extra $2 going to fund so called "promotions" that a tourist like yourself is unlikely to benefit from in the relative short period of time you will be in town.

these silly, lottery type promotions mostly benefit the local grinders, so take that into account
in your selection process.

Download Bravo so you can see what games are going on. Strictly from a math/cost (rake) perspective, I would probably avoid rooms that have a freeroll promo because your probably are not going to spend enough hours playing to qualify. Generally speaking there are less "grinders" at places with the highest rake and lame promos. More "grinders" play at places where there are no promo's and have the cheapest rake.

But most importantly, just have fun and play at a casino where you feel most comfortable. Check out all the rooms and see what You like best. 1/2 in Vegas is pretty much all the same.

Thank you so much for your replies guys... I really appreciate it!

@Makina - a followup on MGM. They used to have a number of local grinders because they offered a weekly freeroll where you got extra chips the more hours you played. They no longer offer that promotion. Instead, they have a "drive for 5" promotion, which is probably a bit more friendly for the tourist and I would guess means that there are less grinders, but I haven't been there in over a month so I can not say for certain. Here's the description of the new promotion from the room writeup:

Players receive a card with five poker hands on it (Two pair, Three-of-a kind, straight, flush, full house). Each hand gets stamp when player wins a minimum $40 pot with one of those hands (both cards from player's hand need play). When all five hands are stamped, player receives $100. Cards are good for entire month. Hourly drawings are held every hour, one random player awarded choice of $25 or a stamp of player's choice.

That said, I played some in MGM while the freeroll promotion was going. The grinders were decent players, but the main problem with them was not that they were preying upon weak competition, it was that they typically played really, really tight in order to maintain a stack and log hours for the freeroll. So, games with 2 or 3 grinders were often terrible to play in, with no action and very little chance to win money. It got to the point that if I saw 2 or 3 faces I recognized, I would generally ask for a table change, because I knew there would be a game that had more people splashing money around.

The rooms listed are fine. That said, places like Aria, Bellagio, Caesar's, Venetian and Wynn, have bigger games and you might find players waiting a seat in those playing in 1/2 or 1/3 game. In a room like MGM, Monte Carlo, or Bally's that is much less likely to be true.

It really is all about game selection, if it doesn't seem like a good table for whatever reason (too tight, too aggressive, pots too small, pots too big, whatever it is that makes you not "like" the game) then either ask for a table change or go to another casino. There are too many 1/2 or 1/3 games going in Vegas to spend a lot of time sitting in a bad one.

I think on a first trip to Vegas, you should try a bunch of rooms and have some fun. You aren't trying to make your monthly rent check or retire from your winnings in poker games while you are on vacation. For "fun" rooms, I'd add the Linq 1/1 game to the mix. Also, if you like poker history, then it might be fun for you to go play down in Binion's where the World Series started -- take a look at the pictures on the wall and the table signed by a bunch of famous players.

Dave

Thank you so much Dave. That was some good information and I'm very grateful!

Hi Makina, if you want a european (french) point of view, after 2 long poker trips in Vegas, let me say what follow. If grinders are for sure quite everywhere, I really believe it's better to avoid most popular places like Venitian, Bellagio, Wynn or Aria. I'm not saying it's unpleasant places (I really appreciate Venitian for instance), but to avoid grinders it's better... In my opinion and personal experience, it's really better to play in poker rooms like Treasure Island (really friendly, lot of foreign tourists here to gamble a litle bit), Excalibur or Stratosphere. Luxor is good sometimes too.
I would add that some moments of the day or night are probably better. After long sessions at the Luxor (20 days in global, for frequents non stop 16 hours sessions), I clearly observe that the 11pm to 4 am period was really good. The reasons ? Most players under the effect of all afternoon and evening alcohol consuming and there at that moment to have fun! Be carefull, even under alcohol some players are still good players in Vegas...
I would appreciate your feed back if you have time when coming from there :)
Cross fingers for you !

PayToKnow merci mon ami! Moi aussi je suis français! Enfin j'ai grandis en France à Besançon hehehe
Une fois que je rentre de mon séjours à Vegas, je vais certainement te donner mon avis en ajoutant où j'ai joué et lequel j'ai aimé le plus! C'est promis! =)

Vegas resident here. Best of luck to you. To increase your chances of winning, pick almost any busy poker room on the strip. Station Casinos and off-strip casinos can have lower rake, but competition is tight locals. On strip, about half the players are tourists. But you'll never find a table free from grinders/sharks, so tread carefully. I wouldn't play places with bad beat/hi hand/freeroll promos. Most of that money eventually goes to us locals. Your best bet is to sleep in and not play until 10PM. Players play worse when they're tired, drunk, or pressing for time.

I'm a decent, not great, player who goes to LV about 4-6 times each year. For the past 5+ years I've only played poker. I play NL in games from 1/2 to 5/10 and have generally been a winner. I'm not a grinder. I play to have fun but I'm also a competitor who hates losing. My advice, most of it already stated, is to chose games that you're comfortable in. That means you're playing at stakes you're not afraid to push your stack all-in. I also think table choice is significant. I like tables that have a lot of money on it and players that are regularly betting. Low action players are often local grinders playing to build up hours for the freerolls. They rarely bet without having a strong hand. Personally, I'm not afraid of grinders. I just don't like playing on the same table as they generally don't give action. Regarding your concern about being "preyed upon", most everyone on a poker table is there to do that. That's why we play. My experience is that, if you play decently, choose good tables and have reasonable luck you can win in almost any small stakes game.

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@Makina Salut Makina, en voilà une surprise, un français ! :D Let me continue in english, as I really respect our american brothers :) Happy for your Vegas trip. A quick word to tell you that Vegas is for sure a great place for players like us, but also to confirm that americans are really great ! First time, I played poker like an animal all day and night long. Second time I came back to Vegas, I spend more time on tourism places (Gran Canyon, Hoover Dam, Arizona...) and and enjoying shows (Cirque du Soleil among others). Let me advice to do it, it's really amazing ! Long life to the US, to americans and to Vegas ! French people do like you !

I wouldn't worry that much about grinders at 1-2 and 1-3 NL. The grinders at those levels will tend to play a straightforward game and even though they are there to take money from the fish, they are not aggressive players and won't do enough to take advantage of major mistakes the fish are making.

It's only at 2-5 NL with $1000 max buy-in where I've seen tables with grinders that will attack the fish much more aggressively. But at 1-2 NL the grinders are usually just playing passively and waiting for big hands.

The grinders however will make fewer mistakes, especially fewer big mistakes and will pay off less.

If you're really worried about it then you might want to consider buying in for less than the $300 max you'll typically see. That way you're less of a target and they can't get as much from you in a big pot.

You should just try different types of rooms and if you don't feel comfortable you can change tables or leave whenever you want. Someone made the comment that the bigger rooms might be tougher. That's probably true. I think stacks are bigger in those places and they are more profitable for a decent player, but if the games feel tough to you then you probably should try places like Luxor or Excalibur, or maybe the 1-1 at the LINQ.

I'd avoid Venetian. It has the highest rake and there isn't anything about the place that leads me to believe the games will be softer because it still has a serious feel to it and it was always a favorite for grinders in the past. If anything I'd expect the games to be worse there. It's also possible you'll see players on the list for 2/5 there. Higher rake chases some grinders away but it also attracts some grinders who think the games are softer at places with higher rake.

Also you can always try one or two of the bigger rooms anyway and just buy in for a little less so there's less pressure on you (or just buy in for whatever you want and ignore my advice about buying in smaller; either way is fine). Everyone has their own opinion and opinions about favorite rooms are subjective so the best way for you to come up with your own opinion is to try things out for yourself and see what you think.