To the OP.
I know exactly your situation and I can only sympathise with you.
I have been with my partner for over 6 years. She is totally against any sort of gambling, whether it be poker, lotto, scratch cards etc.
This is a values thing and principles thing for her due to her upbringing which I can't hold against her.
I started playing poker and getting into it about 2.5 years ago, so our relationship already had a good foundation. It became an issue very quickly and has continued to be one.
There have been times when I have thought I'd be better if I just left and then I could play whenever I like without fear of retrabution(sp?).
This become more complicated though when kids are involved. Alot of arguments we have are around this issue and it sometimes gets to the 'its poker or me' statement from her.
As time has gone by though we have had less arguments. The reason being I think is that she knows that i am not going to stop playing because I have told her it is a hobby and something I really enjoy doing.
I have regular Friday night games with mates and she knows this. I also play online.
We don't really talk about the poker issue anymore, or at least it hasn't been brought up for a while. I have tried to be sensitive to her values by only playing when shes either at work, in bed, or out for coffee etc.
She doesn't like me playing when shes in the room so I try not to do this and I generally log out of playing online when she is home.
Obviously this restricts the amount I can play and even though I'd love to play more, I need to respect her underlying reasons for not wanting anything to do with gambling.
I doubt she will ever truely understand why I love the game and I doubt i will ever truely understand why she cannot stand gambling to the point where even talking about it makes her angry.
I guess what i am saying is to lay the cards on the table and make her understand that you love the game however you also understand how she feels so will only play at certain times, or when she is not around etc.
I think in time she may come around to the idea of why you play or that it is just part of you but how long that will take I cannot tell you.
I hope things work out for you. For me they have so far, but there have been some bad patches along the way. However I think you get that in any relationship and if I wasn't with my current partner it maybe that if I had dated someone else they may have hated drinking, me hanging out with my mates so much etc.