What Is an Ante in Poker? A Beginner-Friendly Explanation

Have you heard the term “ante” before? If you play tournaments, you probably hear it all the time. But if you only play ring games (cash games), you might not have come across it yet. In this article, we’ll explain what an ante is in a beginner-friendly way.

1. What Is an Ante?

In standard poker rules, two players post forced bets called the small blind and big blind. An ante is a separate forced contribution that goes into the pot before the hand begins, in addition to the blinds. Originally, every player posts the same amount each hand, but in live poker, many rooms use a big blind ante (BB ante), where the big blind posts the full ante for the table to reduce hassle.

When an ante is in play, the pot starts larger. That increases the expected value of entering the pot, which encourages more action. That’s why antes are especially common in tournaments.

2. How to Play When There’s an Ante

Because the pot is bigger with an ante, the reward for winning preflop is higher. Compared to games with no ante, you can profitably enter more hands.

Let’s look at a specific situation. Assume you’re on the button (BTN).

If you open-raise and both the small blind and big blind fold, you win 150 chips without an ante. With an ante, you win 250 chips instead (assuming the total ante is 100 chips; same assumption below). Because stealing the blinds and ante preflop is so effective, you can open-raise more hands. This is especially true when few players 3-bet your opens, since you’re less likely to get pushed off your hand and lose the chips you invested. Open-raise aggressively and build your stack.

Now consider a spot where you’re in the big blind (BB) facing an open-raise.

Here, the amount you need to call is 150 chips. Your required equity is, in simple terms:

• With ante

  150÷(500＋150)≒0.23＝23％

• Without ante

  150÷(400＋150)≒0.27＝27％

So with an ante, you need less equity to defend. On top of that, since opponents often raise wider to steal, it becomes more profitable for the big blind to call with more hands than in a no-ante game. In particular, suited hands are frequently profitable calls or even raises, even when they’re low.

Key points

• When there’s an ante, open-raise more hands

• From the big blind, you can call with more hands (especially suited hands, which you should rarely fold)

Conclusion

How was that? An ante might seem small at around a total of 1 big blind per hand, but whether you adjust for it or not makes a big difference over the long run. If this is your first time learning about antes, start by consciously playing more hands. We hope this article helps your game.