An ante is a small forced bet posted before the cards are dealt. Unlike blinds, which only two players post, antes traditionally come from every player at the table. Antes are standard in the middle and later stages of tournaments and in games like seven-card stud.
How antes work
At a tournament level of 200/400 with a 50 ante and nine players, each player posts 50 before the hand, adding 450 to the pot. Together with the blinds, there are 1,050 chips in the pot before anyone acts — more than double the 600 from blinds alone.
The big blind ante
Most tournaments now use a big blind ante (BBA): instead of every player posting a small ante, the player in the big blind posts one ante for the whole table, usually equal to the big blind. It speeds up the game because the dealer only collects antes from one player.
How antes change strategy
- More money to win: a bigger starting pot makes stealing the blinds more profitable, so you should open-raise more hands, especially late in position.
- Better odds to defend: the big blind gets a better price to call raises.
- Stacks shrink faster: each orbit costs more, so short stacks must act sooner. Use the push/fold chart once you are under about 15 big blinds.
Plan a home game structure with antes using the blind structure calculator. More terms in the poker glossary.