Table and rules
Ante in poker
Definition
A small forced bet that every player posts into the pot before the cards are dealt.
Antes put dead money in the pot before the action starts, which gives players a reason to fight for it. They are standard in tournaments from the middle levels onward and rare in online cash games.
In the big blind ante format only the player in the big blind pays the whole ante for the table, which speeds up the game because there is one payment per hand instead of one per player.
Example
At 100/200 blinds with a 25 ante and nine players, the ante adds 225 to the 300 in the blinds before anyone acts.
Related terms
- Small blind (SB)The smaller forced bet, posted by the player to the left of the dealer button before the cards are dealt.
- Big blind (BB)The larger forced bet, posted by the second player to the left of the button; it sets the minimum bet of the first round.
- PotAll the chips or money wagered in the current hand, which the winner collects.
- M-ratioYour stack divided by the total cost of one orbit (blinds plus antes), showing how many rounds you can survive without playing a hand.