What is an Ante?
A poker ante is a situation where all players are forced to bet equal
amounts and put 9️⃣ this into the poker pot before the start of the game.
What is an
Ante?
A poker anti is usually either a 9️⃣ single unit, which will be a 1-value or the
smallest value in the game, or another type of small amount. 9️⃣ The latter is often a
quarter or a dollar bill. A poker ante minimum it is also a common choice. 9️⃣ The idea
behind the ante that’s played by all players, is that it makes sure that poker players
who tend 9️⃣ to fold during every round will end up losing money slowly but surely. This
will in turn ensure that players 9️⃣ will all have a small incentive to rather play hands
than to just throw everything in once the starting bet 9️⃣ reaches them.
Where will you
Find an Ante?
Poker antes are the most commonly found forced bets in stud poker and
draw 9️⃣ poker but are not usually found in games that features blind bets (please see our
article on poker blinds). Having 9️⃣ said that, there are some tournament formats where you
will find games with blinds that have an ante, as this 9️⃣ tends to discourage very tight
play. Without an ante a poker player who has also not paid for a blind 9️⃣ can throw in his
or her hand at no cost. In other words, the poker ante makes sure that regular 9️⃣ hands
will not necessarily be a good idea.
Poker antes cause more players to stay in the
hand, and this in 9️⃣ turn increases pot size and leads to some interesting game play. As
you can imagine, this is especially important during 9️⃣ those televised tournament
games.
Poker Dealer Ante Games
This is applicable to poker games where the person who
acts as dealer keeps 9️⃣ changing. In this case players usually decide that they want the
poker dealer (or some other person in a position 9️⃣ close to the poker button) to give the
ante for every player. The idea of poker dealer ante games is 9️⃣ that it simplifies
betting. The downside to this is that it can cause small inequities if some of the
players 9️⃣ either miss or turn or come and go during the game. During these types of poker
games, a player can 9️⃣ get a special poker button that indicates the need to pay an ante
to the poker pot when they return. 9️⃣ This is also called posting.
Poker Ante: Other
Forced Bets
Every poker game needs some type of forced bets to take place 9️⃣ to ensure
that everyone is betting something towards the pot. The betting limits and betting
requirements for forced bets are 9️⃣ referred to collectively as the game's betting
structure.
Poker blinds are when poker players are forced to place bets. These players
9️⃣ are on the left side of the dealer, and it usually takes place in flop-style poker card
games.
