A poker ante is a bet which you need to put in before you\u2019re dealt your cards, swelling the size of the pot.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s there to give players a reason to battle for every pot, rather than waiting around all day for the very best poker hands<\/a>.<\/p>\n In fact, if there were no blinds or antes, then you could legitimately fold every single hand except for pocket aces as it wouldn’t be profitable to play anything else.<\/p>\n Poker antes aren\u2019t compulsory, some games have them and others don\u2019t. In certain types of poker events, like a lengthy tournament involving many players, you\u2019ll often start off with no ante before one is introduced later on.<\/p>\n Online poker antes are generally taken automatically from all players before every hand.<\/p>\n This is different to most live poker tournaments which require the big blind to pay everyone’s ante in addition to the big blind itself. This is to speed up play and save confusion for dealers and players when collecting multiple antes and is called the ‘big blind ante’.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re still learning how to play poker <\/a>and wondering what the difference is between ante and blinds in poker, the key is that the ante is either paid by the entire table or the big blind to put chips in the middle before the hand is deal.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, only one or two players pay the blinds each hand.<\/p>\n In the most common Texas Hold\u2019em poker games, there\u2019s a small blind and a big blind. The blinds put in some chips before seeing their cards (hence the term \u201cblind\u201d). This incentivizes those players in particular to try and remain in the pot, as they have some of their chips on the line.<\/p>\n After each hand, the position of the blinds moves clockwise one place, keeping things fair.<\/p>\n With poker antes, it\u2019s not just one or two of you paying up. Instead, every player puts chips in the pot before the hand begins or, when playing big blind antes, the big blind puts an additional big blind in the middle.<\/p>\n Thanks to the blinds and antes, every player has a motive to try and win every pot, as they\u2019re guaranteed to lose chips whenever they fold – which might alter the poker strategy<\/a> of the players and lead to more aggressive play.<\/p>\n![\"what](\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/what-is-ante-in-poker-tournament.jpg\")
Poker Ante vs Poker Blinds<\/span><\/h2>\n
How Poker Ante Works<\/span><\/h2>\n