• What Is The Ante In Texas Holdem Poker Real Money
• What Is The Ante In Texas Holdem Poker Wsop
• What Is The Ante In Texas Holdem Poker Vegas World

In an effort to speed up the game, poker tournaments are experimenting with a tweaked process for posting antes called the “Big Blind Ante.”. In Big Blind Ante games, instead of each player posting an ante at the beginning of a hand, the BB antes for the entire table. The definition of straddling entirely depends on where you use the word. If you’re in a rodeo, the definition of straddling a horse is somewhat blah, but with all that bucking you’re going to be in for one hell of a ride.

There is a revolution taking place in tournament poker right now in the form of the big blind ante. Started by players in ARIA High Roller events, the concept has expanded to the world’s largest brands and tournaments. The debate on how to best implement the big blind ante has been a major discussion among the poker community on social media. Change doesn’t come easy in the poker world and the big blind ante has stirred up a whole bowl of it.

1. Ante in Texas Hold’em poker as well as blinds are therefore required from the players themselves in order to get the action started. When you hear the term ante, it refers to a certain amount of money that is placed in the pot by all the players at the table before the cards are dealt.
2. Bet 3X the Ante (A “Play” Bet.) Bet 4X the Ante (Also a “Play” Bet.) After you’ve made your decision, the dealer reveals 3 face-up cards—the “flop.” (This is also how regular Texas holdem works.) If you checked when you got your hole cards, you have the option now to place a bet of 2X the Ante (another example of a “Play Bet.”).

What exactly does the big blind ante do?

Have you ever been at a table where there are a few players who need a reminder every hand to put their ante in? The big blind ante solves that issue. Usually tied to the size of the big blind (ex. 2,000/4,000/4,000), the big blind antes for the everyone at the table each hand. The math of the game remains nearly the same.

There are a few small improvements in gameplay the big blind ante solves. Gone are the pesky T25 chips in starting stacks. Instead, players start with levels of 100/100/100 rather than 25/50.

The big blind ante has empirical data showing there are more hands played as a result of the format. Players across all buy-in levels enjoy it as well. Eventually, positie player feedback in High Rollers led to ARIA introducing it into $240 daily events.

Where is the big blind ante in use?

Tournaments using the big blind ante are found across America. ARIA was the first to use the format in 2017 and it has spread since then. The Wynn Poker Room introduced big blind ante across all of its events in 2018 to rave reviews from players.

BB ante tournaments = sliced bread ????. Thank you @WynnPoker for implementing this great format. It speeds up the game quite a bit and makes the dealer’s job easier.

— David Paredes (@gaucho2121) March 4, 2018

Decided to fire the @WynnPoker $600 250k… BB ante is so damn sexy good job as always Wynn

— wretchy (@Wretchy) February 27, 2018

The largest study of the format came in California at the L.A. Poker Classic. A field of close to 4,000 entrants used the big blind in the $350 buy-in opening event. World Poker Tour Executive Director Matt Savage found recreational players taking to the format upon putting it into play at LAPC.

Savage announced last month the WPT will be using the big blind ante in all Main Tour events come Season XVII.

The Borgata is utilizing the format for all of the Spring Poker Open in April. Seminole Hard Rock is following suit for a few events for their Showdown series next month.

Come this summer, The Venetian is putting the big blind ante into use for 16 tournaments in the DeepStack Extravaganza series from $400 single-day events all the way up to $5,000 buy-ins.

What is the controversy?

Daniel Negreanu made headlines last week over his adamant debate over a facet of the big blind ante structure. A veteran of ARIA High Rollers, Negreanu argues that the “big blind first” rule is best for players of the recreational and professional level.

“Big blind first” means that if a player is a all-in for up to or less than a covering stack when in the big blind, they are eligible to win their amount of chips multiplied by the number of players at the table.

When a player doesn’t have enough to cover the ante and BB the BB is paid first. So if he owes 8k BB 8k Ante but only has 2k. He posts 2k as a BB and there is no ante. He wins 2k x # of players

What Is The Ante In Texas Holdem Poker Real Money

— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) January 16, 2018

“Ante first” in the same situation prevents a big blind from being posted and a player can only win back the chips they are all-in for, thus having zero additional equity in the hand.

Savage is a proponent of “ante first” and plans to use that definition of a rare all-in situation for the WPT.

Because you win the entire ante when not in the BB plus chips you have x players in the pot, cannot have it both ways @DBuzgon@TabDuchateauhttps://t.co/gp67dhcFXi

— Matt Savage (@SavagePoker) March 16, 2018

The debate among Savage, Negreanu, and the poker community at large has netted out to a common denominator: the big blind ante is a popular choice among players.

Olivier Busquet summed up the argument for using big blind ante best when comparing to the current style of all players anteing.

If you’re unsure about the bb ante, imagine that bb ante were the status quo and the discussion were to change it to the current system. It would be absurd – break the ante up into small pieces and force each player every hand to do it?? This helps show status quo bias.

— Olivier Busquet (@olivierbusquet) March 16, 2018

Where does the trend go from here?

The big blind ante is popular across high roller events and is going to be in use at the Super High Roller Bowl and Big One for One Drop this summer. One Drop is the only World Series of Poker event to adopt the big blind ante so far but that should change come 2019.

The WSOP Circuit is tinkering with use in events and the growing popularity among players might be too much to pass up.

More venues and series are making the big blind ante the rule. SugarHouse in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is using the concept in a $150 tournament next month.

$100,000 Guaranteed.
$150 Buy In#BBANTE

April 8th – April 15th https://t.co/5RG45z73qipic.twitter.com/UpTkaOgL8d

— SugarHouse Poker (@sugarhousepoker) March 16, 2018

It’s only a matter of time before the days of every player putting in an ante is a thing of the past.

Lead image courtesy of World Poker Tour/Flickr

Nothing seems to confuse new Texas hold 'em players more than the blinds. Let's sort it out.

I used to play stud and draw poker with neighbors. I don't still play, but like to read about poker strategy. Would you please explain how the big blind and little blind work in hold 'em? I'm sure many of us who read LuckyDog have no idea. — Dale H., Kankakee, Ill.

Well, Dale, since I had the same question this month from John, a co-worker of mine in Moline, Ill., it's a good time to explain the blinds in hold 'em.

Think of the blinds as antes used to stimulate betting and initiate play. There's one key difference: Unlike stud and draw poker, in which every player must pay the same pre-determined ante before each deal, in hold 'em only the first two players to the left of the dealer position have to post a blind.

The dealer for each hand is designated by a round disk called a button. Except for the first betting round, the player with the dealer button gets to act last throughout the hand. On the first betting round, the two players in the blinds act after the button, then are first to act on remaining betting rounds.

The button moves clockwise one position for each new hand. That rotates the advantage of last action and assures that for every circuit of the button around the table, each player will pay the two blinds once. The little blind usually is half the amount of the big blind.

Here's an example:

You're in seat five of a nine-handed $4-$8 limit hold 'em cash game and the dealer button reaches seat three. That means you are in the big blind position and must put $4 in front of you before the cards are dealt. The player to your right in seat four must post the $2 small blind.

Two down cards are then dealt to each player, starting with the small blind. On the first betting round, action starts with the player to your left in seat six, a position called 'under the gun,' meaning first to act.

From the big blind, you are last to act before the flop. If no one has raised (to $8 in this case) when the action gets back around to you, you have two options — you can check, since you're already in for the $4 bet, or you can raise to $8. Don't fold. Even a lousy 7-2 offsuit can turn into quads on a perfect flop!

If someone raises before the action gets back to you pre-flop, you have three options: fold and forfeit your $4; call the additional $4, or re-raise by betting $8 more for a total of $12.

After the flop, the betting rotation changes. The player in the small blind on your right acts first for the rest of the hand, then you. If he has folded, you're first to act each round until the hand ends.

On the next hand, the button moves to seat four. Now you're in the small blind position and must post $2 before the deal. To stay in the hand, you must match the bet amount when it's your turn ($2 more if no one raises). Or you can fold, losing your $2 small blind.

On the next hand, you get the dealer button and can see your starting hands for free until it's time to post the blinds again.

We'll tackle playing strategies from the blind positions in a future column, Dale and John, but for now here are some other things to know:

— Some card rooms play hold 'em with a 'dead' button. That means the big blind is posted by the seated player due for it, and the small blind and button are positioned accordingly, whether or not players actually are seated there to receive a hand. This gives last-action advantage to a player on consecutive hands.

— If you miss paying one or both blinds, you must post the appropriate amount when you return or sit out until the big blind position advances to you. If you post mid-circuit, you still must pay the blinds when they reach you a few hands later in that round.

— When joining a game in progress, some card rooms require that you post the big blind amount if you want to be dealt in right away. You can choose to sit out until the big blind position reaches you normally, which is a good option because you can watch a few hands risk-free and get a feel for the table's action.

What Is The Ante In Texas Holdem Poker Wsop

— In heads-up play using two blinds, the small blind is on the button. That player acts first before the flop and last on each subsequent betting round.

What Is The Ante In Texas Holdem Poker Vegas World

E-mail your poker questions and comments to [email protected] for use in future columns. To find out more about Russ Scott and read previous LuckyDog Poker columns, visit www.creators.com or www.luckydogpoker.com.