Home Poker

Ante

The ante is a vital part of the poker game. The ante is a token amount of money that ensures that each player already has some stakes in the game being played.

When the dealer calls the game of his or her choice, every player is prompted to throw the predetermined ante into the pot. Ante is typically the same amount of money as the minimum table bet, and typically remains the same throughout the course of the night for every game.

It is not alot of money, but ensures that if a player folds immediately, that player has already lost some amount of money in this game.

The ante should be thought of as that small bit of interest that keeps every player involved in every game from the start. Before you even have cards dealt to you, you have already spent some money on this game. In other words, no looking at your cards and folding without already having lost some money.

The ante is also each player's signal that they understand the game that has been called and agree to play it. A player who does not ante is signalling that he or she is not interested in playing the particular game that the dealer has called.

Adapted from HomePoker.com