What Does Up the Ante Mean in Poker? Explanation & Usage
As a quick recap, up the ante in poker refers to increasing the stakes or pressure in a game. An ante is a mandatory investment made preflop by all players at the table in both cash games and tournaments.
Most cash games do not use antes, but tournaments introduce them in later stages to up the ante in poker and create more action.
It’s common for a tournament to start without antes, but as the blinds increase, antes are added to up the ante in poker, forcing players to be more aggressive.
After the antes have been introduced in a tournament setting they will typically increase with every blind level.
Find more information in the glossary entry under ante.
Example of Up the Ante used in a sentence -> He was used to playing micro-stakes cash games online but decided it was time to up the ante.
How to Up the Ante in Poker – Strategy & Tips
As a general rule, antes incentivize the following.
1. Stealing wider preflop in an attempt to capitalize on the extra dead money.
2. Defending the big blind wider due to better preflop odds.
To successfully up the ante in poker, players must adjust their preflop strategy by widening their raising range and adapting bet sizing.
