In poker, the ante is a mandatory bet posted by every single player at the table before the start of a hand. Like the blinds, antes are non-optional wagers (forced bets) that are used to get some money into the pot and drive the action.
For example, in a tournament with blinds 1,000/2,000 and 200 ante, every player at the table must put 200 into the pot at the start of a hand. On a 9-handed table, this equals 1,800, which is added on top of the blinds. You might find games that use big blind ante to speed up the action.
When it comes to Texas Hold’em, you’ll usually encounter antes in tournaments. In cash games, these bets are quite uncommon, but every now and again, you might come across a ring game that has antes in place as well.
