Big Blind Ante Strategy - It Does Not Change Much About Poker Tournament Structure!

[@dleach02]

one observation I've had on the BB anti is that it is great for short stack poker since you only put money in the pot twice per orbit... so you can be a bit more patient to get it in with your short stack

[@jeffg6900]

Great to have this answered. We've been playing big blind Antes for several months at our local casino. I will be starting your coaching soon and look forward to revving up my game. Thanks again.

[@drlove4570]

Good stuff. We started playing with BB Antes in May 2018 for my home tourneys and everyone seems to be adopting over the last year. What I find really interesting, is that most players will say "I'm putting in the BB Ante" so I have to call everything, which I love! Players still tend to play post flop poorly and have just lost more $$. Regardless, we stopped the antes when we hit cash, but I'm putting them back in, as the play tightened up so much (we were losing players approximately every 15 minutes, then w/o ante at cash, it was taking an hour to knock out a player).

[@michellegibson3307]

Most players and dealers seem to enjoy the BB ante structure, including myself. I usually play at Foxwoods, which has been using it for a while, but when MGM started tournaments, they were using the old structure. Players were quick to request a change and they made it. It speeds up the game considerably, esp on what would have been the 75 ante levels, where the dealer has to make change every hand.

[@gs6810]

I was in a big tournament lately and got to the final table. I'm a cash game player and had never played a BB ante structure in a tournament before. I posed the question of how is one supposed to adjust their gameplay to a BB ante when I was at the final table. Oddly enough one of the tournament players there gave me an answer, even though we were battling for 23k first prize. He said that it doesn't affect how you play otherwise you defend too often and make bad plays based on money that isn't yours (Like what you said Jonathan). That makes sense to me but it seems like it doesn't address the bigger issue with the BB ante. The idea that it doesn't matter who puts in the money is fine from a theoretical standpoint is fine, but the real world it has an impact. If I have 15BB and go all in and double up I now have 30BB, but If I just put in the BB and Ante, and then double up a hand later 26 BB. Additionally if a whole other round passes by before I'm able to win a pot I I can be down to 10 bb from 15bb very quickly. You say in this video, once we get down to 10bb we should be looking to shove wider because of this effect, but what about at 20 BB or 30BB. After all, if I'm sitting there with 20bb, it still seems that I have like 7 or 8 rounds left before im blinded out, so really I would think I should be shoving with range more similar to if I had 10bb left in a game with no ante.

[@scottywayne]

Thanks Jonathan! I've shared this on our website and our facebook group page. There has been much controversy about strategy for BB Ante tournaments. As always enjoy your videos, see you at The Rio this summer!

[@PokerCoaching]

Thanks for sharing!

[@soulreed]

If its a poker group send me a link please, if I can join

[@ccnaegle]

I just played in my first WSOP tournament and it was the first time I had played with a BB Ante. It honestly through me a bit, just because of losing two big blinds at every BB. It probably shouldn't have, but it got in my head for some reason.

[@sunner8905]

do u open a bit bigger than min raise if the big blind ante is in play? so that the big blind doesn't get a free ride with all his cards?

[@JJJJspam]

so you pay blinds and an ante on top? I've always played either blind or just ante. usually just blinds.

[@PokerCoaching]

Correct.

[@themadcow686]

if course it matters. If you end up short stacked under the gun or close to it then the next hand will wipe you out of the game. So your chance of hedging your chips across the next few hands where you can also benefit from your button position is no longer possible.

[@EricSmyth4Christ]

One reason why I like the bb ante is because the antes are wayyyy bigger when there are like 4 left in the tournament or heads up in the tournament. I've wanted bb ante in live tournaments since they had it in the PAD cash game on t.v. Makes so much sense for live poker.

[@robertsmith8781]

How can you keep one chip when you move all in? Is there another term when you keep one chip? How would you even say this? "All in minus one chip"?

[@victorsegura2993]

I don't get the thing of leaving 1bb behind. If somebody calls your "almost shove", you still have to check check flop, turn and river since it's not a showdown. I think it will be pretty normal that villain will reraise you for 1 more bb even preflop, since having action in the 3 streets will be kinda awkward. In my case,if somebody shoves me for let's say 9bb leaving 1bb and I'm gonna call him, I will raise him unless there's more people waiting to act. If it's HU, I would put him all in in the flop. I play 100-200e buy ins, don't know if in higher stakes people would check-check the 3 streets in this case tho

[@KenPics63]

My card room near San Diego recently tried a Button Ante. It probably makes little or no difference compared to a Big Blind Ante but I liked the Button Ante better.

[@brucebowers9656]

I played a button ante tournament and at first thought it was preferable to a big blind ante. The problem is that you don't always have a button (dead button situation), but you do always have a big blind. That changed my mind.

[@KenPics63]

Great point.Big Blind Ante it should be.

[@paulworsley2757]

The downside to the BB ante is when you post your BB and then get told that your table is breaking on the next hand, only to find yourself in the BB again. Not nice if you're a short stack! I've played BTN and BB tourneys, and would say both are preferable to individual antes.

[@jordananderson4710]

What if you are shorthanded?

[@PokerCoaching]

If the ante is proportionally larger due to the table being shorter, you have to play wider ranges.

[@davidlambertson5209]

Man, I disagree with this. An ante by definition is EVERY player putting money into the pot. If you just wanted to speed the game up and/or make it easier for the dealers, you could merely eliminate antes altogether and achieve the same result. This new approach would more accurately be labeled as DOUBLE BIG BLIND HOLD-EM. That is what it is - pure and simple. The BB is now often putting in anywhere between 3X and 4X the SB. The strategy should focus on that thinking of that BB portion in front of you and the BB portion you pushed to the center of the table is different money is ill-advised IMO.

[@EricSmyth4Christ]

As a poker dealer myself, this is a needed change

[@judasn11]

If the number of players is 6 or less the ante is half ie if you are playing 100/200 the ante becomes 100 so it’s relatively the same for number of players

[@PokerCoaching]

It depends on the venue.

[@mtgcamfan]

So essentially the big blind ante person has to put in twice the big blind amount and nobody else has to put in that much until it’s their turn for big blind

[@glovozagreb6594]

you should actually jam MONSTERS in BB .people just cant believe it

[@queennine]

How can anyone go all-in besides 1 chip? lol "all-in minus 1 chip" -- did I miss a new rule in NLH?? when you're all-in that mean every chip behind you 8:50

[@PokerCoaching]

All-in minus 1.

[@welovelibraries4556]

I love the big blind ante. Your thesis is incorrect. The math changes on a rack attack on what hands are profitable vs saying which hands are more profitable playing heads up.

[@WallacePoker]

Crap it does not speed up the game unless you have a terrible dealer. It is the worse structure for tournaments. The old way was fine and if it’s not broken don’t fix it.

[@Statementdogorginal]

HATE Ante, i like the option to play Long and whit No bet. Its a form of strategy. Ante just makes the game go in tubo mode. Smal and big blinds is enough, if poker plays whit ante, just remove big,smal and the button.. Ante is just f### Ret@#$Ed.