Antes in NLHE cash

[lunchbawks]

High stakes you almost always see antes, it creates more action .

Low stakes the games do not exist, its stupid!! Antes create bigger pots and nits can't play profitably

[thetrinity]

probably would never see a low stakes game get off if they had antes.

[daneblazer]

Yeah I can see a 1/2 game here with the dealer trying to get Jamal, Tilty McAsain, and Farmer Brown trying to throw in an ante every hand. What a nightmare that would be. Probably would get off 10 hands an hour.

[Ian]

Antes don't work well in non high-stakes B&M NLHE for three reasons. First, antes slow the game down. Secondly, it puts either quarters or half dollar coins on the table. This results in lower tips for the dealers and if they're dropped as rake the rake boxes become extremely heavy. Finally, antes make the game play deceptively large. This results in players going broke too fast and hurting the long-term viability of the game.

That's the conventional wisdom anyway. In a big poker market a casino with a weekly or monthly ante game might not be a bad idea though.

[k13]

They have antes at low stakes online.

[Triple_D_Bet]

Is there any real difference between a 5/10 game with $1 antes and a 10/15 game or similar? Same pot size, same cost per orbit, hell of a lot easier to manage. Only possible difference I see is perception among the novice players.

[thetrinity]

they do have them online, they would be IMPOSSIBLE in most B/M casinos.

[lunchbawks]

Is there any real difference between a 5/10 game with $1 antes and a 10/15 game or similar? Same pot size, same cost per orbit, hell of a lot easier to manage. Only possible difference I see is perception among the novice players.

huge difference. more dead money in the pot, really creates a more interesting game

[Triple_D_Bet]

huge difference. more dead money in the pot, really creates a more interesting game

I can see it encouraging more people to steal blinds and antes, but don't see it affecting play any deeper....and the preflop aggression it might encourage at first is more of a trap for the unwary than for a player with an idea of what they're doing. To a nit folding most of their hands, the antes aren't much deader than their blinds.