- They are also offered by some operators, including PokerStars itself, at the regular No Limit Hold’em cash games.
- “We hope that the introduction of the ante will encourage more battles leading to bigger pots.”
- Partypoker also introduced antes to their FastForward tables in October 2019 for a brief period.
Online poker giant PokerStars has introduced antes to its fast-fold cash game variant Zoom on a trial basis.
Antes are forced bets, in addition to the small and big blind, put in by all players on the table. The size traditionally ranges from 10% to 50% of the big blind. The idea behind antes is to encourage players to play looser and ultimately induce more action.
Antes are more commonly seen in tournament formats, usually in the later stages, as well as some poker variants, like Stud. They are also offered by some operators, including PokerStars itself, at the regular No Limit Hold’em cash games as an option.
However, unlike at regular cash games, the changes this week mean that antes at micro-stakes Zoom tables are now obligatory.
The new system is currently being trialed in the dot-com market at NL2, NL5 and NL10 Zoom cash game tables. The trial covers both No Limit Hold’em and Omaha variants and at all table sizes except heads-up.
The operator deployed the change on Monday, June 8.
“An ante is being trialled at the NLHE and PLO Zoom games of $0.01/$0.02, $0.02/$0.05 and $0.05/$0.10 stakes, excluding Heads Up,” says a message in PokerStars’ Zoom cash game lobby. “We hope that the introduction of the ante will encourage more battles leading to bigger pots and, overall, a more exciting playing experience for everyone.”
