<p>Ante is given by all players before cards are dealt. It's effect is to make sure that everyone has some skin in the game, and that people don't instantly fold when dealt less than stellar cards.</p>

<p>Blinds are a different way of dividing up the ante so that only a few player are committed to the game before seeing their cards. They are generally split into big and small blinds. The big blind is the full 'ante' for the round. The small blind is a smaller sum. The blinds are bet before cards are dealt, but after seeing the initial cards, players can either fold, pay so that they have equaled the big blind, or place a higher bet.</p>

CC BY-SA 2.5
2010-10-20T23:32:39.017Z
2010-10-20T23:32:39.017Z
tryaria
<p>Antes and blinds are both collected from players to "seed" the pot with a single bet. But they are collected in different ways.</p>

<p>An ante is collected from EACH player, but represents only a FRACTION of the basic bet. (The sum of the fractions, collected from each player, amount to about one bet.) As such, everyone "pays the same," and no one is at a disadvantage versus anyone else.</p>

<p>A (big) blind is a basic bet collected from ONE player. (A small blind, half the basic bet is sometimes collected from a second player.) They are called "blinds" because these players have to bet "blind" before receiving their cards. The others can look at their cards before deciding to call, raise, or fold to this "forced" bet. </p>

<p>The (big) "blind" bettor is thus placed at a disadvantage, but can reasonably stay in with "any two cards" (if not raised), since s/he bet before receiving cards. This adds an element of randomness to the game. (The small blind can play "loose" for only half a bet.)</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-12-11T13:58:13.967Z
2011-12-11T13:58:13.967Z
Tom Au
<p>When playing with an ante, all players have to give the same amount before they are allowed to see their cards. Thus, everyone has an equal stake in the current hand, and folding is less common in early betting rounds. (It's the "I already paid so I might as well stick around for another card" mentality.) Antes have the benefit of allowing players to sit out any hand (say, to go to the restroom or take a phone call) or even quite the game without any sense of unfairness.</p>

<p>Blinds are unequal forced bets usually imposed on two players per round. After seeing their cards, the remaining players have to call or raise to stay in the hand. Since there is initially an unequal stake in the hand, folding is common. (Why stay in if you haven't put anything in the pot and you have a lousy hand so far?) Also, savvy players can "over-raise" on the blind round to force everyone into folding, thus slowly building wealth by bleeding their opponents of the blinds. And with a blind system, if a player needs to leave the table for some reason, the fairness of the game becomes problematic, as they obviously can't leave when they are up for a blind, but leaving at another time would rob them of a "free" hand. Or does everyone wait however long it takes for that player to return?</p>

<p>(In case you can't tell, I consider blinds to be a blight on the noble game of poker. Antes are much more fair and superior to blinds in almost every way.)</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-12-09T23:01:31.103Z
2011-12-09T23:01:31.103Z
ScottM
<p>I'm coding a poker tracker right now, and I've found an other subtle difference :</p>

<p>Let's say "ante/SB/BB" are at "10/100/200"</p>

<p>When you've already put a SB (100) and you want to "call" the BB (200) , you will only pay 100 from your stack.</p>

<p>But when you've put an "ante" (10), it's removed from the table before the "PRE-FLOP" bet phase, so "calling" the BB means you pay 200 from your stack, not 190.</p>

<p>At least, this is how it works at Winamax tables.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-26T17:03:21.753Z
**This is really the key difference.** A blind is a forced *bet*; it counts for the first betting round. An ante is not a bet at all. In fact, it does not matter whether the ante is paid by all players at the table or just by one player (search for "button ante"): The ante is removed *before* the initial betting phase starts
Uwe
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-27T16:18:59.180Z
If you decide to fold does that mean you get your ante back? I am guessing not so in the end in your scenario you are still adding an additional 190 even though technically you put in a fresh 200 when it comes to putting in to match the BB.
Joe W
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-27T18:04:48.637Z
If you've put up 10 ante, and someone else has put up 10 ante and 200 BB, then you're 200 short the current bet, so of course you have to put up another 200. It's not clear what difference you're seeing. And it's not clear what you mean by "removed from the table". The ante is still part of the pot.
Acccumulation
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-28T09:21:02.997Z
@Acccumulation The difference becomes very clear if you play with a "button ante", that is, if only one player at the table has to pay a (larger) ante (to avoid dealing with smallish chips that are only used for the ante, and to speed up the game). In contrast to a blind, the ante does not count for the first betting round: Even if only one player paid an ante of 100, this player starts the first betting round from 0, not from 100.
Uwe
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-26T09:59:29.063Z
2019-10-27T16:16:50.943Z
2019-10-27T16:16:50.943Z
Tristan
<p>Ante and blinds are both forced bets.</p>

<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betting_%28poker%29#Ante">Ante</a> is a bet that <em>everyone</em> in the game must make in order to stay at the table. It forces there to always be at least some payout in the pot, increasing the relative value of playing a hand to folding.</p>

<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betting_%28poker%29#Blinds">Blinds</a> are bets that only one or two players are forced to make, usually a small blind and a big blind, the small blind at half the big blind. They are bet by the two players after the dealer, and thus rotate around as the dealer rotates. The blinds start betting off; bidding starts with the player after the big blind, and players must call or raise the blind bet to stay in the game, otherwise they fold. It puts less in the pot than ante does, thus it does less to incentivize staying in the game, but it still puts enough in that it's worth it for some people to stay in as they do stand to win something, and the players who played the blinds stand to lose them if they simply fold.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-17T16:10:18.657Z
You can say that *for a particular value*, blinds put in less than ante. A blind of $N puts less into the pot than an ante of $N
Caleth
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-12-20T19:06:33.103Z
Depending on the structure of the game, there may be 2 equal blinds, or only 1 blind.  Also, you can't say that blinds put more or less in the pot than antes - that depends on the amount of each.
Chris Marasti-Georg
CC BY-SA 2.5
2010-10-21T03:13:16.790Z
Blinds rotate around the table as well - each hand they move one player to the left, typically.  In addition, they typically increase at scheduled intervals during a tournament.
lilserf
CC BY-SA 2.5
2010-10-20T23:26:06.593Z
2010-10-21T16:20:31.957Z
2010-10-21T16:20:31.957Z
Brian Campbell
<p>What is the difference between an "ante" and a "blind" in poker?</p>

<poker><terminology>
What's the difference between ante and blinds?
C. Ross
# What's the difference between ante and blinds?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2010-10-20)

What is the difference between an "ante" and a "blind" in poker?

**Tags:** poker, terminology


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## 5 answers

### Answer by username_8 on 2010-10-20. Score: 26 | Accepted answer

Ante and blinds are both forced bets.

[Ante](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betting_%28poker%29#Ante) is a bet that *everyone* in the game must make in order to stay at the table. It forces there to always be at least some payout in the pot, increasing the relative value of playing a hand to folding.

[Blinds](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betting_%28poker%29#Blinds) are bets that only one or two players are forced to make, usually a small blind and a big blind, the small blind at half the big blind. They are bet by the two players after the dealer, and thus rotate around as the dealer rotates. The blinds start betting off; bidding starts with the player after the big blind, and players must call or raise the blind bet to stay in the game, otherwise they fold. It puts less in the pot than ante does, thus it does less to incentivize staying in the game, but it still puts enough in that it's worth it for some people to stay in as they do stand to win something, and the players who played the blinds stand to lose them if they simply fold.

> **Comments:**
> **username_11**: Blinds rotate around the table as well - each hand they move one player to the left, typically.  In addition, they typically increase at scheduled intervals during a tournament.  
> **username_10**: Depending on the structure of the game, there may be 2 equal blinds, or only 1 blind.  Also, you can't say that blinds put more or less in the pot than antes - that depends on the amount of each.  
> **username_9**: You can say that *for a particular value*, blinds put in less than ante. A blind of $N puts less into the pot than an ante of $N  

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### Answer by username_1 on 2010-10-20. Score: 3

Ante is given by all players before cards are dealt. It's effect is to make sure that everyone has some skin in the game, and that people don't instantly fold when dealt less than stellar cards.

Blinds are a different way of dividing up the ante so that only a few player are committed to the game before seeing their cards. They are generally split into big and small blinds. The big blind is the full 'ante' for the round. The small blind is a smaller sum. The blinds are bet before cards are dealt, but after seeing the initial cards, players can either fold, pay so that they have equaled the big blind, or place a higher bet.


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### Answer by username_2 on 2011-12-11. Score: 1

Antes and blinds are both collected from players to "seed" the pot with a single bet. But they are collected in different ways.

An ante is collected from EACH player, but represents only a FRACTION of the basic bet. (The sum of the fractions, collected from each player, amount to about one bet.) As such, everyone "pays the same," and no one is at a disadvantage versus anyone else.

A (big) blind is a basic bet collected from ONE player. (A small blind, half the basic bet is sometimes collected from a second player.) They are called "blinds" because these players have to bet "blind" before receiving their cards. The others can look at their cards before deciding to call, raise, or fold to this "forced" bet.

The (big) "blind" bettor is thus placed at a disadvantage, but can reasonably stay in with "any two cards" (if not raised), since s/he bet before receiving cards. This adds an element of randomness to the game. (The small blind can play "loose" for only half a bet.)


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### Answer by username_3 on 2011-12-09. Score: 1

When playing with an ante, all players have to give the same amount before they are allowed to see their cards. Thus, everyone has an equal stake in the current hand, and folding is less common in early betting rounds. (It's the "I already paid so I might as well stick around for another card" mentality.) Antes have the benefit of allowing players to sit out any hand (say, to go to the restroom or take a phone call) or even quite the game without any sense of unfairness.

Blinds are unequal forced bets usually imposed on two players per round. After seeing their cards, the remaining players have to call or raise to stay in the hand. Since there is initially an unequal stake in the hand, folding is common. (Why stay in if you haven't put anything in the pot and you have a lousy hand so far?) Also, savvy players can "over-raise" on the blind round to force everyone into folding, thus slowly building wealth by bleeding their opponents of the blinds. And with a blind system, if a player needs to leave the table for some reason, the fairness of the game becomes problematic, as they obviously can't leave when they are up for a blind, but leaving at another time would rob them of a "free" hand. Or does everyone wait however long it takes for that player to return?

(In case you can't tell, I consider blinds to be a blight on the noble game of poker. Antes are much more fair and superior to blinds in almost every way.)


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### Answer by username_4 on 2019-10-26. Score: 1

I'm coding a poker tracker right now, and I've found an other subtle difference :

Let's say "ante/SB/BB" are at "10/100/200"

When you've already put a SB (100) and you want to "call" the BB (200) , you will only pay 100 from your stack.

But when you've put an "ante" (10), it's removed from the table before the "PRE-FLOP" bet phase, so "calling" the BB means you pay 200 from your stack, not 190.

At least, this is how it works at Winamax tables.

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: **This is really the key difference.** A blind is a forced *bet*; it counts for the first betting round. An ante is not a bet at all. In fact, it does not matter whether the ante is paid by all players at the table or just by one player (search for "button ante"): The ante is removed *before* the initial betting phase starts  
> **username_6**: If you decide to fold does that mean you get your ante back? I am guessing not so in the end in your scenario you are still adding an additional 190 even though technically you put in a fresh 200 when it comes to putting in to match the BB.  
> **username_7**: If you've put up 10 ante, and someone else has put up 10 ante and 200 BB, then you're 200 short the current bet, so of course you have to put up another 200. It's not clear what difference you're seeing. And it's not clear what you mean by "removed from the table". The ante is still part of the pot.  
> **username_5**: @username_7 The difference becomes very clear if you play with a "button ante", that is, if only one player at the table has to pay a (larger) ante (to avoid dealing with smallish chips that are only used for the ante, and to speed up the game). In contrast to a blind, the ante does not count for the first betting round: Even if only one player paid an ante of 100, this player starts the first betting round from 0, not from 100.  

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