Ante size for '100-250 bb' games at PokerStars - Internet Poker

**PokerStars Steve** · 04-05-2010, 06:41 AM

You may have noticed 100-250bb NL cash games with antes deployed at PokerStars this weekend at $2/$4 stakes, 9-seat tables.

These tables will soon be deployed at additional stakes and at tables with 6 seats. First, PokerStars would like to ask you as players, how big should the ante be relative to the big blind?

The currently deployed games have $2/$4 blinds with $0.80 antes. The ante is 20% ($4 * 0.20) of a big blind. If the ante were $1, it would be 25% of a big blind.

The poll included with this thread will record your preference on ante size. Thank you for helping to make PokerStars better.

tcs · 04-05-2010, 06:55 AM

voted

Borys313 · 04-05-2010, 07:34 AM

Hi Steve

Please make the antes a little bit bigger on 6max and a little bit smaller on 9max like 25%/20%

Borys313 · 04-05-2010, 07:36 AM

And we need this for PLO, please, please.

Bruut99 · 04-05-2010, 08:42 AM

25% will create the most action packed table. So that gets my vote. I don't see why you would make it $0.8 instead of $1. 6x$1+sb$2+bb$4 = would make the pot $12 instead of $6 preflop. Thats double the pot to win baby!

Clayton · 04-05-2010, 08:43 AM

FTP is ~33% of the SB (75-200bb buyin) fwiw.

Steve I feel like you should repost this topic in HSNL aswell, optimal ante sizing seems more up their alley as you'll have a bunch of posters experienced in similar sized buyins (in terms of bbs) in live poker who would know proper ante sizing accordingly.

Personally I think bigger antes are better, but I wouldn't know how to structure it optimally in full ring games versus 6max games. Part of me thinks the ante should be bigger in 9max games.

I'd prob make the ante $1 in the 2/4 fullring and $.75 in the 6max if the buyin was 100-250bbs. But thats just me.

I will say on personal experience that the NL rotation in the 8game tournaments at the WSOP felt awesome because the antes were pretty big (like 25 at 50/100) and that was 8handed. Optimal ante sizing in tournaments (at the WSOP and Matt Savage tournaments) is closer to 33% of the SB.

Peter2k · 04-05-2010, 09:02 AM

Please add this for all lvls of fullring

FutureInsights · 04-05-2010, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter2k

Please add this for all lvls of fullring

Um, gonna be kinda hard at 2nl, 5nl, and its not working so well on FTP (nor UB/AP) for 10nl.

grizy · 04-05-2010, 10:05 AM

I'd be very interested in playing on 100~200bb buy in tables with 20~33%bb ante. Bigger than that we'll have too many pots, even at 200bb, that will play shallow on the flop.

**Soepgroente** · 04-05-2010, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clayton

Personally I think bigger antes are better, but I wouldn't know how to structure it optimally in full ring games versus 6max games. Part of me thinks the ante should be bigger in 9max games.

That makes no sense, FR there's 9 players to put it in so the pot is going to be bigger anyways.

I think 25% for 6max sounds good and 20% for 9max.

Run Ricky Run · 04-05-2010, 12:52 PM

The antes should be the same at 9max and 6max.

Verstehen · 04-05-2010, 01:35 PM

Thanks for the poll steve.

I agree that this would be wonderful for smaller stakes games, 1/2 with a 500 max buy-in would be absolutely fantastic. Also euro deep games would be great too.

I kind of disagree that we need this at PLO, given that the average table probably has a "players seeing flop" stat that is double or even triple that of NL cash. But I don't have a really strong idea one way or the other.

poly · 04-05-2010, 04:27 PM

You should decrease the min buyin to 60-75bb and the max buyin to 150-200bb or we get almonst no customers, even at the microlimits. A buyin of 100 to 250bb scares to many people. At the moment there is only one 2/4$ ante table with 9 players on it, but 18 non ante tables (20BB+50BB tables).
The 6max ante should be bigger than the FR ante.

Scary_Tiger · 04-05-2010, 04:46 PM

I think 15-20% of the big blind ante is appropriate, I think bigger than that and the games aren't playing much deeper at all.

With full 6-max table and 100BB-250BB:

31.25% (1.25$) = 45 BB min, 111 BB max
25% (1$) = 50 BB min, 125 BB max
20% (.8$) = 55 BB min, 139 BB max
18.75% (.75$) = 57 BB min, 143 BB max
15% (.60$) = 63 BB min, 156 BB max

The FTP version with 75BB-200BB:
18.75% (.75$) = 43 BB min, 114 BB max

e.g. 2$/4$ 6-max full table 1$ ante, 400$ min buy-in 1000$ max buy-in. It's basically a 4$/8$ table, so it's effectively a 50 BB min, 125 BB max with no antes, which isn't much different than you offer now.

With an .80$ ante, it's a 3.6$/7.2$ game, or 55 BB min, 139 BB max with no antes. So I voted even smaller, but I think a 25% ante would make for larger games than would be good for the games.

IcarusJam · 04-05-2010, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scary_Tiger

I think 15-20% of the big blind ante is appropriate, I think bigger than that and the games aren't playing much deeper at all.

With full 6-max table and 100BB-250BB:

31.25% (1.25$) = 45 BB min, 111 BB max
25% (1$) = 50 BB min, 125 BB max
20% (.8$) = 55 BB min, 139 BB max
18.75% (.75$) = 57 BB min, 143 BB max
15% (.60$) = 63 BB min, 156 BB max

The FTP version with 75BB-200BB:
18.75% (.75$) = 43 BB min, 114 BB max

e.g. 2$/4$ 6-max full table 1$ ante, 400$ min buy-in 1000$ max buy-in. It's basically a 4$/8$ table, so it's effectively a 50 BB min, 125 BB max with no antes, which isn't much different than you offer now.

With an .80$ ante, it's a 3.6$/7.2$ game, or 55 BB min, 139 BB max with no antes. So I voted even smaller, but I think a 25% ante would make for larger games than would be good for the games.

good point i didn't think about how the antes effect the effective deepness of the games, i'd like to change my vote to smaller antes if possible, or if you could, deeper games with 25% antes so that the effective stax aren't diminished