Ante: meaning in casino games

What an ante is

In poker between players, an ante is a small forced bet that everyone puts in before a hand begins, so there is something to win from the first card. Casinos borrowed the word for their banked poker games. There, the ante is the stake you place to receive a hand, and the game's rules then offer you a choice: fold and lose the ante, or add a second bet to play on.

This glossary entry looks at how the ante works across the main casino poker games, what the house edge figures mean when they are quoted against the ante, and the different slot feature that shares the name.

The ante in each casino poker game

The table below summarises the standard rules analysed by Wizard of Odds. Pay tables and qualifying rules vary between versions, so always check the help screen of the game you are playing.

What happens to the ante when the dealer does not qualify

In Casino Hold'em, a non-qualifying dealer means the ante is paid from the ante pay table and the Call pushes. In Three Card Poker the ante pays even money and the Play bet pushes. In Caribbean Stud the ante pays even money and the Raise pushes. In Ultimate Texas Hold'em it works the other way round: if the dealer does not open, the ante pushes while the Blind and Play bets still settle.

Ante pay tables and ante bonuses

Some games pay extra on the ante for strong hands. The most common Casino Hold'em ante pay table, according to Wizard of Odds' Casino Hold'em analysis (opens in a new tab), pays 100 to 1 for a royal flush, 20 for a straight flush, 10 for four of a kind, 3 for a full house, 2 for a flush and 1 to 1 for anything else.

Three Card Poker adds an Ante Bonus that pays whatever the dealer holds: 5 to 1 for a straight flush, 4 to 1 for three of a kind and 1 to 1 for a straight on the most common table, as set out in Wizard of Odds' Three Card Poker guide (opens in a new tab). In Texas Hold'em Bonus the ante pays even money only with a straight or better and otherwise pushes.

Ante maths: edge against the ante and element of risk

Because you put in more money on hands you play, casino poker edges are usually given as a percentage of the ante. A second figure, the element of risk, divides the average loss by everything you bet. In Three Card Poker the edge is 3.37% of the ante but the element of risk is 2.01% of total money bet. Caribbean Stud is 5.224% against 2.555%.

1. Find the game's house edge on the ante (for example 2.16% in common Casino Hold'em).
2. Multiply by your ante: £10 × 2.16% = 21.6p expected loss per hand.
3. Multiply by the hands you plan to play: 50 hands gives about £10.80.
4. Remember that hands you call put extra money at risk, so the swings are larger than the ante suggests.

On the same £10 ante, Three Card Poker costs about 33.7p a hand and Caribbean Stud about 52p. Playing badly costs more: in Three Card Poker, copying the dealer's queen-high rule raises the edge to 3.45%, and playing every hand raises it to 7.65%. The strategy of playing queen-6-4 or better simply keeps the cost at its lowest; it does not remove the house edge.

Ante Bet on slots

Some slot developers use "Ante Bet" for something unrelated to poker: an optional extra stake that changes how the game plays. Pragmatic Play's Sweet Bonanza Xmas, for example, lists an RTP of 96.48%, or 96.51% with Ante Bet. What the extra stake costs and changes is set out in each game's help screen. Any Ante Bet counts towards the UK online slot stake limit of £5 per spin (£2 for 18 to 24s).

Related terms

See qualifying hand, kicker, poker hand rankings, Pair Plus and casino poker house edge.

Casino poker and UK welcome offers

These offers are built for slots, and table games like Casino Hold'em are often excluded or count for less towards wagering, so check the casino's table lobby and its terms. 18+ and terms apply.

Casumo's welcome deal is a 50% bonus up to £100 for new customers who opt in and deposit £20 or more, with 10x wagering inside 7 days and a £5 bet cap. 10bet matches a first deposit 100% up to £25, wagered 10x on slots within 3 days, bonus winnings capped at £1,000, Skrill and Neteller excluded. Coral gives 100 free spins worth 10p each on selected slots after a deposit and £10 of slot bets, with no wagering on winnings and 7 days to use them.

18+. Every casino game has a built-in house edge, so over time you should expect to lose what you stake. Set a budget before you play and stop when it’s gone: safer gambling tools and support. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.