Part: Part Five - Betting Before the Flop
Opening wider with antes
Pre-flop
Antes are now in play - every player antes 25, adding dead money to the pot. It folds to you on the cutoff with Q♣8♣.
With antes in, folded to you on the cutoff with Q♣8♣. Best?
WhyEvery ante in the middle is money you win when a steal gets through, raising the payout on a successful open without changing its cost. That shift is enough to push Q-8 suited over the line from the cutoff - a hand you'd fold without antes becomes a clear open once they're in play.
What happensThe blinds fold and you rake the blinds plus every ante. Small individually, but those extra chips are the whole reason the open profits - and they add up fast over a session.
Antes sweeten every steal by seeding the pot with dead money, so your late-position range widens. Q-8 suited from the cutoff isn't an open without antes and is a clear one with them - let the structure set your range.
Antes drop dead money into every pot before a card is dealt - that extra reward lowers the bar for a profitable steal, so late-position opening ranges widen.