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?
WhyOpen-raise. Antes put extra dead money in every pot, so a successful steal wins more and the bar for a profitable open drops. Q-8 suited from the cutoff is a clear open with antes, even though it would be marginal without them.
What happensYou raise to 500; the blinds fold and you collect the blinds and antes. The dead money adds up.
Antes lower the price of stealing by adding dead money to every pot, so your opening range widens - Q-8 suited becomes a profitable cutoff open once the antes are in.
When antes are in play, open wider from late position - the extra dead money makes more steals profitable.