Playground is pleased to announce that partypoker LIVE has officially implemented the big blind ante. All partypoker LIVE Events around the world will move to big blind ante, and that includes the WPT Montreal that descends on Playground on October 26th.
A bit of history
About a year and a half ago, consolidated antes made their appearance. Aria and partypoker LIVE were among the first to use the format, and Playground followed shortly after. It spread like a wildfire but was received by most like a breath of fresh air, a much-needed reform to effectively speed up the game and allow a significant increase in hands per hour. The only question that was left was whom to ask it from? The world was divided; about half went for the button ante, and the other half went for the big blind ante.
Because both formats require the same amount of chips per round, it was hard to really discern which version’s advantages outweighed the other’s. Should the pain of having to put chips in before seeing your cards be spread out on three hands, or should it be done and over with in just two? Should the ante be posted by the player who is already largely invested (the big blind), making defending ranges an interesting debate, or should it be posted by the player in the best position to get it back (the button)?
Players on board
In the end, after nearly a year and half of analysis and player feedback, most top Tournament Directors, including Matt Savage, founder of the Tournament Directors Association, WPT Executive Tour Director, and fervent defender of the big blind ante since the beginning, agree that the deciding factors lean towards the big blind ante, for two reasons:
- There is a player in the big blind position every hand, while there are situations where no one is on the button. The big blind ante ensures that chips are in the centre before the cards are dealt, without exception.
- The whole idea of implementing consolidated antes in the first place was about saving time, and two players are faster than three.
John Duthie, President of partypoker LIVE, ran a survey on Twitter last month. Out of 6,769 votes, 52% preferred the big blind ante, while 27% preferred the button ante, and 21% wished they could go back to traditional antes. Players have spoken, and partypoker LIVE listened.
Three of Playground’s four annual festivals are presented by partypoker LIVE: the MILLIONS North America, the WSOP-C Playground, and the upcoming WPT Montreal. The latter, coming to Playground on October 26, will lead the way. Note that online Day 1s will continue with traditional antes, as always.
Application
The big blind ante will be applied on all tournaments that are part of the WPT Montreal festival. That is seven WPT Montreal events, eight Mega Satellites, and one Caribbean Poker Party Overlay Satellite.
At the WPT Montreal, some players will experience their first big blind ante tournament. It is important to know that the player in the big blind puts up the ante before posting the big blind. Therefore, in rare short-stack cases, it is still possible to be in a situation where you are all-in on the ante and can only win your chips back.
Playground counts on local players to be open-minded about the new format and to relay their comments to dealers and floor persons. These comments will be escalated to our Tournament Director, who will then decide upon the question of adoption.
The WPT Montreal, with its $8,000,000 in combined guarantees, starts in just a few days. Enjoy the festival!
