[SittingBull]

5/10 and 10/20 is about 10% of the small bet(SB) in casinos.
In very low limit games like 1/2 to 1/5, there is USUALLY no ante in the casinos.
Even at the 10/20 game level,one has to be able to steal antes occasionally to survive the game.
The ante in the 15/30 game is about 20% of SB;50/100,about
20% of SB; 100/200 , about 25% of the SB.
Note that "Real Poker" starts at 15/30 limit because of the higher ante.
In this game , there is more of an early "knocking out" strategy--raising,betting aggressively on the early rounds.
If one can consistently beat this game,he will be able to move up to even higher limits;if he cannot beat this game,forget aboutb beating the higher limit games.
I believe the reason that there is usually NO ante in the real small limit games at casinos is that it is very unlikely that one will be able to steal the antes.
Hence,the games would be reduced to crap shoots.
Unless several players are folding in these very low-limit games on the 'net,U will not be able to protect your hands.
Hence,the game will be a crap shoot.
In the very high limit games,there is sufficient folding so one is able to protect his hand.
Whether or not the very low limit games are beatable depends on the plays of the opposition. If almost everyone stays to see 6th and 7th Strs., look for another table. If a few players are folding,there might be an opportunity for U to steal some antes.
U will then have a shot at beating these games.
If U see a table with very little or no folding for several rounds,do NOT play. The key to winning in games is to be able to protect your big pairs and be able to do some ante stealing when there are antes involved.
If the game is such that this can't be done,do not play.
In general,the higher the ante in relation to the betting limits,the more aggression there is and the more cards players will buy--hence,more players will tend to stay in for two or more rounds. In summary,with several players sticking around for several Strs. in an ante game,u can expect your bankroll to be gradually depleted over time.
So,unless U are interested in just having a little fun and do not care whether U win or lose,DO NOT PLAY in these games UNLESS the above conditions are favorable to U.
Happy pokering,
[img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img] SittingBull