I aint payin' the Ante.

[HeroInBlack]

I only play on PokerStars myself, but my feeling is that the antes really ratchet up the action and reward blind-stealing a lot more. Usually the ante makes it 2.5 BB in the pot before anyone does anything, rather than 1.5BB in a non-anted game. That's a pretty big difference.

As a matter of fact, my mark for when I really start stealing blinds aggressively is whenever the antes come into play.

It automatically decreases everyone's M value and mandates a good bit more action. I think for this reason, those of us that are willing to get in there and play some pots and get a little LAGgy benefit greatly during ante time over those that want to fold til they get a big hand.

But again, I've never played really without the ante, so criticism from those that have is more than welcome.