How would you feel if you were pounded by the BBA time and time again short-handed whilst on the cusp of reaching the final table (along with your aforementioned contributions to the pot that aren’t matched by your opponents in a given hand) only to get knocked out just before getting there. Then *those* players start a “new structure” that is more forgiving without the shorted pots or the elevated BBA when short-handed. This “solution” only introduces even more inequity.

Again, all these problems are accepted in order to get a couple more hands in per hour?
No thanks.

Quote:
“While it is true that the bb ante is unmatched by other players in a given hand, however, in a round of poker, everyone will have made that same contribution.”

Be that as it may, this is of no consolation to the player in the BBA who is shorted 1BB per opponent when they win a hand (not to mention the situation when the player won’t be at the table for the full round but has paid a full round of antes in advance.) This is an egregious violation to the basic philosophy of a betting game, like poker. Examine starting stacks versus ending stacks and you’ll see how this affects the integrity of the game.

Bets need to be matched *during* the hand one is playing.

This example shows the problem:
Traditional ante:

Blinds 150/300/30 at ten player table
BB is all in preflop (started hand with 1530) versus 4 other players (including the player in the SB)
POT (7800)

The hand is checked down.
BB wins the chip pot. BB risked 1530 chips (vs four opponents) and nets 6270 chips.
BB started hand with 5.1BB and ends hand with 26BB.

“Equal” big blind ante structure:

Blinds 150/300/300 at ten player table
BB is all in preflop (started hand with 1530) versus 4 other players (including the player in the SB)
POT (6450)

The hand is checked down.
BB wins the 6450 chip pot. BB risked 1530 chips and nets 4920 chips.
BB started hand with 5.1BB and ends hand with 21.5BB.

Someone should not have to adjust their play to deal with this sort of inequity. And what is the adjustment? Make sure you don’t get your best hands when seated in the BBA?

The BBA is problematic and changes the game in a major way, all in exchange for a couple more hands per hour. Drawbacks far exceed the benefits.

We can do better.

These are some good points. While it is true that the bb ante is unmatched by other players in a given hand, however, in a round of poker, everyone will have made that same contribution.

Heads up is, of course, simply the extreme of the short handed situation. Most places where I have encountered the BB Ante have made considerations for the final table (often going back to a traditional ante for the final table, solving this “problem”.

The upshot, however, is that poker rooms are adopting the big blind ante format at a rapid pace. Yes, it will push action on small stacks. Poker players will need to adjust their play accordingly.

Not to mention the BBA in a heads-up situation is quite an extreme change.

And there are also well-known issues that demonstrate flaws with this new format when the player in the BBA spot is very short.

Some of these issues are discussed in more detail here:
https://bbante.com/blog/

Does anteing slow down the game? Yes, marginally and it’s worse when you have inexperienced dealers (but having inexperienced dealers is another issue altogether). But we have “solved” the ante issue with a “solution” that introduces more problems than it solves. We in the poker community can certainly come up with than this.