Linas Balaisis Showed How the Big-Blind Ante Works When You Have Less Than One Big Blind

Photo:  Linas Balaisis when he was all in for his small blind on the last hand he played on Day 1B.

The big-blind ante format is still relatively new to major poker tournaments, and a lot of people haven’t had a chance to experience it first hand yet. One of the questions that comes up is what happens when the player in the big blind can’t afford both the ante and the big blind?

Here at the Zynga Poker WPT500 Las Vegas, the rule is that, if a player can’t afford both, the ante is paid before the big blind.

During the 3,000-6,000 level last night near the end of Day 1B, with a big-blind ante of 6,000, Linas Balaisis lost an all-in situation and was knocked all the way down to just 6,000.

Normally, with the blinds at 3,000-6,000, there would be a 1,000 ante every hand, and most players would shove rather quickly before being forced all in for only one or two chips. But with the big-blind ante, Balaisis would have that same 6,000 every hand until he reached the big blind.

When the big blind came around to him, Balaisis was forced all in for the 6,000 ante (link to the hand), which became the main pot. What this meant is that even if everyone else at the table played the hand, Balaisis was only eligible to win back the 6,000 he put into the ante.

Balaisis wound up winning the hand with , and ended up with the same 6,000 that he started the hand with. But at least he was still alive.

The next hand, Balaisis was in the small blind, but only had to commit 3,000. In a tourney with traditional antes, Balaisis would have to commit 4,000 (an extra 1,000 for the ante), and would be blinded out two hands later, forcing most players to shove blind in this spot. But Balaisis knew that if he folded here, he could survive an entire round with his 3,000 before he’d be forced all in from the big blind again. And that’s what he did — Balaisis folded his small blind to survive another round. (Link to the hand.)

Balaisis didn’t find any good spots to shove that round, and the big blind came around to him again. Just like last time, he was forced all in for the ante, and only eligible to win back his own chips — 3,000.

This time, he was only up against one opponent, and needed his to overcome the of Dmitrii Shchepkin. Shchepkin paired his jack on the flop to take a huge lead, but Balaisis caught a runner-runner king-high straight to win back his 3,000 and stay alive once again. (Link to the hand.)

With 13 players remaining, and only the final 12 advancing to Day 2, it goes without saying that most of the players at his table were rooting for Balaisis to survive until the end of the day. But he still needed to survive his small blind, where he’d be forced all in once again.

The blinds increased to 4,000-8,000, with a big-blind ante of 8,000, which benefitted Balaisis, because if he won the pot he’d get an extra 2,000 from the larger ante. Balaisis put his last 3,000 out for his small blind.

Two players limped ahead of him, and the big blind checked his option, so Balaisis would have to win a four-way all-in situation to stay alive (link to the hand). But if he won, he’d be eligible for the full 8,000 ante, plus 4 bets of 3,000 (his own plus three others) for a total of 20,000.

The board came , and everyone turned over their cards:

Dmitrii Shchepkin:    (king high)
Joseph Guarino:    (eight high)
Hal Light:    (king high)
Linas Balaisis:    (ace high)

Amazingly, none of the four players connected with the board in any way, and Balaisis won the main pot with his ace to more than sextuple up to 20,000. And he wouldn’t have to play another hand until the big blind came back around.

Shortly after this hand, Ilkin Amirov was eliminated from the other table in 13th place when he flopped a flush but chipleader Martin Romanec turned a full house, and Balaisis had made it to Day 2.

The entire table congratulated Balaisis for surviving the day, and he posed for a photo with table chipleader Cody Brinn. Balaisis bagged up exactly 20,000, the same amount as the starting stack.

Even in this edge case, where a short-stacked player has less than the big blind, everyone at the table seemed to be a fan of the big-blind ante. It certainly changes the dynamics and options for someone with that few chips, but the spirit of playing with a chip and a chair remains the same.

Photo:  Table chipleader Cody Brinn (left) and ultra-short-stack Linas Balaisis pose for a photo after surviving Day 1B with very different chip stacks.