An ante is the amount of money each player must put into the pot before a hand of poker begins. Before anyone sees their cards, everyone at the table pays the ante, creating a starting pot worth playing for. Without an ante, players could just fold hand after hand, waiting for perfect cards without risking anything.

The ante comes before the real betting starts.

People also use ante in everyday speech to mean the cost or stakes of participating in something. When someone says “the company raised the ante,” they mean the demands or requirements got bigger. If you want to compete in a spelling bee, studying ten minutes a night might work at first, but as you advance to harder levels, you'll need to up the ante by practicing more. Upping the ante means increasing what you're willing to risk or invest to stay in the game, whether that's a poker game, a business deal, or your own goals.