It’s Big Blind Ante time at Battle of Malta
The Battle of Malta is the latest major event to make the switch to adopting a Big Blind Ante. The practice helps speed up the game with the player in the big blind posting antes for the whole table, rather than each player having to post their own.
The Battle of Malta is taking place from October 25-30 at Casino Malta, in the InterContinental Conference Centre in the heart of buzzing St Julian’s and features a €1,000,000 guarantee Main Event.
The Big Blind Ante has been growing in popularity since ARIA casino in Las Vegas introduced it for their high roller series last year. The EPT used the Big Blind Ante in all NL tourneys in Monte Carlo this year and the WSOP also adopted the Big Blind Ante for various bracelet events this summer after testing it out at WSOP circuit events.
The ante comes into force in Level 2 of the Battle of Malta Main Event but this year, instead of each player posting an ante each hand, the player in the Big Blind will post an ante amount equal to the Big Blind.
If a player in the tournament doesn’t have enough chips for both the Big Blind and the Ante, the Big Blind will be posted first, followed by the ante. Essentially, the ante is no longer a specified amount that each player pays each hand but a specified amount that each player pays each round.
The Big Blind Ante format means players will no longer have to remember to ante each hand and it ensure there aren’t any disputes over whether a player has put in their ante or not. The practice also makes it much easier for dealers who no longer have to constantly remind players to put in their ante and to make sure all the antes have been posted.
As PokerNews wrote in January: “Even with things motoring along at a fast pace, there’s no getting around the fact that the logistics of collecting an ante from every single player on every single hand takes time.“
Tournament director Luca Vivaldi said: “Having a Big Blind Ante is a great development at live events. It’s the best and biggest change in modern poker and players at EPT Monte Carlo loved it. It makes life easier for both the players and the dealers and it also means you don’t need to keep small denomination chips in play just so that players can post their ante.”
Flight 1d added
Further news from the Battle of Malta is that an extra Day 1d Turbo has now been added to the schedule. The late night flight will start at 9pm on Saturday, October 27, and is expected to finish at the same time as Day 1c which gets underway earlier on at 1pm.
This year’s €550 buy-in Battle of Malta Main Event also features unlimited re-entries for the first time. The first three starting flights all have 40 minute blind levels with the new Day 1d Turbo featuring 20 minute blind levels. All Day 1 players will have a starting stack of 25,000 and all Day 1 flights will play down to the money.
The first Battle of Malta in 2012 attracted 349 entries, creating a total prize pool of €169,265. The event has grown year on year and in 2017 Battle of Malta once again broke its own record with a staggering 2,074 entries, making it the largest poker tournament ever held in Malta. This year’s Battle of Malta promises to be the biggest yet.
