In competitions, some people just want to win, while others seek to make things more interesting by raising the stakes. This may involve putting a cash prize or another item of great value on the line. The phrase “upping the ante” was coined to describe this practice in the game of poker, but it has evolved from the betting world to be used in other games of chance, and now it can apply to any high-stakes situation.
The modern version of poker developed in the early 19th century. Under these game rules, the ante (from the Latin ante, meaning “before”) refers to an event before a hand is dealt. During the ante phase, participants wanting to play that hand contribute money to a collective pot, which is eventually awarded to the winner of the hand.
While antes are generally small, players developed a betting strategy of increasing the ante for bigger payouts. This strategy sweetens the prize and weeds out players with insufficient funds who may not be as serious about competing. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the phrase “raising the ante” appeared in poker instructional manuals by the mid-1810s, indicating it was popular among gamblers, especially those with larger bankrolls.
The phrase quickly moved beyond poker tables, and by the late 19th century, it was adopted as American slang for a figurative description of an increase in an agreed-upon price. As an idiom, it might also be used in negotiations for an increase in the amount paid in advance (e.g., a down payment on a house). In time, bettors began to say “upping” as a colloquial alternative to “raising,” and the phrase “up the ante” entered the collective vernacular by the mid-1900s. Whether you’re at the poker table or the negotiating table, if someone says, “It’s time to raise [or up] the ante,” and you don’t have funds at the ready, it might be time to sit this one out.
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