table stakes

noun

A rule whereby players are only allowed to bet the money they have on the table.

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Meanings

nountable stakes pl (plural only)
  1. pluralplural onlycard gamesA rule whereby players are only allowed to bet the money they have on the table.
  2. figurativelypluralplural onlybusinessThe stake that a stakeholder must put up even just to earn a place at the table (a chance to compete), let alone ensure a win.

    So what makes people want to 'listen' to a brand? Sounding like a human, ugh; that's table stakes. If that's all you can say about your social approach, you're not trying hard enough.

    2016, Geoffrey Colon, Disruptive Marketing: What Growth Hackers, Data Punks, and Other Hybrid Thinkers Can Teach Us About Navigating the New Normal, →ISBN, page 143
  3. pluralplural onlyUsed other than figuratively or idiomatically: see table, stakes.
Cite this entry
APA

table stakes. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/table%20stakes

MLA

“table stakes.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/table%20stakes. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “table stakes,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/table%20stakes.

Source: table stakes on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.