[VARoadstter]

Antes are paid by everyone. I've NEVER heard of the blinds getting a discount. I also can't remember any HE tourney where there were antes right from the start.

Now, if the OP was indicating that the tourney used antes instead of blinds then that's a whole different animal. In that circumstance the concept of EP, MP, and LP shift around to accout for the two added spots (since they aren't in the blinds anymore). Position is still the order of the day. The only real difference in strategy is that PF the button no longer has to worry about someone in the blinds having a big hand and reraising him. Stealing the blinds would also dissapear. In general, I would expect this setup to play a little tighter than one with blinds since noone is being offered a discount to continue in the hand.

Using blinds is an important part of HE. I would discourage any setup that didn't use them.