You’re sitting in a boardroom. The AC is humming a bit too loud, and someone in a crisp Patagonia vest leans forward, adjusts their glasses, and says, "Look, high-speed charging is just table stakes at this point." Everyone nods. They all act like they’ve known this term since birth. But if you strip away the corporate gloss, what are we actually talking about?
Basically, the phrase comes from poker. In the gambling world, "table stakes" refers to the rule that a player can’t bet more than what they already have on the table in front of them. You can't reach into your pocket for your car keys or a gold watch mid-hand. It’s the minimum buy-in. The entry fee. The "you must be this tall to ride" sign for the business world.
If you don't have the table stakes, you aren't even in the game. You're just a spectator.
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The poker roots and the shift to business
In a high-stakes game of Texas Hold 'em, the rule exists to keep things fair. It prevents someone with a bottomless bankroll from bullying everyone else just because they have deeper pockets. If I have $500 on the table and you have $10,000, you can’t bet $5,000 to force me out of a hand I might actually win. My "table stakes" limit the action.
But somewhere along the line—likely in the late 20th century as management consulting took over the world—the term morphed. It stopped being about a limitation on betting and started being about the minimum requirements to compete in a specific market.
Honestly, it’s a bit of a linguistic drift. In business, if someone says "mobile responsiveness is table stakes for an e-commerce site," they mean that if your site doesn't work on a phone, you might as well not exist. You haven't even met the baseline expectations of the customer. You haven't paid your buy-in.
Why the definition gets messy
People mix this up with "competitive advantage" all the time. They’re opposites.
A competitive advantage is why a customer chooses you over the other guy. Table stakes are why they don't immediately click "back" and find someone else. It's the difference between having a Michelin-star chef (advantage) and having a kitchen that passes health inspections (table stakes). One gets you noticed; the other keeps you from being shut down before you start.
Think about the smartphone market. In 2007, a touch screen was a revolutionary feature. It was the "wow" factor. By 2026? It’s the definition of table stakes. If a company launched a premium phone today with a physical T9 keypad and no screen, they wouldn't be "disrupting" the market; they’d be failing to meet the entry requirements.
Real-world examples of shifting baselines
What’s wild about this concept is that it’s a moving target. What was a luxury five years ago is a basic expectation today.
- SaaS and Software: Remember when "Cloud-based" was a selling point? Now, if you try to sell a business software that requires a local server installation and manual disk updates, you’ll be laughed out of the room. SOC2 compliance? Table stakes for enterprise deals. If you don't have that security certification, the procurement department won't even look at your pitch deck.
- The Hotel Industry: In the 1990s, hotels used to charge $15 a day for Wi-Fi. It was a revenue stream. Today, if a hotel tries to charge for basic Wi-Fi, guests leave a one-star review before they’ve even unpacked. High-speed internet is the new "clean sheets." It’s a baseline.
- Streaming Services: A massive library of content used to be the differentiator. Now, every platform has a massive library. The new table stakes? An algorithm that actually knows what you want to watch and a mobile app that allows offline downloads.
The trap of over-investing in the baseline
Here is where most companies mess up.
They spend all their time, energy, and capital trying to perfect the table stakes. They obsess over making the "best" version of something that the customer already expects to be standard. You see this in the automotive industry. Every car needs a backup camera and Apple CarPlay. That's a given. If a brand spends 90% of its R&D just trying to make the best backup camera, they’re wasting resources.
Why? Because no one buys a car because of the backup camera. They just won't buy it without one.
Expert strategist Wardley Mapping often discusses this as "commodity" vs. "genesis." When something becomes a commodity—or table stakes—you should spend as little as possible to meet the standard so you can focus your "innovation budget" on the stuff that actually differentiates you.
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How to identify your own table stakes
You have to look at your industry through the eyes of a cynical, tired customer. What are the things they don't even mention in reviews unless they’re missing?
- Ask "So what?": If you tell a customer a feature and they respond with "Well, yeah, I'd hope so," that’s table stakes.
- Look at the laggards: Look at the worst performing competitor in your space who is still somehow in business. Whatever features they have? Those are your table stakes.
- Check the "Must-Have" vs. "Delighter" framework: This is often called the Kano Model. "Must-be" qualities (table stakes) result in intense dissatisfaction if they aren't there, but they don't actually increase satisfaction if you make them better and better.
The danger of "Feature Creep"
Sometimes, companies mistake a competitor's flashy new feature for new table stakes. They panic.
"Oh no, XYZ Corp just added AI-generated avatars to their chat app! We need that too!"
Wait. Is that really table stakes? Does the customer need it to function, or is it just a gimmick? If you chase every "innovation" as if it’s a new entry requirement, you’ll end up with a bloated, expensive product that does everything passably and nothing exceptionally.
In the late 2010s, many retailers thought having a dedicated mobile app was table stakes. They spent millions building them. Turns out, most people just wanted a website that didn't break on a mobile browser. The app wasn't the stake; the mobile experience was.
Beyond Business: Table Stakes in Relationships and Careers
We use this in our personal lives too, even if we don't realize it.
In a job interview, "showing up on time" and "having a clean resume" are table stakes. You don't get the job because you showed up on time. You just lose the chance if you’re late.
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In a modern career, especially in 2026, "digital literacy" is no longer a skill you list on a resume. It's expected. Being able to navigate a collaborative workspace or use basic generative AI tools has become the new buy-in for most white-collar roles. If you have to be taught how to use a shared doc, you haven't met the stakes.
Actionable insights for your strategy
Stop treating every feature like a revolution.
First, perform a "Stakes Audit." List every feature of your product or service. Be brutal. If a competitor has it and it’s standard across the top five players in your niche, label it "Table Stakes."
Second, optimize for cost on those items. Don't over-engineer the baseline. If you're building a project management tool, it needs a "task list." Don't spend six months reinventing the task list. Use a standard UI pattern, make it work, and move on.
Third, find your "Differentiator." This is the thing that sits on top of the table stakes. It’s the reason people talk about you.
If you spend all your time meeting the buy-in, you’ll never have enough chips left to actually win the pot. Identify the minimum, hit it efficiently, and then put your real energy into the "wow" factor that actually changes the game.