one might say 'ante up' in a few cases (e.g. when tallying), so I guess 'ante up' is pretty well known, just not to me.

This is interesting BY (no, really!)

We say "upping the ante" for "raising the stakes" over this side of the Pond. Not, as far as I know, "ante up", although I can't see why not.

Maybe not that interesting. Carry on strolling