Gambling terms, explained straight

Odds, Probability & Bankroll

5 card poker payouts

5 card poker payouts are the prize schedule for a 5-card poker game, showing how much each winning hand rank pays.

Top payout
4,000 for a royal flush in some games1
Lowest payout
1 for certain pairs; 0 for non-paying hands1
Total hands
2,598,960 distinct 5-card hands in a 52-card deck5

Key points

  • A pay table lists the payout for each hand rank; the same hand can pay differently across game variants.12
  • In 5-card deal the return is 93.977%; in 5-card draw it is 94.986%.1
  • Standard hand probabilities include 4 royal flushes, 36 straight flushes, and 624 four of a kind out of 2,598,960 hands.53

Where this term is used

Not the same as

  • Pai gow poker payouts — pai gow poker payouts use a different hand-ranking and payout structure, often splitting the hand into high and low halves rather than a single 5-card pay table4
  • Probability of flush in 5-card poker — the probability of flush in 5-card poker refers to the chance of being dealt a flush (5,108 combinations out of 2,598,960), not the amount the flush pays53

Sources

  1. 3-Way Action - Wizard of Odds wizardofodds.com Provides the 5-card deal pay table with specific payout values and return percentages.
  2. 2 3 5 Stud Poker wizardofodds.com Confirms that 5 card poker payouts apply to 5-card poker variants and that pay tables vary by game.
  3. Poker Probabilities wizardofodds.com Lists the standard probabilities for 5-card poker hands.
  4. Four Card Poker wizardofodds.com Used to distinguish pai gow poker payouts from 5 card poker payouts.
  5. Poker probability en.wikipedia.org Provides the total number of distinct 5-card hands and hand combination counts.

Sources are drawn from regulators, universities and published research, and each one is labelled with what it actually is — a preprint is not called a paper. Bookmaker and affiliate pages are never cited here, because a page that sells betting is not a neutral authority on it.