Pay Tables, Odds and House Edge
Four wagers use three different payout rules. Here are the numbers and what they mean in real play.
Across
Graded on the Across hand
Main tableDown
Graded on the Down hand
Main tableMiddle
Graded on the higher hand
Main tableAt a $25 ante, maximum exposure in one round is $275.
Across, Down and Middle Pay Table
Across uses the Across hand, Down uses the Down hand, and Middle uses whichever of the two finishes higher.
How each wager is graded
Ante Across and Ante Down
The ante is flat money
The antes pay even money on any high pair or better and push on a low pair. A royal flush pays the ante exactly the same as a pair of Jacks does.
All the upside sits on the Across, Down and Middle bets, which is why the published strategy raises the maximum as often as it does.
The upside sits on the Across, Down and Middle bets.
The ante is the toll you pay to be dealt in. The pay table is where the money is. See the strategy.
Five Card Bonus
Uses the five community cards only. Your hole cards do not count.
No playing decision changes this bet.
How Often Each Hand Appears
Out of 2,598,960 total five-card combinations.
Before you make a single decision, your Across hand and your Down hand are each just five random cards out of a 52-card deck, so the standard five-card probabilities apply exactly. The two hands share three cards, so they are strongly correlated with each other, but each one on its own follows the table above.
Where the House Edge Comes From
Multiply each payout by its probability and you get the return of a bet made blindly, with no folding and no bet sizing.
Those blind figures are what the bets return if you never fold and never size up. The gap between them and 4.33% is exactly what your three decisions are for.
Why the element of risk is lower
The 4.33% house edge is measured against the forced ante you must post. Because good play puts more money at risk when you have stronger hands, the actual element of risk (the edge on the money actually exposed) is lower at 1.48%.
That is a genuinely competitive number for a casino table game.
Numbers Players Usually Ask
Is 4.33% the amount lost on every dollar wagered?
No. The 4.33% is measured against the forced ante. Good strategy moves more of your money to the larger wagers when you have stronger hands, so the house edge on the money actually at risk, known as the element of risk, is 1.48%.
Why is the element of risk lower than the house edge?
Because they measure different denominators. House edge divides the expected loss by the ante you are required to post; element of risk divides it by everything you actually put on the felt across the hand, which is far more than the ante once you start raising.
Does the Five Card Bonus use my hole cards?
No. It is scored on the five community cards alone and settles whether or not you folded anything else that hand. Nothing you decide changes it.
Which wagers pay the main pay table?
Across, Down and Middle. The two antes are flat money: even money on a high pair or better, a push on a low pair. The Five Card Bonus has its own separate table.
What is the most I can have at risk in one round?
Eleven units: both antes plus 3x on Across, Down and Middle. At a $25 ante that is $275, or $300 if you also take the Five Card Bonus. More on bankroll.
Now put the numbers into practice
See the payouts in action and build stronger decisions.
House edge and element-of-risk figures follow the published analysis at Wizard of Odds. The probability and blind-return figures on this page were computed directly from the pay tables and all 2,598,960 five-card combinations.