Hey there @mentalhealthguru,

Thanks for asking!

The estimation of 5 STEEM is exactly that: just an estimation.

Payout can fluctuate between days/weeks, depending on how many people are bidding/overbidding. Just today, bidding was halted for roughly an hour due to not enough bids. But rest assured, that's something we're looking into to automate, to prevent losses of ROI.

Sincerely,
Team Smartsteem