Create a market
This is the part other platforms don't hand you: you don't wait around for someone to list the market you want. You make it yourself.
Opening one takes about a minute. You write the question, set the outcomes, decide who can bet and for how long, and put up a little to get the odds moving. Then it's live.
What you're setting
- The question. Keep it clear and objective. "Will X happen by Friday?" beats "Will X do well?" Anyone reading it should agree on what counts as a win.
- The outcomes. Yes/No for a straight call, or a handful of options for a multi-way race.
- How it resolves. Name the source of truth and when it settles, an official result, a published number, a set date. This part is the contract, so be specific.
- Who can bet. Public puts it on the board for everyone. Private keeps it off the board, open only to people you send the link to.
- How long it runs. A standing market until the event happens, or an ephemeral one that closes on a timer. You can also cap how many people join or how big the pot gets.
- Starting liquidity. You seed the market with a little of your own so there's something to bet against from minute one.
Public or private
Same engine, same payouts, same wallet. What changes is who's in the market, and that quietly changes the odds.
Go public and it's on the board for anyone to find and bet.
Go private and it's invisible to everyone except the people you hand the link to: your group chat, a Discord, a handful of friends.
Here's the part most people miss. A huge public market stampedes onto the obvious answer, the favorite gets bet down to 90¢, so calling it right wins you a dime.
A private market is priced by your circle instead of the whole internet. Back a take your friends are underrating, and the odds, and your payout, run far better than the public crowd would ever hand you.
About the seed
Your seed isn't a fee, and it isn't gone. It's your own first position in the market, the bit of money that gives early bettors something to trade against.
As people bet, the odds move off your starting point and the market takes on a life of its own.
Make it a market people trust
A market is only as good as its question. The ones that work share three things:
- Clear. One reading, one meaning. No "kind of" outcomes.
- Checkable. A source anyone can look up to confirm the result.
- Time-boxed. A realistic deadline, so it actually resolves.
Vague or unverifiable markets tend to get disputed or voided, which is no fun for anyone who bet on them.
How it gets resolved
When the event lands, the outcome is proposed and there's a window for anyone to challenge it before money moves. Settle your markets straight and you build a reputation people will bet on. Try to game it and the dispute system catches it.
The full process is in Market resolution.