How to enter a market
Before you start
- Install the extension and create or import a wallet. See Install the extension.
- Hold the native asset of the chain the token is on. Markets on Robinhood Chain are staked in ETH, on BNB Chain in BNB, on Solana in SOL. Stablecoins and other tokens in the wallet cannot be staked.
- Keep a little extra for network fees. The first entry on a market also opens that market on chain and costs slightly more gas than a later entry.
1. Open a supported token page
Go to a token page on one of the sites listed in What is live. A Pools Markets control appears on the card or under the token header. Click it to open the panel.
2. Read the panel
Before the amount field, the panel shows:
- The question. For example, “Will TOKEN graduate within the next 30m?” or “Will TOKEN’s price rise 12% from where betting closes, within the next 15m?”. The percentage and the window are part of the question and are fixed when the market opens.
- Two outcomes, each with its current share of the pool. The share moves as people enter. It is not a price and not a probability.
- CLOSES, a countdown to the entry deadline.
- MIN and MAX, the smallest and largest amount this market accepts from one wallet.
- EST. PAYOUT, what your stake would return if your outcome wins and nobody else enters. It is already net of the protocol fee. It changes with every new entry until the market closes.
The questions currently offered, by token state:
| Question | Entry window | What is measured | Total time from open |
|---|---|---|---|
| Will it graduate? (bonding-curve tokens) | 15 min | Whether the token graduated by the end of the window | 30 min |
| Will it be up 15% or more? (pools.xyz and Pons instant launches, graduated Pons tokens) | 15 min | Valuation 15 min after entries close, compared with the valuation when they closed | 30 min |
| Will it launch successfully? (pools.xyz auctions) | 15 min | Whether the launch completed within the window | 1 h |
| Will the price rise X%? (graduated four.meme and pump.fun tokens) | Shown in panel | Whether the price touched the stated level at any point in the window after entries closed, measured from the price at close | Shown in panel |
The full rule for each question type is in Questions and eligibility and Rules.
3. Choose an outcome and an amount
Pick one outcome. Enter an amount between MIN and MAX. Review the outcome, the amount, the estimate and the network fee, then confirm. The extension signs the transaction locally with your vault key and broadcasts it. Nothing leaves your device except the signed transaction.
If you are the first person to enter this market, your transaction also creates it on chain. The market’s terms were signed by the Pools Markets planner in advance; your wallet, not a Pools Markets server, pays for and submits the opening transaction.
4. Read the status carefully
The words in the panel are deliberate:
| Status | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Submitted | The signed transaction was handed to the network. Your position is not open yet. | Wait. |
| Confirmed onchain | The chain accepted it. The position is syncing into the extension. | Nothing. |
| Reconciling, or “may already be in flight” | The extension lost the network’s answer and does not know whether your money moved. | Do not retry. The extension refuses a second attempt until it knows. |
| Nothing was submitted | A pre-check failed: the window closed, the simulated fee exceeded the safety limit, or the network rate-limited the check. | Try again if the market is still open. |
A timeout is not a failure. Only a reverted receipt is.
5. Wait for the result
At the deadline the panel switches to Round observing. Entries are closed, and the market is measured according to its rules. Depending on the question, the result is known between a few minutes and an hour after entries close. Resolvers then sign the result, a 30-second finality delay passes, and the market is finalised. Details are in Resolution and voids.
6. Get paid
Payouts and refunds are automatic. You do not claim. When the market is finalised, the payout is sent to the address that entered; on Solana the position account is closed and its rent returned as well. The position in the extension moves to WON, LOST or REFUNDED, and the wallet activity shows the transfer.
If your outcome wins, you receive your stake plus your share of the losing stakes, less the 3% fee on that profit. If the market voids, you receive your full stake back and no fee is charged. See Positions, payouts and fees.
7. Find it later
- Positions lists open and settling positions.
- Settled lists final results with the amount paid or refunded.
- The side panel keeps both visible while you browse.
- Wallet → Activity shows the transactions themselves.