# Parimutuel Pool Markets Parimutuel markets are Strike's pool-based prediction market format. They sit alongside the FBA orderbook: orderbook markets are best for actively traded binary outcomes, while pool markets are best for multi-choice events, longer-running questions, and simple buy-and-hold exposure without managing limit orders. This page covers standard USDT/STRIKE pool markets; creator-launched BEP20 pools are covered in [Flap Token Pools](/getting-started/flap-token-pools.md). ## What They Are A parimutuel market has **2–8 outcomes**. Traders choose an outcome and buy into that outcome's pool with the configured pool collateral, typically USDT or STRIKE. There is no orderbook and no selling/cashout in the current pool UX — positions are internal, non-transferable claims on the final pool. When the market resolves, the winning side receives: 1. their own winning principal back, plus 2. a proportional share of the losing outcome pools. Losing outcomes pay nothing. If a market is invalid or cancelled, users can refund their principal. ## Orderbook vs. Parimutuel | Feature | FBA Orderbook Markets | Parimutuel Pool Markets | | ------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- | | Best for | Liquid binary markets and active trading | Multi-choice events and simple directional exposure | | Outcomes | Binary UP/DOWN or YES/NO | 2–8 named outcomes | | Pricing | Limit-order price discovery, $0.01–$0.99 ticks | Pool-implied probabilities from current liquidity | | Execution | Periodic batch auctions at a uniform clearing price | Immediate buy into the selected outcome pool | | Position management | Can sell before expiry through the orderbook | Buy-and-hold until claim/refund | | Resolution | Pyth, AI, or admin fallback depending on market | Admin, AI, or Pyth with admin fallback | | Payout | Winning positions redeem fixed value per lot | Winners split losing pools pro-rata | Both systems are fully collateralized and settle through on-chain contracts. Orderbook markets use USDT; standard pool markets use configured pool collateral such as USDT or STRIKE. ## Market Timing Parimutuel V2 separates the betting cutoff from the event timestamp: * **Trading close time** — the last time users can buy into the pools. * **Resolution time** — the event/reference timestamp used by the resolver. This matters for markets where betting should close before the event concludes. For example, a sports market can stop accepting buys at kickoff but resolve after full time. The contracts enforce `resolutionTime >= tradingCloseTime`. Buying and pool closing use `tradingCloseTime`; admin, AI, and Pyth resolution paths use `resolutionTime`. ## Resolution Modes ### Admin The market creator/admin resolves to the winning outcome or marks the market invalid. This is useful for controlled internal markets and events that require human judgment. ### AI The Parimutuel AI resolver sends a configured prompt to the Flap AI Oracle. The AI proposes the winning outcome, then a challenge/finality flow allows review before finalization. If the AI path fails or is challenged, the market can fall back to admin resolution. ### Pyth The Parimutuel Pyth resolver uses a Pyth price feed at the market's `resolutionTime` and maps price thresholds to outcomes. This supports price-range markets such as "Where will BTC/USD be at 12:00 UTC?" with multiple buckets. ## Pool Pricing Strike uses bounded curve presets to turn pool balances into displayed probabilities and projected payouts. The default recommended curve is the independent-log preset with `L = 40,000 USDT`; a more conservative `L = 100,000 USDT` preset is also supported. The frontend shows: * each outcome's current pool size, * implied probability, * projected payout for a new buy, * total pool size, * user's positions and claim/refund state. ## Lifecycle 1. **Created** — outcomes, resolver mode, trading close time, resolution time, fee, and curve are configured. 2. **Open** — users buy into outcome pools until `tradingCloseTime`. 3. **Closed** — no more buys; the market waits for `resolutionTime`. 4. **Resolving** — AI/Pyth/admin resolution is requested or submitted. 5. **Resolved** — winning outcome is final; winners can claim. 6. **Invalid/Cancelled** — users can refund principal. ## Contracts The standard parimutuel stack is separate from the orderbook stack: * `ParimutuelFactory` — creates markets and coordinates lifecycle/resolution. * `ParimutuelPoolManager` — handles buys, pool accounting, and curve math. * `ParimutuelVault` — holds configured collateral for standard pool markets. * `ParimutuelRedemption` — claims winning payouts and refunds invalid markets. * `ParimutuelAIResolver` — Flap AI Oracle integration and challenge/finality flow. * `ParimutuelPythResolver` — Pyth price-threshold resolution. See [Deployments](/smart-contracts/deployments.md) for live addresses. ## Flap Token Pools Flap Token Pools use a separate native-token pool stack for creator-launched markets backed by arbitrary BEP20 collateral. They share the same parimutuel idea — buy an outcome, winners split losing pools — but use hosted official metadata, an on-chain creator prompt, FLAP AI resolution, and a `0.05 BNB` creator bond. See [Flap Token Pools](/getting-started/flap-token-pools.md). --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.strike.pm/getting-started/parimutuel-markets.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. 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