How does Polymarket work? Contracts, odds and withdrawals on Polymarket US

Polymarket US or polymarket.com: which one can you use in the US?

Polymarket runs two separate products. Polymarket calls polymarket.com its international, crypto-based product. Accounts there are crypto wallets, and trades are backed by pUSD, a token backed by USDC on the Polygon network. polymarket.com says trading is blocked in the United States, and its geoblock list marks the US as close-only: people in the US can close old positions but cannot open new ones.

Polymarket US is the one a US reader can use. It is run by QCX LLC, which the CFTC lists as a designated contract market since July 9, 2025, and Polymarket describes it as a separate, US-regulated platform where every trade is in US dollars. It has its own signup and identity check.

Everything below is about Polymarket US. Is Polymarket legit? covers its regulatory history and state court cases, Is Kalshi legit? does the same for Kalshi, and the prediction markets hub lists the other apps doddo covers.

How does Polymarket work? Contracts, prices and payouts

Every Polymarket US market is a yes or no question, such as whether a team wins a game. You buy a contract on the side you think is right. If that side happens, each contract pays $1. If it does not, the contract pays nothing. Prices sit between $0 and $1 and are shown in cents, so a contract at 40¢ costs 40 cents and pays $1 if you are right.

You can pick No as easily as Yes. Polymarket US records a No as a short position on the same contract, so the two sides mirror each other: at 70¢, a Yes risks 70 cents to make 30, and a No risks 30 cents to make 70.

Most markets let you buy part of a contract in steps of 0.01, so your dollar amount does not have to divide evenly. Polymarket US's own example is $100 at 65¢, which buys 153.84 contracts before the fee. A few markets, mostly futures, trade whole contracts only.

Polymarket US says it does not set prices or take the other side of your trades. Prices come from buy and sell orders matched between traders in a central order book.

How do Polymarket odds work?

On Polymarket, the price is the odds. Polymarket US says a contract at 62¢ implies roughly a 62% chance that the event happens. The app can show odds as a price or a percent: in the Portfolio tab, tap settings, then Odds format.

To compare with a sportsbook, convert the price. A 40¢ price is a 40% implied chance, decimal odds of 2.50 and American odds of +150. An 80¢ price is 80%, 1.25 and -400. The odds converter does this for any price. These numbers leave out the trading fee, which trims what you get back.

Cheap contracts pay more when they win, because the market thinks they are less likely to. Before fees, $10 buys 100 contracts at 10 cents, which pay $100 if right. At 25 cents it buys 40 that pay $40, at 50 cents 20 that pay $20, and at 80 cents 12.5 that pay $12.50.

Can you sell before the market settles?

Yes. Polymarket US says you can close a position at any time while the market is open, and the sale proceeds go to your cash balance right away. You sell at whatever price other traders will pay, so you can keep part of a gain or cut a loss before the result is known.

Selling is not always possible at a good price. Polymarket US's risk disclosure warns that a market may lack buyers, which could leave you holding a contract until it expires, and its help page says prices can change quickly as a market nears its result. Selling into the order book also costs a taker fee.

Trading runs nearly around the clock. The exception is a maintenance window every Thursday from 6 to 8 a.m. Eastern, in place since September 24, 2026, and all open orders are canceled before each window.

How are Polymarket US markets resolved, and can you dispute a result?

Each market's rules name the source that decides it: the league for sports, a government agency such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics for economic data, a named index for crypto prices, or named news outlets. Once the result is public, the exchange confirms it against those rules. Winning contracts settle at $1 and losing ones at $0, Polymarket Clearing processes the settlement, and your Portfolio updates when it is done. Some markets set different settlement terms in their rules, so read them before you trade.

When a rule can be read more than one way, Polymarket US can post a clarification. It may cancel resting orders when it does.

Polymarket US describes no way for traders to dispute or appeal an outcome. Under Rule 10.4 of the Polymarket US rulebook, dated September 30, 2026, senior officers may review a contract before settlement, decide its final outcome and reverse an outcome in case of obvious error, and the company's determinations are final. Rule 9.2 sends claims against the exchange to binding arbitration in New York under the website terms of use. If you think a rule was broken, Is Polymarket legit? lists where to complain.

How to use Polymarket: signing up and the identity check

You must be at least 18 and have reached the age of majority in your state. Both the Polymarket US rulebook and its participant agreement say so. You also cannot use it from a place where trading is barred by law or by Polymarket US policy, and Polymarket US publishes no list of the US states it serves. Signing up, per its account guide:

• In the Polymarket US app, create an account with Google or Apple ID. Polymarket US gives you a username, which you can change later in Settings.
• Enter your date of birth, phone number (confirmed with a texted code), legal name, home address and Social Security number.
• Pass the identity check. Most people are verified at once. Others are asked for a government ID and a selfie. Polymarket US says federal identity and anti-money-laundering rules require the check, and you cannot deposit or trade until it is done.
• If your account goes under review, the usual reasons are details that do not match, details already tied to another account, or extra compliance checks. The app shows the result when the review ends.

How do you deposit on Polymarket US?

Polymarket US takes debit cards, ACH bank transfers, Apple Pay (iPhone only), PayPal, Venmo, USDC (iPhone, where available) and wire transfers. Every deposit must come from an account in your name. Neither its deposit pages nor its fee schedule list a deposit fee.

• Debit card and ACH: up to $25,000 per deposit, $50,000 a day and $2,000,000 in any rolling 60 days. Both take 3 to 4 business days to clear. Bank accounts are linked through Aeropay.
• Wire: a $5,000 minimum, no maximum, and 1 business day to clear.
• Deposits other than wires can give you buying power right away, so you can trade before the money clears. You cannot withdraw it until it does. Polymarket US does not publish limits or clearing times for Apple Pay, PayPal, Venmo or USDC.

How do Polymarket withdrawals work?

Polymarket US says you can withdraw your cash balance for free. You can withdraw to a debit card or a bank account by ACH, to Apple Pay on an iPhone if you deposited with it, to a PayPal or Venmo account you deposited from, or as USDC to a crypto wallet on an iPhone where available. Wires are not available in the app, so you ask support for one. The withdrawal rules:

• Debit card and ACH withdrawals typically arrive in 3 to 4 business days, and wires in 1 business day. Polymarket US does not list a time for the other methods.
• You can only withdraw deposits that have fully cleared, which typically takes 3 to 4 business days for card and ACH. Until then the money is in flight, and that includes trading gains made with it.
• Withdrawals go back to the payment method you deposited with, never to a new or third-party account. If that method is closed, contact Polymarket US support.
• Money comes out in the order it went in. If you deposit $100 by debit card and then $200 by ACH, the first $100 you withdraw goes back to the card.
• Money held in open orders or positions is not available until you cancel or close them, and a signup credit can never be withdrawn.

What fees does Polymarket US charge?

Polymarket US charges a fee when your order trades against one already on the book, which makes you the taker. Under the fee schedule effective October 7, 2026, the taker fee is 0.0695 × contracts × price × (1 − price), rounded to the nearest cent with banker's rounding. That is $1.74 on 100 contracts at 50 cents, the price where the fee is highest, and less toward 1 cent or 99 cents. Until 1 PM ET on October 19, 2026, orders that rest on the book earn a rebate of up to $0.31 per 100 contracts instead. After that, only makers with $10 million or more of maker volume in the prior month earn one. Table tennis markets use a higher 0.10 rate, combos have their own curve, and a canceled or expired order costs nothing.

The schedule lists no settlement fee, and Polymarket US lists no deposit or withdrawal fee. Kalshi's taker fee works almost the same way; the Kalshi fee calculator runs it, and Kalshi vs Polymarket compares the two. Polymarket fees walks through the whole schedule, and the Polymarket calculator runs your own trade.

A worked example: one Polymarket US trade from start to finish

This is an illustration with round numbers, not a quote or a recommendation. Say you deposit $50 by debit card and buy 100 Yes contracts at 40 cents, a price the market reads as about a 40% chance. Your order fills right away, so you pay the taker fee.

• Buying: the contracts cost $40.00 and the fee is 0.0695 × 100 × 0.40 × 0.60 = $1.668, rounded to $1.67. You pay $41.67 and keep $8.33 in cash.
• If Yes happens: the 100 contracts pay $100, and you are up $58.33.
• If No happens: the contracts pay nothing, and you have lost $41.67.
• If you sell early at 55 cents: you get $55.00 minus a $1.72 fee, or $53.28, and you are up $11.61.
• If you sell early at 30 cents: you get $30.00 minus a $1.46 fee, or $28.54, and you are down $13.13.
• Withdrawing: once the card deposit clears, in 3 to 4 business days, the cash can go back to the same card, which typically takes another 3 to 4 business days.
• Trading can lose the whole stake, including your deposit. If it stops feeling like a choice, see responsible gaming resources.

How do Polymarket US signup credits work?

A signup credit is promotional trading value, not cash. As of October 11, 2026, the User Incentive Programs page lists a $25 credit after a first deposit of at least $10 (Deposit Incentive, Campaign A). A referral pays $25 each to you and a friend once the friend deposits $10, for up to 50 friends, and a referred user cannot also take the deposit incentive. The rules that decide what a credit is worth:

• The credit can open positions and pay fees. It can never be withdrawn, even after you trade with it or the position settles.
• Your own cash is spent before the credit. Only the balance above the credit can be withdrawn, once your deposit has cleared. Polymarket US's example: with a $20 credit, the $20 stays locked, and if trading it brings $10 in eligible proceeds after settlement, up to $10 may become withdrawable.
• Credits expire. The Deposit Incentive notice amended September 18, 2026, effective October 2, 2026, sets expiry at 7, 10 or 30 days after issue, posted for each campaign. Unused credit is removed at expiry, and credit backing an open position is removed when that position closes or settles.
• The qualifying deposit is your first completed deposit after you sign up, made within the campaign's window of 7, 14 or 30 days. Polymarket US says it applies the credit within 24 hours of confirming you qualify.
• doddo is not a prediction market and does not trade or hold money. Its Polymarket US page tracks these published credit terms with the date they were last reviewed. The best prediction market apps guide sets them next to other apps' credits, and Kalshi alternatives sorts other apps by fee, funding and state.