Polytraders Dev Guide
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HomeBy LayerStrategy3.19 Rule-Risk Discount

3.19 Rule-Risk Discount

Strategy Alpha Strategy Trade PLANNED Spec started capital · Direct P8 · Additional strategies pending stub

Rule-Risk Discount fades Polymarket binary markets where the resolution rule is ambiguous and the current market price does not reflect that ambiguity risk. When a market's price implies high certainty but the resolution rule has a significant ambiguity score, the bot takes the opposite position to capture the mean-reversion when uncertainty is priced in.

v3 readiness

Docs27/27
donehow scored
Impl0/15
pendinghow scored
Backtest0/4
pendinghow scored
Runtime0/8
pendinghow scored

A bot is done when all four scores are. What does done mean?

1. Bot Identity

LayerStrategy  Strategy
Bot classAlpha Strategy
AuthorityTrade
StatusPLANNED
ReadinessSpec started
Runs beforeRisk guardrail pipeline
Runs afterObservation bus / internal analytics
Applies toPolymarket binary markets where resolution rule ambiguity score exceeds min_ambiguity_score and the market price underweights the probability of an N/A or disputed resolution
Default modeshadow_only
User-visibleAdvanced details only
Developer ownerPolytraders core — Strategy pod

2. Purpose

Rule-Risk Discount fades Polymarket binary markets where the resolution rule is ambiguous and the current market price does not reflect that ambiguity risk. When a market's price implies high certainty but the resolution rule has a significant ambiguity score, the bot takes the opposite position to capture the mean-reversion when uncertainty is priced in.

3. Why This Bot Matters

  • Ambiguity resolves faster than expected

    The resolution oracle definitively resolves the ambiguous rule before the expected uncertainty is priced in, moving the market against the fade position.

  • Stale input data

    Acting on stale signals for Rule-Risk Discount produces trades based on outdated market conditions, generating adverse fills.

  • KillSwitch not respected

    Emitting OrderIntents while KillSwitch is active bypasses risk controls.

No worked examples on this bot yet. Worked examples are optional but strongly recommended — they turn an abstract failure mode into something a developer can verify in a fixture.

4. Required Polymarket Inputs

InputSourceRequired?Use
CLOB book (mid, depth, spread)ws_marketYesRead current market price and available depth for order sizing.
Market status (open/closed/resolved)clob_publicYesSkip closed or resolved markets.

5. Required Internal Inputs

InputSourceRequired?Use
KillSwitch active flagKillSwitchYesAbort all intent emission if KillSwitch active.
Rule-Risk Discount analytics signalinternal (analytics engine)YesProvides the core Rule-Risk Discount signal that drives trade decisions.
Builder code bytes32internal configYesInjected into builder field on every signed V2 OrderIntent.

6. Parameter Guide

ParameterDefaultWarningHardWhat it controls
min_ambiguity_score0.40.250.15Minimum resolution rule ambiguity score (0–1) required before the bot considers a rule-risk fade trade.
max_position_per_market300500700Maximum pUSD exposure per market for rule-risk fade trades.
require_human_signoffTrueNoneNoneIf true, each new rule-risk fade target requires one-time human approval.
auto_pull_on_dispute_lossTrueNoneNoneIf true, automatically exit (pull) the position if a UMA dispute resolves against the expected direction.

7. Detailed Parameter Instructions

min_ambiguity_score

What it means

Minimum resolution rule ambiguity score (0–1) required before the bot considers a rule-risk fade trade.

Default

{ "min_ambiguity_score": 0.4 }

Why this default matters

0.40 ensures the ambiguity is material enough to affect resolution probability.

Threshold logic

ConditionAction
>= 0.40Allow rule-risk fade evaluation
0.25–0.40WARN RRD_LOW_AMBIGUITY; halve size
< 0.15SKIP RRD_AMBIGUITY_BELOW_FLOOR

Developer check

if ambiguity_score < params.hard: return skip('RRD_AMBIGUITY_BELOW_FLOOR')

User-facing English

The resolution rule ambiguity was not material enough for a rule-risk trade.

max_position_per_market

What it means

Maximum pUSD exposure per market for rule-risk fade trades.

Default

{ "max_position_per_market": 300 }

Why this default matters

300 pUSD limits single-market ambiguity exposure.

Threshold logic

ConditionAction
<= 300 pUSDNormal sizing
> 700 pUSDReject config

Developer check

if params.max_position_per_market > params.hard: raise ConfigError('PARAMETER_CHANGE_REQUIRES_APPROVAL')

User-facing English

Position size capped at per-market maximum.

require_human_signoff

What it means

If true, each new rule-risk fade target requires one-time human approval.

Default

{ "require_human_signoff": true }

Why this default matters

Prevents automated fading on novel ambiguity types without review.

Threshold logic

ConditionAction
not approvedHARD_REJECT RRD_NOT_APPROVED

Developer check

if require_human_signoff and not approved: return skip('RRD_NOT_APPROVED')

User-facing English

This market has not been approved for automated rule-risk trading.

auto_pull_on_dispute_loss

What it means

If true, automatically exit (pull) the position if a UMA dispute resolves against the expected direction.

Default

{ "auto_pull_on_dispute_loss": true }

Why this default matters

Limits downside when the ambiguity scenario plays out adversely.

Threshold logic

ConditionAction
dispute loss detectedEmit exit OrderIntent if true

Developer check

if auto_pull_on_dispute_loss and dispute_adverse: emit exit

User-facing English

The position was automatically closed after an adverse dispute outcome.

8. Default Configuration

{
  "bot_id": "strat.rule_risk_discount",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "mode": "shadow_only",
  "defaults": {
    "min_ambiguity_score": 0.4,
    "max_position_per_market": 300,
    "require_human_signoff": true,
    "auto_pull_on_dispute_loss": true
  },
  "locked": {
    "min_ambiguity_score": {
      "min": 0.15
    },
    "max_position_per_market": {
      "min": 700
    }
  }
}

9. Implementation Flow

  1. Check KillSwitch; if active, emit no OrderIntents.
  2. FETCH Rule-Risk Discount analytics signal from internal engine.
  3. IF signal below hard floor: SKIP, emit sampled DecisionReport RRD_NO_EDGE.
  4. FETCH clob_public market status; skip if closed or resolved.
  5. FETCH ws_market book; compute current mid and available depth.
  6. IF signal < warning threshold: WARN RRD_MARGINAL; reduce size 50%.
  7. Compute order size = min(max_size_param, available_depth).
  8. EMIT IOC OrderIntent with builder code.
  9. EMIT DecisionReport with intent_emitted=true, reason=RRD_TRADE.

10. Reference Implementation

Pseudocode is language-agnostic. FETCH = read input. EMIT = produce output. IF/THEN/ELSE = decision. Translate directly to TypeScript, Python, Go, or Rust.

FUNCTION onSignalUpdate(market_id, signal):
  ks = FETCH internal.killswitch.status
  IF ks.active: RETURN

  // Hard floor gate
  IF signal.score < params.min_ambiguity_score_hard:
    IF random() < 0.01:
      EMIT DecisionReport(intent_emitted=false, reason='RRD_NO_EDGE')
    RETURN

  mkt = FETCH clob_public.GET('/markets/' + market_id)
  IF mkt.closed OR mkt.resolved: RETURN

  // Warning threshold check
  sizeMultiplier = 0.5 IF signal.score < params.min_ambiguity_score_warn ELSE 1.0
  IF sizeMultiplier < 1.0: WARN('RRD_MARGINAL')

  // Book snapshot
  book = FETCH ws_market.book(market_id)
  mid = (book.best_bid + book.best_ask) / 2
  depth = FETCH clob_public.depth(market_id)

  // Size computation
  orderSize = toPusdUnits(min(params.max_position_per_market * sizeMultiplier, depth.available))

  EMIT OrderIntent(market=market_id, outcome='YES', side='buy', price=mid,
                   size_pUSD=orderSize, tif='IOC', builder=internalBuilderCode)
  EMIT DecisionReport(intent_emitted=true, signal_score=signal.score,
                      reason='RRD_TRADE')

SDK calls used

  • ws_market.subscribe('book', [market_id])
  • fetchClobPublic('/markets/' + market_id)
  • internal.analyticsEngine.signal(market_id)
  • buildOrderTypedData(orderParams, {name:'CTFExchange', version:'2', chainId:137})
  • internal.builder_code

Complexity: O(1) per signal update per market

11. Wire Examples

Input — what arrives on the wire

Rule-Risk Discount analytics signalinternal (analytics engine)

{
  "market_id": "0xrulerisk000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001",
  "signal_score": "0.75",
  "received_at_ms": 1746790800000
}

Output — what the bot emits

OrderIntent — Rule-Risk Discount IOC buy YES

{
  "intent_id": "oi_01HRRD0000001A",
  "market_id": "0xrulerisk000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001",
  "outcome": "YES",
  "side": "buy",
  "price": "0.540",
  "size_pUSD": "200.00",
  "tif": "IOC",
  "builder": {
    "code": "0x706f6c7974726164657273000000000000000000000000000000000000000000",
    "fee_bps": 25
  },
  "decision": {
    "signal_score": 0.75,
    "reasons": [
      "RRD_TRADE"
    ]
  }
}

12. Decision Logic

APPROVE

All gates passed, KillSwitch inactive, market open. Emit IOC OrderIntent.

RESHAPE_REQUIRED

Not applicable — reshaping handled by downstream Risk guardrail.

REJECT

Signal below hard floor; stale data; market closed; KillSwitch active.

WARNING_ONLY

Signal in warning zone triggers 50% size reduction.

13. Standard Decision Output

This bot returns a OrderIntent object. See OrderIntent schema.

{
  "intent_id": "oi_01HRRD0000001A",
  "trace_id": "tr_01HRRD000TR001",
  "market_id": "0xrulerisk000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001",
  "outcome": "YES",
  "side": "buy",
  "price": "0.540",
  "size_pUSD": "200.00",
  "tif": "IOC",
  "post_only": false,
  "builder": {
    "code": "0x706f6c7974726164657273000000000000000000000000000000000000000000",
    "fee_bps": 25
  },
  "negrisk_aware": false,
  "decision": {
    "signal_score": 0.75,
    "reasons": [
      "RRD_TRADE"
    ]
  },
  "comment": "fees are operator-set at match time in V2 \u2014 feeRateBps is NOT on the signed order"
}

14. Reason Codes

CodeSeverityMeaningActionUser-facing message
RRD_TRADEINFOAll gates passed. IOC OrderIntent emitted for Rule-Risk Discount.Emit IOC OrderIntent.A Rule-Risk Discount trade was placed.
RRD_MARGINALWARNEdge is within the warning threshold; size reduced 50%.Emit at 50% size; log warning.A small edge was found; a reduced-size Rule-Risk Discount trade was placed.
RRD_NO_EDGEINFOEdge below hard floor. Skipping.Skip; emit sampled DecisionReport.The edge was too small to justify a trade.
RRD_HARD_REJECTHARD_REJECTA critical gate condition blocked the trade (stale data, kill switch, or hard parameter breach).Skip; no OrderIntent.A safety condition blocked the trade.
KILL_SWITCH_ACTIVEHARD_REJECTGlobal kill switch is active.Skip all markets; no OrderIntents emitted.Trading is currently paused.

15. Metrics & Logs

Metrics emitted

MetricTypeUnitLabelsMeaning
polytraders_strat_ruleriskdiscount_decisions_totalcountercountverdict, reason_codeTotal evaluation cycles by verdict and reason code.
polytraders_strat_ruleriskdiscount_signal_scorehistogramscoreDistribution of analytics signal scores at evaluation.
polytraders_strat_ruleriskdiscount_intents_emitted_totalcountercountoutcomeTotal IOC OrderIntents emitted.
polytraders_strat_ruleriskdiscount_eval_latency_mshistogrammillisecondsLatency from signal receipt to OrderIntent emit.

Alerts

AlertConditionSeverityRunbook
RuleRiskDiscountStaleFeedrate(polytraders_strat_ruleriskdiscount_decisions_total{reason_code='STALE_MARKET_DATA'}[5m]) > 0.1warn#runbook-rule-risk-discount-stale
RuleRiskDiscountKillSwitchrate(polytraders_strat_ruleriskdiscount_decisions_total{reason_code='KILL_SWITCH_ACTIVE'}[1m]) > 0page#runbook-killswitch
RuleRiskDiscountNoEdgerate(polytraders_strat_ruleriskdiscount_decisions_total{verdict='skip',reason_code='RRD_NO_EDGE'}[10m]) / rate(polytraders_strat_ruleriskdiscount_decisions_total[10m]) > 0.95warn#runbook-rule-risk-discount-edge

16. Developer Reporting

{
  "bot_id": "strat.rule_risk_discount",
  "market_id": "0xrulerisk000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001",
  "signal_score": 0.75,
  "intent_emitted": true,
  "reason": "RRD_TRADE",
  "emitted_at_ms": 1746790800000
}

17. Plain-English Reporting

SituationUser-facing explanation
Rule-Risk Discount trade placedThe Rule-Risk Discount strategy detected a suitable opportunity and placed a trade.
Edge too small — no tradeThe signal was below the minimum threshold. No trade was placed.
Safety gate active — no tradeA safety condition (stale data, kill switch, or parameter limit) blocked the trade.

18. Failure-Mode Block

main_failure_modeThe resolution oracle definitively resolves the ambiguous rule before the expected uncertainty is priced in, moving the market against the fade position.
false_positive_riskSignal mis-fires when market conditions change rapidly, producing trades that quickly move against the Rule-Risk Discount thesis.
false_negative_riskHard floor set too conservatively misses genuine opportunities.
safe_fallbackIf ws_market feed stale or analytics signal unavailable, skip without emitting any OrderIntent.
required_dependenciesws_market, clob_public, internal Rule-Risk Discount analytics engine, KillSwitch, internal builder code

19. Failure-Injection Recipes

ScenarioHow to injectExpected behaviourRecovery
SIGNAL_UNAVAILABLECut internal analytics engine connectionAutomatic when engine reconnects.
HARD_FLOOR_BREACHInject signal below hard floorAutomatic on next valid signal.
KILL_SWITCH_ONSet killswitch.active=trueAutomatic on manual KillSwitch reset.

20. State & Persistence

Cold-start recovery

On cold start, signals rebuilt from next analytics engine poll.

21. Concurrency & Idempotency

AspectSpecification
Execution modelactor-per-market
Max in-flight25
Idempotency keyintent_id
Per-call timeout (ms)300
Backpressure strategydrop oldest signal per market_id when queue > 2
Locking / mutual exclusionper-market_id mutex for signal state

22. Dependencies

Depends on (must run first)

BotWhyContract
risk.kill_switchChecked first; blocks all intent emission when active.

Emits to (downstream consumers)

External services

ServiceEndpointSLA assumedOn failure
Polymarket CLOB WebSocket (ws_market)best-effort
Internal Rule-Risk Discount analytics engineinternal SLA

23. Security Surfaces

Abuse vectors considered

  • Signal injection to produce false Rule-Risk Discount trades
  • Order sizing parameter manipulation to exceed position limits

Mitigations

  • Rule-Risk Discount analytics signals sourced from authenticated internal engine only
  • Hard limits on position size enforced before OrderIntent emission
  • Builder code injected from secure internal config

24. Polymarket V2 Compatibility

AspectValue
CLOB versionv2
Collateral assetpUSD
EIP-712 Exchange domain version2
Aware of builderCode fieldyes
Aware of negative-risk marketsno
Multi-chain readyno
SDK usedpy-clob-client-v2
Settlement contractCTFExchangeV2
NotesBot not yet implemented; designed against V2 schema (pUSD, builder codes, V2 EIP-712 domain). feeRateBps not present on any signed OrderIntent.

API surfaces declared

clob_publicclob_authws_marketonchaininternal

Networks supported

polygon

25. Versioning & Migration

FieldValue
spec2.0.0
implementation0.1.0
schema2
releasedNone
planned_releaseQ3-2026

Migration history

DateFromToReasonAction taken
2026-04-28n/av2-specSpec drafted post-CLOB-V2 cutover; bot not yet implementedDesigned against V2 schema (pUSD, builder codes, V2 EIP-712 domain)

26. Acceptance Tests

Unit Tests

TestSetupExpected result
Emit IOC when signal=0.75 and all gates passstandard configIOC OrderIntent; reason=RRD_TRADE
Skip when signal below hard floorsignal=below_hardNo OrderIntent; sampled reason=RRD_NO_EDGE
Skip when KillSwitch activekillswitch.active=trueNo OrderIntents emitted

Integration Tests

TestExpected result
Full cycle: signal → computation → IOC OrderIntent on Polygon testnetOrder has builder.code, no feeRateBps, EIP-712 domain v2

Property Tests

PropertyRequired behaviour
Bot never emits OrderIntent when KillSwitch is activeAlways true
feeRateBps never present on any signed OrderIntentAlways true

27. Operational Runbook

Rule-Risk Discount incidents are typically stale analytics feeds or kill-switch activations. Hard-floor skips are normal.

On-call actions

AlertFirst stepDiagnosisMitigationEscalate to
RuleRiskDiscountStaleFeed
RuleRiskDiscountKillSwitch
RuleRiskDiscountNoEdge

Manual overrides

Healthcheck

GET /internal/health/rule-risk-discount -> 200 if Analytics engine active; signal age < 60s; KillSwitch inactive.. Red: Analytics engine down or KillSwitch active..

28. Promotion Gates

A bot does not advance to the next readiness state until every gate below is green. Gates are observable from production data — no subjective sign-off.

Promote to Shadow

GateHow measuredThreshold
Unit tests pass including hard-floor skip and kill-switch blockCI test run100% pass

Promote to Limited live

GateHow measuredThreshold
p99 eval latency < 300ms over 24h shadow runpolytraders_strat_ruleriskdiscount_eval_latency_ms histogramp99 < 300ms

Promote to General live

GateHow measuredThreshold
E2E: signal → computation → IOC OrderIntent on Polygon testnet with builder.code and no feeRateBpsE2E testPass

29. Developer Checklist

Ready-to-ship score: 27/27 sections complete · 100%

RequirementStatus
Purpose defined✓ done
Required inputs listed✓ done
Parameters defined✓ done
Defaults defined✓ done
Warning thresholds defined✓ done
Hard thresholds defined✓ done
Safe fallback defined✓ done
Structured output defined✓ done
Developer log defined✓ done
Plain-English explanation✓ done
Unit tests defined✓ done
Integration tests defined✓ done
Property tests defined✓ done
Failure-mode block complete✓ done
Reference implementation pseudocode✓ done
Wire examples (input + output)✓ done
Reason codes listed✓ done
Metrics & logs defined✓ done
State & persistence defined✓ done
Concurrency & idempotency defined✓ done
Dependencies declared✓ done
Security surfaces declared✓ done
Polymarket V2 compatibility declared✓ done
Version & migration history declared✓ done
Operational runbook defined✓ done
Promotion gates defined✓ done
Failure-injection recipes defined✓ done