Who do you think is winning?
A live round on Debatable can carry a market on who wins it. While two people argue, the people watching put free points on the side they think is ahead. The price is the crowd’s read, and three AI judges settle it.
You trade with free points, never money. Everyone starts with 1,000. Markets open round by round as we switch them on; the homepage shows one in motion.
Watch a live round →Follow one round
One line per debater. For is green, Against is red. They always add up to 100, so when one goes up the other goes down, and they cross when the lead changes.
- The round starts at 50¢ each. Nobody has traded yet, so the market has no opinion.
- Against opens strong. People watching back Against, and its price climbs to 58¢. For is now 42¢.
- The lines cross. For lands a point the room buys. Trades pile onto For, its line passes Against, and it never gives the lead back.
- Trading closes before the decision. No more trades. For closes at 68¢: the crowd gives For a 68% chance.
- The judges decide For. For settles at 100¢ and Against at 0. Everyone who held For gets paid from the pool.
What a price means
The price is the share of points on each side. If 680 points are on For and 320 on Against, For trades at 68¢. That’s the whole formula: the crowd sets the price, nobody else does.
Buying a side when it is cheap is how you win. If you think the crowd is wrong about who is ahead, that’s your trade.
How the AI settles the market
The market does not decide the winner. The judges do, and they never see the market. Here is the path from the last word to your payout.
- Three judges, three different AI labs. Each reads the same transcript and the same published rubric, and each votes on its own.
- Every vote has to quote the round. A judge names who won and points to the lines that decided it. A vote that can’t show its quotes doesn’t count.
- Two have to agree. A 2–1 or 3–0 decision settles the market. If the judges split, or fewer than two return a valid vote, nobody wins or loses: every trade is refunded.
- A disputed round waits. If a decision is under review, the market holds until it is upheld or voided.
Why it’s built this way. If one model could settle a market by itself, one bad read would decide everyone’s points. Three independent judges that have to agree, and have to show their quotes, make the result something you can check.
What you get paid
Winners split the whole pool in proportion to what they put in. Losers’ points are what pay them.
| Points on For when trading closed | 680 |
|---|---|
| Points on Against | 320 |
| Whole pool | 1,000 |
| Each point on For pays | 1,000 ÷ 680 = 1.47 |
| Your 50 points on For pay | 74 |
| Backed For before the round started (×1.5) | 110 |
Backing a side before the first word counts 1.5×, because that read is harder to make than one made mid-round.
Rules
- Free points only. You start with 1,000. You can’t buy points, cash them out, or send them to anyone.
- 5 to 500 points per trade.
- A debater can back their own side, never their opponent’s.
- No decision, no result: every trade on that round is refunded in full.
- A market exists only for a real round that is actually happening.