Explainers · 5 articles

Understand prediction markets from the ground up

Practical explainers on Kalshi, Polymarket, implied probability, NOAA weather signals, and how to read the data on this site. Evergreen reference material, no fluff.

What are prediction markets, really?

A plain-English explanation of prediction markets: how contracts work, where prices come from, why they're different from sports betting, and what the academic research actually says about their accuracy.

How Kalshi works: the CFTC-regulated US event exchange

Kalshi is a CFTC-regulated exchange for event contracts. Here's how signing up, funding, placing orders, and settlement actually work , plus what they list and what they can't.

What 'implied probability' actually means

A contract trading at 63¢ YES implies a 63% probability. But implied and actual aren't the same , here's what the number means, what it ignores, and how to use it without getting fooled.

Kalshi vs. Polymarket: the practical differences

Both are prediction markets. One is US-regulated and dollar-based; the other is crypto-settled and geofenced from the US. Here's how they actually differ for traders and researchers.

How NOAA weather models feed prediction market pricing

NOAA publishes ensemble weather forecasts that power most weather prediction markets. Here's what the models predict, how the market reacts, and where we find the biggest disagreements.