Relay — back-to-back automated trading on crypto Up/Down markets

2 min read

Polymarket's crypto Up/Down markets (for example Bitcoin Up or Down — 5 minutes) are a separate market every window, every five minutes, around the clock. Relay lets automated trading run the same settings window after window, without you starting a new run every five minutes.

#How it works

When one window ends, the next starts automatically with the same settings;
each window is a separate market; the run card adds up P&L across all of them as Relay · N windows;
on a real relay, the server opens the next window shortly before the current one ends — no browser needed;
Stop ends the whole relay, not just the current window.

#Settings

Turn on Relay in the automated-trading panel and set two numbers:

Setting	What it does
Windows to run	How many windows in a row, 2 to 288
Relay loss cap	Stop once the total across all windows loses this much; required for a real relay, optional in Sim

Everything else (entry, exit, size …) works as in any automated-trading run and applies to every window.

#When it stops

Mode	Stops when
Sim	It has run all its windows, hits the loss cap, runs out of virtual capital, or can't find the next window
Real	It has run all its windows, hits the loss cap, or the balance can't cover the next window; with both sides relaying, when either side's relay ends the other ends too

In Sim, virtual capital carries over from window to window.

#Tips for setting it up

Relative settings (a 4% bounce, 12¢ of fair-price edge) carry over to every window unchanged.
Absolute prices on a Custom ladder do not adjust: each new window opens near 50¢, so prices set far from 50¢ may never fill.
A real relay is offered only when it is switched on for the platform; otherwise the Relay switch appears in Sim only.

#With backtests

You can replay relay settings over recorded windows with a backtest to see how each window would place orders.