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Foundationspractitionermarket-note

Prediction Market Probabilities

Interpret binary contract prices without treating them as certainty.

Reviewed 2026-08-10TheQuantBateman ResearchReading note
01Intuition

Build the mental model first.

A YES price resembles an implied probability, but liquidity, fees, risk preferences and market structure can separate it from a calibrated real-world forecast.

ONE-LINE DEFINITION

Interpret binary contract prices without treating them as certainty.

02Mathematics

Now make it exact.

pimpliedPYES,PYES+PNO1p_{implied}\approx P_{YES}, \quad P_{YES}+P_{NO}\approx 1
Notation and units

Decimal rates and volatilities, year-fraction time and continuous compounding unless stated otherwise.

03Assumptions

Every model has a price.

01

Educational conventions are stated explicitly and may simplify market quotation or settlement details.

02

Rates are continuously compounded unless the section says otherwise.

03

Inputs are deterministic in the base model.

“An unstated convention is a future reconciliation break.”— THEQUANTBATEMAN
04Market use

Why a quant cares.

Macro event monitoring and scenario weighting with explicit semantic caveats.

IntuitionMathematicsImplementationDesk risk
05Desk view
FRONT OFFICE VIEW

The hedge has opinions.

Start with the quote convention, then ask which Foundations risk survives the hedge. A number without its convention is merely well-dressed ambiguity.

Ask Bateman about this model
06Related

Continue through the graph.