Understanding Copytrading Settings

When you copy a trader, you get a settings panel with 3 tabs: Mode, Filters, and Sells. This guide covers every setting so you know exactly what each one does.

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Mode Tab

The Mode tab controls how much you invest per trade, how orders are placed, and basic risk management.

Copy Modes

Percentage Mode ("Proportional")

Copies a percentage of the trader's share count for each trade.

• Set a percentage (e.g., 50%)
• Quick presets: 50%, 75%, 100%, 150%
• 100% = buy the exact same number of shares as the trader

Example (at 50%):

• Trader buys 100 shares → You buy 50 shares
• Trader buys 20 shares → You buy 10 shares

When to use: You want your position to scale proportionally with the trader. If they bet big, you bet big (proportionally). If they bet small, you bet small.

Range Mode ("With Limits") — Recommended

Uses a percentage of the trader's shares, but clamps the USD value between a minimum and maximum.

• Percentage: Copy X% of trader's shares
• Min per Order: Never spend less than this (avoids tiny trades)
• Max per Order: Never spend more than this (caps individual trades)

Example (at 10% with $2 min / $25 max):

• Trader buys 50 shares @ $0.60 = $30 → 10% = $3 → $3 (within range)
• Trader buys 10 shares @ $0.20 = $2 → 10% = $0.20 → Min kicks in → $2
• Trader buys 500 shares @ $0.80 = $400 → 10% = $40 → Max kicks in → $25

When to use: You want proportional sizing but with safety rails. This is the best mode for most users.

Important: Range mode caps each individual trade, NOT your total exposure. If a trader makes 10 trades at your $25 max, you'd invest $250 total. Use Max Per Market (Filters tab) to cap total exposure per market.

Fixed Mode

Every trade uses exactly the same dollar amount regardless of the trader's bet size.

• Set a fixed dollar amount
• Quick presets: $10, $25, $50, $100

Example (at $25 fixed):

• Trader buys $500 → You buy $25
• Trader buys $50 → You buy $25
• Trader buys $5 → You buy $25

When to use: You want dead-simple, predictable sizing. Every trade costs the same regardless of what the trader does.

Important: Like Range mode, Fixed mode caps each trade individually. Multiple trades in the same market will stack. Use Max Per Market to cap total per-market exposure.

Note: Most markets require a minimum of 5 shares and/or $1 per order. Trades below this limit will be skipped.

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Direction

Counter mode works with any copy mode (Percentage, Range, or Fixed). Useful for traders who tend to be wrong — if they have a negative track record, counter mode lets you profit from their mistakes.

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Risk Management: Stop Loss & Take Profit

These track your cumulative P&L with this specific trader and automatically pause copying when your threshold is hit.

• P&L tracking resets when you resume or save new settings
• Stop loss is checked periodically (every ~15 seconds) based on current market prices
• When triggered, copying pauses with a notification — your existing positions stay open
• You can resume anytime from your Dashboard

Example: Stop Loss = $50, Take Profit = $100

• If you lose $50 total with this trader → copying pauses
• If you profit $100 total with this trader → copying pauses (you lock in gains)

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Smart Skip on Low Balance

If your balance runs out, trades are skipped silently — nothing pauses, nothing breaks. As soon as you deposit USDC, the next trade goes through automatically.

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Order Execution Mode

Choose how your copy orders are placed on Polymarket's order book:

Market Mode (Recommended)

Your order fills instantly at the best available price. This is what most users should use — you get in at (nearly) the same price as the trader.

Limit Order Mode

Places an order at a better price than the current market. If the market moves to your price, you get a better entry. If not, the order expires.

Example (2¢ offset, 30s TTL, fallback to market):

1. Trader buys at 65¢
2. Your limit order is placed at 63¢ (2¢ better)
3. If the market dips to 63¢ within 30 seconds → you get filled at 63¢
4. If it doesn't dip → your order converts to a market order and fills at the current price

When to use: Longer-duration markets where a few cents matter. Not recommended for fast-moving markets where you might miss the trade entirely.

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Skip Hedge Trades

When enabled, Polyfollow detects when a trader buys the opposite side of a market they already hold a position in (hedging) and skips those trades.

Example:

• Trader holds 100 YES shares on "Will Bitcoin hit $100K?"
• Trader then buys 50 NO shares on the same market (hedging their position)
• With Skip Hedges ON → this NO buy is skipped
• With Skip Hedges OFF → you'd copy the NO buy too

When to use: You want to only copy high-conviction directional bets, not hedging activity.

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Filters Tab

All filters are optional. Leave empty for no limit. These control which trades get copied based on market conditions.

Max Per Market ($) — Most Important Filter

Limit your total investment per market across all trades.

• Even if a trader makes 10 separate orders in one market, your total won't exceed this cap
• This is your primary protection against over-concentration
• Example: Set $50 → Never have more than $50 in any single market

Max Open With Trader ($)

Limit your total open exposure with a single trader across all their markets.

• Prevents one trader from consuming too much of your balance
• Different from Max Per Market (which limits per-market)
• When positions close, that capital frees up for new orders
• Example: Set $200 → Never have more than $200 total in open positions with this trader

Max Days Out

Only copy trades on markets that resolve within X days.

• Prevents your capital from being locked in long-dated markets
• Example: Set 30 → Only copy markets resolving within a month
• Example: Set 7 → Only copy markets resolving within a week

Min Liquidity ($)

Only copy trades on markets with enough liquidity in the order book.

• Higher liquidity = easier to enter and exit positions
• Low liquidity markets have wider spreads and worse fills
• Example: Set $10,000 → Only trade on markets with decent liquidity
• Example: Set $50,000 → Only trade on highly liquid markets

Min Volume ($)

Require a minimum trading volume on the market.

• Filters out inactive, dead, or very new markets
• Volume = total dollars traded on the market historically
• Example: Set $10,000 → Only trade on markets with real trading activity
• Example: Set $50,000 → Only trade on well-established markets

Max Odds (%)

Skip trades where the outcome probability is too high (already heavily favored).

• Buying at 90¢ means you risk 90¢ to profit only 10¢ — bad risk/reward
• Example: Set 80 → Skip trades above 80% probability
• Example: Set 90 → Only skip near-certainties

Min Odds (%)

Skip trades where the outcome probability is too low (extreme longshots).

• Buying at 3¢ is almost certainly losing
• Example: Set 5 → Skip trades below 5% probability
• Example: Set 10 → Skip trades below 10%

Min Trigger ($)

Minimum amount the trader must trade to trigger your copy.

• Filters out small test trades, dust, or tiny positions
• Based on the USD value of the trader's order
• Example: Set $10 → Ignore trades under $10
• Example: Set $50 → Only copy when trader puts significant capital in

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Sells Tab

The Sells tab controls what happens when the trader you're copying sells their position.

Sell Modes

Mirror Trader's Sells (Recommended)

• Trader sells 50% of their position → you sell 50% of yours
• Trader sells 100% → you sell 100%
• Keeps your position proportional to theirs over time
• Best for: Most users — you exit when they exit, at the same proportion

Fixed Dollar Amount

• Set a specific dollar amount (e.g., $25)
• Trader sells any amount → you sell exactly $25
• If your position is smaller than $25, it sells everything
• Best for: Users who want predictable sell amounts

Custom Percentage

• Set a fixed percentage (e.g., 25%)
• Trader sells any amount → you sell 25% of your entire position
• Regardless of how much the trader actually sold
• Best for: Users who want to take partial profits at their own pace

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Auto-Sell Price

Set a target price that automatically triggers a sell on every new position from this trader.

Example: Set 85¢

• You copy a trade that buys at 60¢
• When the market price reaches 85¢ → position automatically sells
• You lock in 25¢ per share profit

Example: Set 95¢

• More aggressive — waits for near-resolution prices
• Higher profit per trade but more risk the market reverses

Tip: You can also set limit sells on individual positions from your Dashboard for more granular control. See the "Limit Sell Orders" article for details.

Leave empty to disable (positions only sell when the trader sells or the market resolves).

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Common Confusion: "Max $ per Trade" vs "Max Per Market"

This is the #1 source of confusion. These are two different settings that do completely different things:

The Key Difference

Max per Order limits how much you spend on each individual order.

Max Per Market limits your total investment in any single market, regardless of how many orders the trader makes.

Real Example

Your settings:

• Copy Mode: Range (10%, Min $2, Max $5)
• Max Per Market: $15

Trader makes 5 orders in "Will Bitcoin hit $100K?":

Without Max Per Market:

• All 5 orders would copy → $25 total in one market
• Each trade respects the $5 max, but nothing stops them from stacking

With Max Per Market = $15:

• Only first 3 orders copy → $15 total (capped)
• Orders 4 and 5 are skipped to protect you

FAQ

Q: I set Max per Order to $5, but I have $20 in one market. Is this a bug?

No! The trader made 4 separate orders in that market. Each order was correctly capped at $5, so 4 x $5 = $20. To limit total exposure, use Max Per Market in the Filters tab.

Q: Which setting should I use?

Use both for maximum protection:

• Max per Order: Prevents any single trade from being too large
• Max Per Market: Prevents over-concentration in one event

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Recommended Settings for Beginners

If you're just starting out, here's a safe configuration:

Mode Tab:

• Copy Mode: Range (With Limits) — 10%, Min $2, Max $10
• Order Execution: Market (default)
• Low Balance: Smart Skip — trades skipped silently, resumes on deposit
• Skip Hedge Trades: On

Filters Tab:

• Max Per Market: $25 (prevents over-exposure)
• Min Trigger: $10 (filters out dust trades)
• Max Odds: 85% (skip low-reward bets)
• Min Odds: 5% (skip extreme longshots)

Sells Tab:

• Sell Mode: Mirror Trader's Sells
• Auto-Sell Price: leave empty (let the trader manage exits)

As you get comfortable, you can increase limits, try Fixed mode, or experiment with limit orders.

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Pro Tips

1. Start with Range mode — It's the safest with min/max protection
2. Always set Max Per Market — This is your #1 protection against over-concentration
3. Use Min Trigger ($10-20) — Filter out test trades and dust
4. Set Max Days Out — Avoid being locked in long positions (7-30 days is a good range)
5. Use Max Open With Trader — Prevents one trader from using all your balance
6. Skip Hedge Trades — Only copy high-conviction directional bets
7. Start conservative — Begin with smaller amounts and increase as you get comfortable
8. Use BOTH per-trade AND per-market limits — Max per Order + Max Per Market = full protection
9. Consider Auto-Sell Price — Set a target price if you want guaranteed profit-taking
10. Keep your balance topped up — Copy trading resumes automatically when you deposit, but you'll miss trades while paused