Copy Trading Guide
Follow successful traders and automatically copy their trades. This guide covers finding leaders, setting up subscriptions, configuring sizing and limits, and monitoring your copied trades.
Before You Start
- Balance Required: You need USDC.e in your wallet to copy trades.
- Execution: Copied trades execute automatically when the leader trades — you don't need to be online.
- Self-Custody: You maintain full control of your funds; copy trading only places trades on your behalf.
Copy trading involves risk. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Set daily caps and use filters to manage your exposure.
How Copy Trading Works
- You subscribe to a trader by their wallet address.
- When they execute a trade on Polymarket, PolyBot automatically copies it to your account.
- BUY trades: You buy the same outcome, sized according to your settings.
- SELL trades: You sell the same percentage of your position as the leader sold of theirs.
- You receive notifications for each copied trade (unless muted).
Finding Traders to Copy
Option 1: Leaderboard Discovery
Browse top-performing traders ranked by profit or volume:
- Go to Copy Trading → 🔍 Discover Traders.
- Filter by:
- Category: Overall, Politics, Sports, Crypto, Culture, Tech, Finance, Economics
- Time Period: 24h, 7 days, 30 days, All Time
- Ranking: By Profit (PnL) or Volume (VOL)
- Browse traders showing their rank, username, profit, and volume.
- Tap a trader to start a subscription.
Option 2: Direct Wallet Address
If you know a trader's Polymarket wallet address:
- Go to Copy Trading → ➕ Add.
- Paste their wallet address (format:
0x...). - Continue with subscription setup.
Setting Up a Subscription
When you add a new subscription, you'll configure these settings step by step:
Step 1: Trader Address
Enter or paste the trader's Polymarket wallet address.
- Must be a valid Ethereum address (0x followed by 40 hex characters).
- You cannot copy your own wallet.
- You cannot have duplicate active subscriptions to the same trader.
Step 2: Label (Optional)
Give this trader a nickname for easy identification (e.g., "Whale Trader", "Politics Pro").
- Maximum 50 characters.
- If the trader is on the leaderboard, their username is suggested.
- You can skip this step.
Step 3: Sizing Mode
Choose how your copy amounts are calculated:
| Mode | How It Works | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed | You trade a fixed USD amount regardless of leader's size | Consistent position sizes, predictable spending |
| Proportional | Your amount = Leader's amount × Multiplier | Scaling with the leader's conviction |
Example — Fixed Mode ($10):
- Leader buys $500 → You buy $10
- Leader buys $50 → You buy $10
Example — Proportional Mode (0.5x):
- Leader buys $500 → You buy $250
- Leader buys $50 → You buy $25
Step 4: Amount Configuration
If Fixed Mode:
- Set your fixed amount per trade.
- Minimum: $1.10
- Default: $10
If Proportional Mode:
- Set your multiplier.
- Range: 0.01x to 10x
- Default: 1x (same size as leader)
Step 5: Daily Cap (Optional)
Limit how much you spend per day on this subscription.
- Enter a USD amount (e.g., $100/day).
- Resets daily at 00:00 UTC.
- Once reached, trades are skipped until the next day.
- Leave empty for no daily limit.
Step 6: Price Range Filter (Optional)
Only copy trades within a specific price range.
- Set minimum and maximum prices in cents (1¢ to 99¢).
- Default: 1–99 (all prices).
- Conservative preset: 25–75¢ (avoid extreme odds).
- Moderate preset: 10–90¢.
Example: Setting 20–80 means you only copy trades where the outcome price is between 20¢ and 80¢.
Step 7: Slippage Tolerance
Control how much price movement you'll accept between the leader's trade and yours.
| Setting | Behavior |
|---|---|
| 0 bps | Limit orders only — your order is placed at the leader's exact price (may not fill) |
| 50–200 bps | Market orders allowed if price hasn't moved more than this amount |
| Unlimited | Always execute at market price regardless of slippage |
- Default: 100 bps (1% slippage tolerance).
- 1 basis point (bps) = 0.01%.
Use 0 bps for price-sensitive trades (places limit orders). Use Unlimited if you prioritize execution over price.
Managing Subscriptions
Viewing Your Subscriptions
- Command:
/copyor/subs - Shows all subscriptions with status, sizing, and daily spend.
- Filter by: All | Active | Paused
Subscription Details
Tap any subscription to see:
- Leader label and wallet address
- Status (Active/Paused)
- Sizing mode and amount
- Daily cap and current spend
- Slippage tolerance
- Price range filter
- Advanced settings
Pausing & Resuming
- Pause: Temporarily stop copying trades (no trades execute while paused).
- Resume: Re-activate copying.
- Your settings are preserved when paused.
Canceling a Subscription
- Open the subscription.
- Tap ❌ Cancel.
- Confirm cancellation.
Canceling is permanent — you'll need to create a new subscription to copy this trader again.
Advanced Settings
Access these from the subscription detail view → Advanced ⚙️.
Per-Trade Limits
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Min Per Trade | Round up small trades to this minimum |
| Max Per Trade | Cap large trades at this maximum |
Purchase Limits
Control how many times you buy each outcome:
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Single Purchase Per Token | Only buy each outcome once — must sell before buying again |
| Max Purchases Per Outcome | Limit total number of buys (e.g., max 3 buys per outcome) |
| Max Amount Per Outcome | Limit total USD spent per outcome (e.g., max $500 per outcome) |
These help prevent overexposure to a single position.
Understanding Skip Reasons
Sometimes a trade won't be copied. Here's why:
| Skip Reason | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Daily limit reached | You've hit your daily cap for this subscription |
| Slippage too high | Price moved beyond your tolerance since leader traded |
| Price outside range | Trade price is outside your min/max odds filter |
| Insufficient balance | Not enough USDC.e to execute the trade |
| No shares to sell | Leader sold but you don't hold this position |
| Purchase limit reached | You've hit your max purchases for this outcome |
| Amount limit reached | You've hit your max amount for this outcome |
| Already purchased | Single-purchase mode and you already own this token |
| Subscription paused | Your subscription is currently paused |
View skipped trades in Recent Activity to understand why trades weren't copied.
How Sells Work
When a leader sells, PolyBot calculates what percentage of their position they sold and sells the same percentage of yours.
Example:
- Leader holds 100 shares, sells 50 → They sold 50%.
- You hold 80 shares → You sell 40 shares (50% of 80).
Important:
- You must hold the position to copy a sell.
- If you've sold some shares manually, copy sells adjust to your remaining position.
- Minimum sellable: 0.01 shares.
Recent Activity
View your copy trading history:
- Command:
/recentor go to Copy Trading → 📜 Recent. - See trades from the last 3 days.
- Filter by: ✅ Executed | ⏭️ Skipped | ❌ Failed
Each entry shows:
- Market name and outcome
- Leader's trade details (side, shares, price, volume)
- Your trade details (if executed)
- Skip reason (if skipped)
- Time of trade
Leader Activity
View trades for a specific subscription:
- Open the subscription detail.
- Tap 👁️ Activity.
- See only that leader's trades and your copies.
Notifications
For each copied trade, you receive a Telegram message showing:
- 🟢 BUY or 🔴 SELL indicator
- Market name and outcome
- Leader's trade details
- Your trade details
- Execution time
Muting Notifications
- Open the subscription.
- Tap 🔔 Notifications.
- Toggle to mute/unmute.
Muting only affects notifications — trades still execute normally.
Commands
| Command | What It Does |
|---|---|
/copy | Open copy trading menu |
/subs | Alias for /copy |
/recent | View recent copy trade activity |
Tips for Success
- Start small: Use low fixed amounts or small multipliers while learning a trader's style.
- Set daily caps: Protect yourself from unexpected high-volume trading days.
- Use price filters: Avoid copying trades at extreme prices (near 1¢ or 99¢).
- Monitor regularly: Check recent activity to understand what's being copied.
- Diversify: Consider following multiple traders with different strategies.
- Review skip reasons: If many trades are skipped, adjust your settings.
Troubleshooting
- Trades not copying: Check subscription status (must be Active), balance, and daily cap.
- Too many skips: Review skip reasons in Recent Activity — you may need to adjust slippage, price range, or caps.
- Different amounts than expected: In Proportional mode, your amount depends on the leader's trade size.
- Sells not executing: You must hold the position to copy a sell. Check your portfolio.
- Notifications not arriving: Check if notifications are muted for this subscription.
Useful Links
- Trading Guide — Learn about manual trading
- Portfolio Guide — Manage your positions
- Settings Guide — Configure auto-apply presets and more