Interesting new trading/gambling concept

Discussion in 'Trading' started by garfangle, Aug 18, 2003.

  1. I found a site, Xodds.com, that has an interesting twist on trading. Although it is structured as a futures/option market the trades are executed as betting gambles, where one does not actually own the underlying securities at any time.

    Its trades are in several different markets: forex, indices, and individual stocks like Mircosoft/Intel. And the prices are calculated through Island. It has a great charting system and all its bets can be placed in real time.

    You can win as low as $10 and as high as $10K on each individual bet (though the actual cost of the bet is calculated as odds against or on a moneyline).

    Its bets are set up so that you can profit from either having a target price reached and stayed at or just touch a certain level over a set period of time among other options.

    For instance: let's say you are reasonably confident that the S&P 500 Index will close above 1010 in 7 days time from now or a 1.1% positive move from ~999. Instead of buying ~3 SPY ETF and receiving ~$3 profit for your efforts, there is a higher reward out there for taking on more risk. You can place a bet to win $1000 at a cost of $321.6 or a 210% return (40:19 odds). Of course if you are wrong, like any bet, it costs you that full amount wagered.

    Another way to play it more conservatively is bet that it will reach that point at least once during that period. Taking the same indice, the S&P 500, if you were to bet that it will touch just 1010 one time at the end of 7 days that payoff would be a return of 49% (or 1:2 odds).

    I find this venue that least for the high adrenaline trader possibly more exciting than having to spend all day scalping for a few points here and there.

    Comments?

    N.B.: I neither work for nor are an investor in this enterprise. I just brought this up because it is an interesting concept that some traders might want to know about.

    N.B.2: The prices I cited are as of I entered them, they change in real time.