# Frequently Asked Questions

## General

### Where does the prize money come from?

Prizes are generated on the interest earned on deposited funds.&#x20;

When a deposit is made into InterPool that deposit is automatically routed to other [decentralized finance protocols like Aave](https://aave.com/) to begin earning interest. Protocols like Aave are "fully liquid" meaning deposits can be withdrawn at any time. Additionally, interest accrues every \~15 seconds. Anyone who borrows from Aave must deposit collateral that is greater in value than what they are borrowing. This ensures that loans are never defaulted on.

InterPool is a non-custodial protocol. That means no one has the ability to control the funds deposited. All deposits and withdraws are conducted automatically by the smart contracts making up the InterPool protocol.&#x20;

### Do I have to enter for each prize?&#x20;

In order to be eligible for the prizes, you need to participate to the prediction game. Your predictions must be saved during the prediction period. The countdown visible on the website you let you know when the prediction period is ending. &#x20;

### Is there any penalty to withdraw?&#x20;

No! You can withdraw your deposit whenever you desire, if you are not engaged in any prediction game. If you participated in a prediction game you will have to wait for the game completion first.

Regarding your winnings, you can claim them anytime and they will show up in the account section. You can hit the button "Claim now!". A confirmation modal will pop up, and your winnings will be credited in USDC on your personal wallet.

### How are winners chosen? How is it fair?

The InterPool protocol is decentralized and open source. That means anyone can view and audit the code to verify it is fair and secure. Several professional third parties will audit the InterPool code prior full deployment.

All the participants are ranked based on their scores, and the prize pool is split between all the participants based on their final rankings. The details of the prize pool distribution is explained below.‍&#x20;

For fixture results, InterPool relies on [ChainLink](https://chain.link/), a decentralized oracle networks that provide tamper-proof inputs, outputs to support advanced smart contracts on any blockchain.

### How scores are calculated?

The scores of the game participants (predictors) are made based on two criteria:

* Good match result prediction

If you predicted correctly the outcome of any actual matches (not scores) you will be credited of **1 point**. Just predict the winner of the match, plus draw in group stages.

* Good match score prediction

If you have made the correct score prediction, you will be credited of **2 additional points**.  By correct score, we mean you have predicted correctly score of team 1 and team 2.&#x20;

{% hint style="info" %}
Example:

1\) Good outcome + Good scores = 1 + 2 = **3 points**

2\) Good outcome + Wrong scores = 1 + 0 = **1 point**

3\) Wrong outcome = **0 point**
{% endhint %}

### Is there an advantage to depositing early?&#x20;

Yes! All the deposits made early will increase the amount of the prize pool that the participants will share. Earlier a deposit is made, higher are the interests generated for the prize pool.&#x20;

Your prediction must be saved during the prediction period, and in order to do so you must have deposited to be eligible. It's up to you when you decide to deposit and fill in your prediction, but it has to be done prior the countdown completion (indicating the end of the prediction period).

### Can I lose my money? What are the risks?&#x20;

Assuming the protocol operates as intended, there is no risk of losing your money. As of now, no depositors have ever lost money.&#x20;

However, **there are still many risks inherent in using a blockchain-based protocol like this. These risks could result in losing some or all of your money.** Please read the "[Risks](../security/risks)" page for more details on the specific risks you should be aware of.&#x20;

### Are my deposits insured?&#x20;

Your deposits are not insured, however, [you can purchase protocol cover here. ](https://app.nexusmutual.io/cover/buy/get-quote?address=0xd89a09084555a7D0ABe7B111b1f78DFEdDd638Be)

## Prizes & Winning 🏆

### What are my odds to win?

You have 100% chance to win a prize! This is actually true!

Of course better is your final raking (and therefore your prediction skills), higher will be your reward. Also, more tickets you own, higher will be your reward.&#x20;

But we don't let anyone down: even if you have the worst score in the prediction game, and that you are ranked at the last position, you will still have a tiny percentage of the prize pool.

### How the rewards are calculated?

The rewards are calculated based on the final ranking at the end of the game.

The participant in first position gets 5% of the prize pool. The participant in second position, gets 5% of the remaining prize pool... and so on.

In case, various participants are ties, then they will share equally the sum of the corresponding rewards. Let's take an example: 2 participants are ties in first position, and let's assume the prize pool was $100. In theory position 1 gets $5 (5% of $100), and position 2 gets $4,75 (5% of the remaining prize pool $95). As the 2 participants are ties, they will share equally $9,75 (sum of $5+$4,75), which means each one will receive $4,875.

Another important factor is the number of tickets that a certain participant own. If you own several tickets, you will occupy several positions in the final ranking. Your total reward will therefore be the sum of the rewards associated with each position. That is why getting more tickets, will get you entitled to much higher rewards. Your winnings are more or less multiplied by the number of tickets your own.

With the above formula, there is always a remaining amount of generated interests that are not distributed to the participants of the specific contest. Even though that will represents a very tiny amount, this undistributed balance will automatically be part of the next prediction game prize pool.&#x20;

### What is the amount of prizes awarded?&#x20;

The amount of prizes (and therefore the total amount of money awarded) changes dynamically. The numbers displayed are projections based on current data. It is likely that actual prizes awarded will be either higher or lower in any given prize period than what is visualized.&#x20;

### Does InterPool take any fee?

**No! InterPool does not take any fee, profit or remuneration of any kind.**

All the interests generated by the deposits of the participants are redistributed to the participants themselves. A tiny part of those interests is used to pay the network transactions fees related to the game management.

### How do I get my prizes?

1. Once the contest is complete (which mean all the fixtures included in the prediction game have resumed) and final rankings announced, you can check your prizes and claim your winnings. &#x20;
2. You can also use your winnings to get more tickets (that will be added to the tickets you already own) in order to increase your rewards for the next game. Just hit the "Get more Tickets!" button in your account section and the modal will pop out.

### How long do I have to claim my prizes?&#x20;

Prizes must be claimed within 60 days of them being awarded. Unclaimed prizes will no longer be claimable after 60 days. (**this feature is not yet active**. It has been added to the roadmap to avoid having unclaimed prizes being stuck in the protocol)
