Variable Wagers
Unlike traditional wagering games, Wagmi Kitchen does not have a “central” house balance that’s used to pay out winnings. Instead, every single player can become the house. In Wagmi Kitchen, this is called being the “host”.
Wagmi Kitchen has a “pool” which starts off with a balance of 0. When players start a game, they join the pool as either a host, a challenger, or a host/challenger.
How does one become host and/or a challenger?
If a player starts a game, and the pool balance is 0, they become the host. Their wager becomes the new pool balance.
If a player starts a game, and their wager is less than or equal to the pool balance, they become a challenger to the current host. The challenger’s wager is placed in an escrow account. That same amount is taken from the pool balance and placed in the same escrow account.
If a player starts a game, and their wager is higher than the pool balance, they become a challenger to the current host and replace them as the new host. The entire pool balance is placed in an escrow account. That same amount is taken from the challenger’s wager and placed in that same escrow account. Whatever is left from the challenger’s wager becomes the new pool balance.
Simply put, hosts add to the pool balance and challengers take away from the pool balance. Anything taken from the pool balance is placed into an escrow account along with the challengers wager. If the challenger's game beats the host game, the challenger can claim the balance in the escrow account. Otherwise, the host can claim that reward.
This is best demonstrated with the following table.
| Player | Wager | Pool Balance | Host being challenged | New Host | Host/Challenger Escrow Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 50 | 0 -> 50 | None | A | None |
| B | 10 | 50 -> 40 | A | A | A/B escrow = 20 |
| C | 15 | 40 -> 25 | A | A | A/C escrow = 30 |
| D | 60 | 25 -> 35 | A | D | A/D escrow = 50 |
| E | 30 | 35 -> 5 | D | D | D/E escrow = 60 |
| F | 5 | 5 -> 0 | D | None | D/F escrow = 10 |
| G | 100 | 0 -> 100 | None | G | None |
Let’s see how things would play out if everyone had a score. In the event of a tie, the win goes to the host. Think of it as the “house edge”.
| Player | Wager | Score | Host | Winnings | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 50 | 80 | N/A | (10*2) + (15*0) + (25*2) = 70 | +20 |
| B | 10 | 72 | A | (10*0) = 0 | -10 |
| C | 15 | 105 | A | (15*2) = 30 | +15 |
| D | 60 | 50 | A | (25*0) + (30*2) + (5*0) = 60 | 0 |
| E | 30 | 50 | D | (30*0) = 0 | -30 |
| F | 5 | 90 | D | (5*2) = 10 | +5 |
| G | 100 | 85 | N/A | Waiting for challengers... | N/A |
Looking at the "Net" column, you'll see that some players doubled their wager, some broke even, some lost their wager, and some had something in between 😄.
As you can see, this isn't the traditional "Win Double or Nothing". It's a "Win between a range of Double and Nothing"
In a nutshell
Hosts can win the wagers of every challenger.
Challengers can double their wager if their wager is less than or equal to the remaining pool balance.
Challengers can win double of the pool balance if their wager is higher than the pool balance. Then, as the new host, they can win the wagers of every subsequent challenger.
Hopefully this all makes sense!