RISK LADDER — higher number beats lower. Exception: 1. Cash beats 9. Derivatives.
How it works
- Each session, both sides secretly commit one position card. Higher number wins — but 1 beats 9.
- Only WIN / LOSE / DRAW is revealed. The cards themselves stay hidden until the end.
- Once per game each, declare 2x or 3x leverage (sessions 1–8): the winner of that session takes 2 or 3 P&L instead of 1.
- Once per game each, declare an INVERSE (sessions 1–8): that session the market flips — the lower card wins, and 9 beats 1. If both sides declare it, the two inverses cancel out.
- Draw Pot (optional rule): a drawn session's point doesn't vanish — it rolls into a pot, and the next session's winner takes it all. Consecutive draws stack the pot.
| Session | You | AI | Stake | Market | Result |
|---|
Full Rules
Both sides hold the same nine position cards, 1. Cash through 9. Derivatives, each usable exactly once across nine sessions. The previous session's winner commits first (on a draw, the lead stays). Committed cards are never revealed — after each session you learn only who won. A draw means you both played the same position.
Leverage: each side holds one 2x and one 3x token. When committing a card in sessions 1–8, you may attach a token — this is declared openly, so your opponent sees the raised stakes before responding. The session is then worth the highest attached token (win it, take that much P&L; lose it, your opponent takes it). Tokens attached to a drawn session are returned. Leverage cannot be declared in the final session.
Inverse: each side also holds one Inverse token — a bet on the downside. Declared openly like leverage (sessions 1–8, may be combined with a leverage token). In an inverted session the whole market flips: the lower card wins, and 9 beats 1. If both sides declare an Inverse in the same session, they cancel out and the market trades normally — so a well-timed counter-Inverse can neutralise your opponent's. Inverse tokens on a drawn session are returned.
Draw Pot (optional, on by default): when a session is drawn, its 1 base point rolls into a pot instead of vanishing. The next decided session is worth its own stake plus the entire pot. Consecutive draws keep stacking it. Leverage and inverse tokens are still returned on a draw — only the base point carries. If the final session is drawn, the pot expires.
Why does 1 beat 9? Because when the most leveraged position in the market meets a crash, it gets liquidated — and cash is king. Everything else follows the risk ladder.
Inspired by classic double-blind number duels; rebuilt with a finance theme, open leverage and inverse systems, and an AI that infers your remaining cards from nothing but the win/loss record.