Most people look at the USDC number on an
@xomarket reward pool and stop there. The number that decides what you earn is how far from the midpoint you quote.
The docs score each order on size, proximity to the midpoint, and time resting. Proximity weight is quadratic: ((D − d) / D)². On a pool with a ±10¢ max:
1¢ away → 0.81
2¢ → 0.64
3¢ → 0.49
5¢ → 0.25
7¢ → 0.09
10¢ → 0
Read it as a capital-efficiency table. To match the score of a 1¢ quote, a 3¢ quote needs about 1.65x the size. A 5¢ quote needs 3.2x. A 7¢ quote needs 9x. Quoting wide to avoid fills isn't free, because you pay for it in capital that has to sit on the book.
The docs' own example: Maya quotes 100 shares on both sides at 49¢/51¢ and rests 12 hours. Lee quotes 100 shares on one side at 49¢ and rests 24 hours.
Lee's order sat twice as long and he still lost, 648 to 972. Maya took 60% of that day's pool, because that pool pays Single 1× / Both 3×. Quoting both sides is worth triple.
Fine print that costs people their score:
Cancel and repost, and the resting clock restarts (30 seconds by default)
After a partial fill the clock keeps running on the remaining shares, but if what's left drops below min size, it stops scoring
The midpoint comes from the best qualifying bid and ask. Orders under min size don't set it, and with no valid two-sided book nobody scores that interval
Pools near 0¢ or 100¢ can require both sides, since quoting the obvious side there is easy to game
Epochs run 00:00 to 00:00 UTC, and parameter changes only apply from the next epoch
An order doesn't have to fill to earn. But it can fill, and then you hold a real position. The docs say plainly that rewards may not cover that loss, so price your distance against how much of that position you'd want.
Read the pool card (Max, Min size, USDC pool, CP pool, eligibility) the way you'd read a fee schedule. It tells you the strategy.