How to Track Polymarket Whales: Step-by-Step Tutorial

Want to know how to track Polymarket whales? This step-by-step guide walks you through the entire process: finding whale wallets, evaluating their performance, setting up tracking tools, configuring alerts, and using whale data to improve your trading. Whether you're a complete beginner or an experienced trader looking to optimize your whale tracking setup, this tutorial covers everything you need to get started today.

Tracking whales on Polymarket gives you insight into how the smartest, most profitable traders are positioning themselves. By following their moves, you can identify opportunities earlier, validate your own analysis, and learn from traders who consistently beat the market. Let's dive into the exact process.

Step 1: Understand What Makes a Whale Worth Tracking

Before you start tracking wallets, you need to know what separates valuable whales from noise. Not every large trader is profitable—some lose millions. Here's what to look for:

Minimum Criteria for Trackable Whales

Ideal Whale Characteristics

For more on evaluating traders, see our guide to finding winning traders.

Step 2: Find Whale Wallets to Track

Now let's find actual whale addresses to add to your watchlist. Here are the best methods:

Method A: Polymarket Leaderboards

1. Go to polymarket.com
2. Navigate to any active market
3. Click on the "Leaderboard" or "Top Traders" tab
4. Sort by "Profit" rather than "Volume"
5. Click on trader profiles to see their wallet addresses
6. Note down addresses of traders with high profits AND high volume

Limitation: Polymarket's native leaderboard doesn't show win rate or detailed performance metrics. You'll need to verify these elsewhere.

Method B: PolyTrack Leaderboard (Recommended)

1. Go to polytrackhq.app
2. Browse the "Dev Picks" section for pre-vetted whales
3. Or use the leaderboard filtered by P&L and win rate
4. Click any wallet to see full performance details
5. Add promising wallets directly to your watchlist

Advantage: PolyTrack shows win rate, P&L over time, category performance, and lets you add to watchlist in one click.

Method C: Large Trade Alerts

1. Join Telegram channels that broadcast large Polymarket trades
2. When you see a $10k+ trade alert, note the wallet address
3. Research the wallet's historical performance
4. If it meets your criteria, add to your tracking list

Tip: This method helps you discover active whales you might miss on leaderboards.

Method D: Per-Market Top Holders

1. Go to a market you're interested in
2. Check the "Top Holders" or "Largest Positions" section
3. Research wallets holding large positions
4. Evaluate their overall track record (not just this market)
5. Add strong performers to your watchlist

See What Whales Are Trading Right Now

Get instant alerts when top traders make moves. Track P&L, win rates, and copy winning strategies.

Free forever. No credit card required.

Step 3: Evaluate Each Whale Before Adding

Don't just add every large wallet you find. Spend 5 minutes evaluating each one:

Quick Evaluation Checklist

Red Flags to Watch For

• All profits from one market: Could be insider info or luck
• 90%+ win rate: Suspicious unless very low volume
• Trades right before news: Possible insider trading
• Huge recent losses: May have lost their edge
• Erratic position sizing: All-in bets suggest gambling, not strategy
• No losing trades: Data may be filtered or account is too new

Step 4: Set Up Your Tracking Tool

Now that you have whale addresses, you need a tool to track them. Here's how to set up PolyTrack:

Setting Up PolyTrack (Step-by-Step)

1. Create an account:
   • Go to polytrackhq.app
   • Click "Sign Up" or "Connect Wallet"
   • Create your free account
2. Add your first whale:
   • Go to the search bar
   • Paste the wallet address you want to track
   • Review their stats on the profile page
   • Click "Add to Watchlist"
3. Build your watchlist:
   • Repeat for each whale you want to track
   • Free tier: Up to 3 wallets
   • Pro tier: Unlimited wallets
4. Explore the dashboard:
   • View all tracked wallets' positions
   • See recent trades across your watchlist
   • Check aggregate P&L and activity

Free vs Pro Comparison

Step 5: Configure Whale Alerts

Real-time alerts are crucial for acting on whale moves quickly. Here's how to set them up:

Setting Up Telegram Alerts

1. Upgrade to PolyTrack Pro (if not already)
2. Go to Settings → Notifications
3. Click "Connect Telegram"
4. You'll be redirected to Telegram—click "Start" to activate the bot
5. Return to PolyTrack and verify connection
6. Enable "Watchlist Alerts" toggle
7. Set your minimum trade size threshold (recommend: $1,000)
8. Save settings

Alert Configuration Tips

• Start with $1,000 minimum: Lower catches more trades but may be noisy
• Increase to $5,000 if overwhelmed: Focuses on larger, more significant moves
• Keep phone notifications on: Speed matters for whale following
• Create a dedicated Telegram folder: Keep whale alerts organized

For more on alerts, see our whale alerts guide.

See What Whales Are Trading Right Now

Get instant alerts when top traders make moves. Track P&L, win rates, and copy winning strategies.

Free forever. No credit card required.

Step 6: Monitor Your Tracked Whales

With your tracking set up, establish a routine for monitoring whale activity:

Daily Monitoring (5-10 minutes)

• Check any alerts you received
• Scan tracked whales' recent activity
• Note any new positions or exits
• Look for patterns—are multiple whales entering the same market?

Weekly Review (15-20 minutes)

• Review each tracked whale's weekly P&L
• Check if any whales are underperforming
• Look for new whales to add to watchlist
• Evaluate whether alerts led to good opportunities

Monthly Optimization (30 minutes)

• Remove consistently underperforming whales
• Add new high-performers you've discovered
• Analyze which whale signals were most profitable
• Adjust alert thresholds based on experience
• Review your own copy-trade performance

Step 7: Act on Whale Signals

When you receive a whale alert, follow this decision framework:

The 60-Second Decision Process

1. Check the whale's stats: What's their win rate? Recent performance?
2. Understand the market: What is this bet about? Do you have an opinion?
3. Check current price: Has it moved since the whale traded?
4. Decide your action: Follow, skip, or research more
5. Size appropriately: Never risk more than 2-5% per copy trade

When to Follow a Whale Trade

• Whale has 60%+ win rate in this market category
• You understand the market and the trade makes sense
• Price hasn't moved significantly since the alert
• Multiple tracked whales are taking the same position
• The trade aligns with your own analysis

When to Skip

• You don't understand what the market is about
• The whale has poor performance in this category
• Price has already moved 10%+ since alert
• It's a market type you consistently lose in
• Position would exceed your risk limits

Step 8: Track Your Results

Keep a record of your whale-following trades to optimize over time:

What to Track

• Which whale: Wallet address or your label
• Market: What you traded
• Entry price: What you paid
• Whale's price: What they paid (from alert)
• Outcome: Win/loss and P&L
• Time lag: How long after alert you entered

Questions to Answer Monthly

• Which whales produced the most profitable signals?
• Which market categories worked best for copy trading?
• How did time lag affect your results?
• What was your overall copy-trade win rate?
• Which whales should you stop following?

Pro Tips for Better Whale Tracking

1. Quality Over Quantity

Track 5-15 high-quality whales rather than 50 mediocre ones. More alerts doesn't mean better signals—it means more noise. Each whale in your watchlist should meet your minimum criteria.

2. Diversify Whale Types

Don't just track political market specialists. Include whales who excel in crypto, sports, and entertainment markets. Different whales provide signals for different opportunities.

3. Watch for Consensus

When 3+ tracked whales independently take the same position, it's a stronger signal than one whale making a large trade. Pay extra attention to consensus signals.

4. Don't Ignore Exits

Whale exits are as important as entries. When a whale closes a profitable position before resolution, consider whether you should also take profits.

5. Learn, Don't Just Copy

Use whale tracking as education, not just signals. Study why whales enter certain positions. Over time, you'll develop your own edge and rely less on copying. Read our whale trading strategies guide to understand their methods.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake 1: Copying Every Trade

Not every whale trade is worth following. Whales trade for different reasons—some positions are hedges, some are small experiments. Be selective and only copy trades that meet your criteria.

Mistake 2: Matching Whale Position Sizes

A whale betting $50,000 might be risking 2% of their portfolio. If you have $5,000, that same position would be 1000% of your capital. Always size positions relative to YOUR bankroll, not theirs.

Mistake 3: Acting on Old Alerts

If you see an alert from 3 hours ago, the opportunity has likely passed. Either act within minutes or skip entirely. Stale alerts lead to buying at worse prices.

Mistake 4: Not Tracking Results

If you don't track your copy-trade performance, you won't know which whales give good signals and which don't. Keep records and review them monthly.

Mistake 5: Abandoning After Losses

Even good whales have losing trades. A 65% win rate means 35% of trades lose. Don't abandon a whale after one or two losses—evaluate over 10-20 signals minimum.

See What Whales Are Trading Right Now

Get instant alerts when top traders make moves. Track P&L, win rates, and copy winning strategies.

Free forever. No credit card required.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Tracking Polymarket whales is a learnable skill that can significantly improve your trading results. By following this step-by-step guide, you've learned how to:

• Identify which whales are worth tracking based on objective criteria
• Find whale wallets through multiple discovery methods
• Evaluate each whale before adding to your watchlist
• Set up tracking tools and configure real-time alerts
• Monitor your tracked whales effectively
• Make smart decisions when acting on whale signals
• Track your results and optimize over time

Start small with 5-10 well-researched whales, set up your alerts, and begin building your whale tracking practice. Over time, you'll develop intuition for which signals are most valuable and how to best use whale data in your trading.