> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://ample-2.gitbook.io/docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://ample-2.gitbook.io/docs/start-here/a-week-on-ample.md).
# A Week on Ample
Ample runs on a weekly clock. Every cycle ends on payout day, when the pool is distributed and the next cycle begins. This is what one week looks like from the inside.
### The cycle opens
From the first minute of a cycle, every dollar in every vault is doing two jobs. It earns yield in onchain lending markets, and that yield accumulates into the week's payout pool. At the same time it earns you **tickets**, 100 for every dollar of your average balance across the week.
Average is the key word. A dollar held all week counts in full. A dollar deposited an hour before the draw barely registers. This protects the draw from last-minute gaming, and it means the best strategy is also the simplest one. Deposit early, let it sit.
### Mid week
Nothing is asked of you. Your balance earns, your tickets build, and the pool grows with the vaults' yield. If you have a [boost](/docs/how-payouts-work/boosts.md) active or a deposit [streak](/docs/how-payouts-work/odds.md) running, those are already reflected in the live ticket count on your dashboard.
### The final hours
Before each payout, the **waiting room** opens in the app. Bonus tickets appear on screen, and each one you catch adds a ticket to your count for that draw, up to a capped amount. It is a small edge and a fun ritual; your balance remains what actually moves your odds.
### Payout day
The cycle snapshots. A verifiable random function selects recipients across four prize tiers, from one Grand Prize down to a wide base of smaller payouts, reaching **hundreds of depositors** every week. The results are committed onchain before any claim, which locks them in. Every payout on the list can be checked against what was published, and nothing can be edited afterward. Recipients claim directly from the contract. The details live in [The Draw](/docs/how-payouts-work/the-draw.md) and [Claiming a Payout](/docs/how-payouts-work/claiming.md).
Then the clock resets. Your tickets start accruing again, and if you didn't receive a payout this week, your odds quietly improve for the next one. Ample keeps score in your favor. See [Your Odds, Over Time](/docs/how-payouts-work/odds.md).
{% hint style="info" %}
The pool is the week's generated yield, sometimes topped up by Ample or campaign sponsors, so its size varies with deposits and rates. Individual payouts are determined by draw and are never guaranteed.
{% endhint %}
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