Understanding the order book

Understanding the Order Book is crucial for advanced trading. We’ve already discussed market orders, which are executed instantly at the current price. However, if you think the market price is too high, you can also place the limit order as the price you want.

Limit Orders Explained

Limit orders are executed only when the market matches your chosen price. For instance, if you’re willing to buy “no” shares in “Will the US FOMC keep the interest rate unchanged?” for 90c, but the market price is 97.7c, you can place a limit order at 90c and wait for a seller to match your price.

💡Pro Tip: Limit orders can be partially filled as traders meet your price, so your order may not fill all at once.

Steps to Place a Limit Order

1. In the ‘Buy’ menu, select ‘Limit’ as the order type.

2. Enter your desired price (or the price at which you want to sell).

3. Specify the number of shares you wish to trade at that price.

4. (Optional) Set an expiration date for your order, so it cancels if unfilled within that time frame.

5. Click ‘Confirm Buy for $xxx’.

Viewing the Order Book

The order book shows all open buy and sell orders in a given market. For example, in the market “US FOMC Interest Rate Decision,” we are viewing the order book for Trump “Yes” shares.

• The Green Side displays the “bid,” which is the highest price buyers are willing to pay for “Yes” shares.

• The Red Side displays the “ask,” which is the lowest price sellers are willing to accept for “Yes” shares.

💡Notice the gap between the highest bid and the lowest ask price. This gap is called the spread.