The first trade: order book, orders, selling, resolution

The market page

At the top the question and date, below the outcomes with prices, a price chart, volume and, most importantly, the "Rules" block: who decides what happened and from which source. Read it in full. It hides details like "ET time", "per the organisation's official site", "if cancelled, resolves No". Half of all disputes on Polymarket are people who did not read the rules.

The order book

Click an outcome to open the book: bids (buy orders) on the left, asks (sell orders) on the right. Best bid 0.61, best ask 0.64 means: right now you can sell at 0.61 or buy at 0.64. The 0.03 gap is the spread, the price of immediacy. The numbers next to prices are shares available at each level: if 200 shares sit at 0.64 and you want 1,000, the other 800 fill higher.

Market and limit orders

Market ("Buy" with an amount): fills immediately at the best available prices. Fast, but you pay the spread and, on a thin market, push the price against yourself.

Limit (the "Limit" switch): you name a price, say 0.62, and the order waits in the book until someone sells to you at 0.62. It may never fill, but you do not pay the spread, and on fee-charging markets limit orders are fee-free. A simple beginner rule: for anything that is not urgent, place a limit a bit below the best ask.

How much

$5–10 for the first trade. The goal of the first trade is not profit but completing the cycle: buy, see the position in the portfolio, sell part, wait for resolution, receive the payout. After that you understand the mechanics better than from any article.

Selling before resolution

In the portfolio each position has "Sell". It sells at the best bid or by limit. You can sell part. Profit or loss is locked at the moment of sale. If the price moved against you and you no longer believe in the outcome, selling at 0.40 what you bought at 0.63 is a normal decision, not a defeat: you kept 40 of 63.

Resolution and payout

When the event happens the market closes, goes through verification (hours usually, days if disputed), and winning shares convert to dollars: a "Claim" or "Redeem" button appears, or it happens automatically. Losing shares simply disappear. The money returns to Cash.

Fees, so nothing surprises you

Most event markets have no trading fees. Sports and crypto charge a fee on market orders, at most about 3.5% of the amount at price 0.50 and near zero at prices close to 0 or 1. The exact amount is shown before you confirm. Limit orders pay no fee.

Checklist before "Buy"

• Resolution rules and date read.
• You know who is on the other side: a long event market, not a 5-minute bot arena.
• Limit order chosen unless urgent.
• The amount is one whose loss changes nothing in your life.

Next: how much to stake and why a 60% win rate does not protect you from losing everything.