Chapter 2 · Trading · Lesson 1 · 2 min
Your first trade
How prices work, how to buy Yes or No, and how to sell before the market ends.
Every marketMarketA question you can trade, such as "Will X win?", with its outcomes. An event can hold several markets. is a question with two outcomesOutcomeOne side of a market you can trade, such as Yes or No, or one of two teams., usually Yes and No. You buy sharesShareA unit of an outcome. It pays $1 if the outcome wins and $0 if it loses, so its price in cents reads as the market's probability. of the outcome you think is right. The price is in cents and roughly matches the crowd's odds: Yes at 54¢ means people give it about a 54% chance.
When the market resolves, each winning share pays $1 and each losing share pays $0. So 100 shares bought at 54¢ cost $54 and pay $100 if you're right. You don't have to wait for the end: you can sell your shares at any time before the market resolves.
How to do it
- Open an event and find the market you want. Events with several markets show each one on its own row.
- Press Buy Yes or Buy No next to it (some markets name the outcomes instead, like two teams). The button also shows the current price. The betslip opens with that outcome picked: on the right on a computer, as a sheet on a phone.
- Enter how much you want to spend in Amount.
- Check the numbers under it. Total Bet is what you pay, fees included. To Win is what you get back if you're right, and Avg. Price is the price you'll pay per share on average.
- Press Buy Yes (or Buy No) at the bottom of the betslip. Your shares appear in Portfolio.
Not enough money on your account? Preddy offers to top it up when you press buy.
In a quiet market with few offers, a big order can fill at a much worse price than the one on the button. Always check Avg. Price before you confirm.
Selling early
Prices move as news comes in. Sell to lock in a profit, or to cut a loss before the market ends.
In Portfolio, press Sell next to the position, or open the market and switch the betslip to Sell. Enter the number of shares, check Payout (what you'll get), and press Sell Yes or Sell No.
Market or limit order
By default the betslip is on Market: a market orderMarket orderAn order that buys or sells right away at the best prices available. buys right away at the best prices on offer. Switch to Limit in the menu at the top of the betslip to name your own price. A limit orderLimit orderAn order to buy or sell at your price or better. Whatever doesn't fill right away waits in the book. only fills at that price or better, and waits under Orders in Portfolio until someone takes it or you cancel it.
Tips
- Start small. A few dollars is enough to see how buying, prices and selling feel.
- Prefer to think in shares? The arrows next to Amount switch the field to shares.
- Read the market's rules before you buy: they say exactly what counts as Yes.
- Won? Your payout doesn't land on its own: claim your winnings once the market resolves.
Finish reading to complete this lesson