Buy orders
$0.59250 contracts
$0.58600 contracts
Sell orders
$0.6175 contracts
$0.62400 contracts
Illustrative order book. The best visible price may have only a small available size.
Liquidity describes how easily people can buy or sell without moving the price too much. It is not the same as a market's popularity, volume, or headline price.
Before you place an order, look at the orders waiting to trade.
Liquidity in plain English
A liquid market has meaningful buy and sell interest near the current price. A thin market may show a price, but only a small amount may be available there.
For example, a Yes contract may show a best ask of $0.60. If only $20 is offered at $0.60 and you try to buy more, the rest of your order may fill at higher prices or stay unfilled.
Reading an order book
An order book is a list of open orders.
- Bids are prices buyers are offering.
- Asks are prices sellers are requesting.
- Best bid is the highest current buyer offer.
- Best ask is the lowest current seller offer.
The gap between the best bid and best ask is the spread. Smaller spreads can mean easier trading, but always check the size available at those prices.
Spread and depth
Depth means how much is available at each price level. A market can have a narrow spread but little depth. It can also have deep orders far away from the current price.
Look for both:
- Is the best bid close to the best ask?
- Is enough size available near the price you expect?
This is why the last traded price alone is not enough. It tells you what happened earlier, not necessarily what your next order can do.
Why your price can change
An order that trades immediately takes available orders from the book. If it consumes the best available level, it may continue at worse levels. This is often called price impact or slippage.
A resting limit order works differently. You choose a price and wait for someone to trade with you. It may fill partly, fill later, or never fill. Learn the difference before using any terminal.
Simple checklist
- Read the market rules first.
- Compare best bid and best ask.
- Check size at the first few price levels.
- Consider a smaller order if depth is limited.
- Know whether you are placing a resting limit order or seeking an immediate fill.
- Re-check the price before confirming; market conditions change.
Next: see how odds work and prediction-market risks.
Open HBFmarket terminalSources and further reading
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