# Place Trades

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### Overview

Trading on Polymarket means buying or selling shares that represent the probability of an event outcome. Buy shares if you think an outcome is more likely than the market suggests. Sell shares to exit a position or if you think the probability is too high.

**What you can do:**

* Buy outcome shares at market price for instant execution
* Place limit orders at a specific probability price
* Sell shares you hold at market price or with a limit
* Cancel pending orders

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### Buying Shares

When you buy, you're spending USD to acquire outcome shares. The amount you specify is how much USD you want to spend.

#### Market Buys

| Prompt                                         | Interpretation                           |
| ---------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- |
| "Buy $20 of Yes on the BTC $150k market"       | Spends $20 on Yes shares at market price |
| "Buy $50 of No on the election market"         | Spends $50 on No shares at market price  |
| "Put $10 on Yes"                               | $10 market buy on Yes outcome            |
| "Buy Yes shares on the NBA Finals market, $25" | $25 market buy                           |
| "I want to bet $100 on BTC hitting $150k"      | $100 on Yes shares                       |

#### Limit Buys

Place an order at a specific price. Your order only fills if the market reaches your price or better. This lets you get shares cheaper than the current ask.

| Prompt                              | Interpretation                 |
| ----------------------------------- | ------------------------------ |
| "Buy Yes shares at $0.40"           | Limit order at $0.40 per share |
| "Buy $25 of Yes at $0.60 or better" | Spends up to $25 at $0.60 max  |
| "Limit buy No shares at $0.30"      | Limit order on No at $0.30     |
| "Buy Yes at $0.35, $50 worth"       | $50 limit buy at $0.35         |
| "Place a bid on Yes at $0.45"       | Limit buy at $0.45             |

{% hint style="info" %}
**Tip**: If the current ask is $0.65, placing a limit buy at $0.60 means you only get filled if the price drops to $0.60. You get a better price but there's no guarantee it fills.
{% endhint %}

***

### Selling Shares

When you sell, you're selling shares you already hold. The amount you specify is the **number of shares**, not USD.

#### Market Sells

| Prompt                                    | Interpretation                       |
| ----------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------ |
| "Sell my Yes shares on the BTC market"    | Sells all Yes shares at market price |
| "Sell 50 shares of Yes"                   | Sells 50 Yes shares at market        |
| "Exit my position on the election market" | Sells all shares at market           |
| "Sell my No shares"                       | Sells all No shares at market        |
| "Get out of the NBA Finals market"        | Sells position at market             |

#### Limit Sells

| Prompt                              | Interpretation                  |
| ----------------------------------- | ------------------------------- |
| "Sell 100 Yes shares at $0.75"      | Limit sell at $0.75 per share   |
| "Sell my shares at $0.80 or better" | Limit sell at $0.80 minimum     |
| "List my No shares at $0.50"        | Limit sell on No at $0.50       |
| "Sell 200 shares at $0.90"          | Limit sell, 200 shares at $0.90 |

***

### Buy vs Sell Amounts

This is the most important distinction when trading on Polymarket:

| Action   | Amount Means     | Example                                  |
| -------- | ---------------- | ---------------------------------------- |
| **Buy**  | USD to spend     | "Buy $20 worth" spends $20 to get shares |
| **Sell** | Number of shares | "Sell 50 shares" sells 50 outcome tokens |

**Why it's different**: When buying, you don't know exactly how many shares you'll get because the price determines that. When selling, you already hold a specific number of shares, so you specify how many to sell.

#### How Many Shares Do You Get?

The number of shares you receive depends on the price:

| You Spend | Share Price | Shares Received | Payout if Correct |
| --------- | ----------- | --------------- | ----------------- |
| $20       | $0.25       | 80 shares       | $80               |
| $20       | $0.50       | 40 shares       | $40               |
| $20       | $0.75       | \~26.7 shares   | \~$26.70          |
| $20       | $0.90       | \~22.2 shares   | \~$22.20          |

{% hint style="info" %}
The lower the price, the more shares you get per dollar, and the higher your potential return.
{% endhint %}

***

### Cancelling Orders

Cancel pending limit orders that haven't filled yet.

| Prompt                                    | Interpretation                             |
| ----------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| "Cancel my order on the BTC market"       | Cancels a specific pending order           |
| "Cancel all my Polymarket orders"         | Cancels every pending order                |
| "Cancel my orders on the election tokens" | Cancels orders for specific outcome tokens |
| "Remove my limit buy on Yes"              | Cancels the pending Yes buy                |

***

### When to Use Market vs Limit Orders

#### Use Market Orders When

* The spread is tight ($0.01-0.02)
* You want immediate execution
* The market is moving and you want in now
* Your order size is small relative to available liquidity

#### Use Limit Orders When

* The spread is wide ($0.03+)
* You want a better entry price and can wait
* You're trading a large amount relative to order book depth
* You want to place a bid between the current bid and ask

#### The Spread Matters

| Scenario        | Bid   | Ask   | Spread | Recommendation               |
| --------------- | ----- | ----- | ------ | ---------------------------- |
| Tight market    | $0.64 | $0.65 | $0.01  | Market order is fine         |
| Moderate spread | $0.60 | $0.65 | $0.05  | Limit order at $0.62-0.63    |
| Wide spread     | $0.55 | $0.65 | $0.10  | Definitely use a limit order |

***

### Common Workflows

#### Quick Trade

```
1. "Find markets about bitcoin"            → Search
2. "Show me the BTC $150k event"            → Get details and token IDs
3. "What's the price on Yes?"               → Check current probability
4. "Buy $20 of Yes"                         → Done
```

#### Informed Trade

```
1. "Find markets about bitcoin"            → Search
2. "Show me the BTC $150k event"            → Event details
3. "Price history on this market"           → Trend analysis
4. "Show me the order book"                 → Check liquidity and spread
5. "Who are the top holders?"               → Where's the smart money?
6. "Buy $50 of Yes at $0.35"               → Limit order at your target price
```

#### Taking Profit

```
1. "Show my Polymarket positions"           → Check current value
2. "What's the price on my Yes shares?"     → Current probability
3. "Sell 50 shares at $0.75"               → Limit sell for profit
   Or: "Sell all my Yes shares"             → Market sell to exit
```

***

### Pro Tips

1. **Always check the spread first** - Wide spreads eat into returns. Use limit orders when the spread is over $0.03
2. **Remember: buy in USD, sell in shares** - The most common mistake is confusing the two
3. **Minimum buy is $1** - You can test with small amounts first
4. **You can exit anytime** - You don't have to wait for the event to resolve. Sell when you're up.
5. **Check the order book for large trades** - Make sure there's enough liquidity at the price you want
6. **Limit orders between bid and ask** - If bid is $0.60 and ask is $0.65, bid at $0.62 for a better fill
7. **Lower prices = higher potential returns** - Buying at $0.20 returns 5x if correct vs 1.33x at $0.75

***