Place Trades
Buy and sell outcome shares on Polymarket at market price or with limit orders.
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
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
"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.
"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
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.
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
"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
"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:
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:
$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
The lower the price, the more shares you get per dollar, and the higher your potential return.
Cancelling Orders
Cancel pending limit orders that haven't filled yet.
"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
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
Informed Trade
Taking Profit
Pro Tips
Always check the spread first - Wide spreads eat into returns. Use limit orders when the spread is over $0.03
Remember: buy in USD, sell in shares - The most common mistake is confusing the two
Minimum buy is $1 - You can test with small amounts first
You can exit anytime - You don't have to wait for the event to resolve. Sell when you're up.
Check the order book for large trades - Make sure there's enough liquidity at the price you want
Limit orders between bid and ask - If bid is $0.60 and ask is $0.65, bid at $0.62 for a better fill
Lower prices = higher potential returns - Buying at $0.20 returns 5x if correct vs 1.33x at $0.75
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