> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.thetalabs.gg/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Placing and closing orders
> Every control in the ticket, how fills work against updown's quote, and how to sell back.
Every market page has a ticket: the right rail on desktop, a docked bottom sheet on a phone. Orders fill instantly against updown's own quote, and you can sell back to updown at any time before the window closes.
## The ticket
At the top of the ticket sit a **Buy / Sell** toggle and an order-type dropdown with **Quick Buy**, **Market**, and **Limit**. Team markets add a two-pill toggle for which team you are trading.
### Quick Buy
Quick Buy is the default and the fastest way in.
| Element | What it does |
| ----------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **▲ Up 51¢** / **▼ Down 49¢** pills | The two sides with their live prices, one column each. |
| **$1 / $5 / \$10** boxes | Each shows the amount over what it wins, for example "$5" over "win $9.80". |
| "Hold a box to buy" | Press and hold a box for about 0.7 seconds until it fills. Releasing early cancels. Phones vibrate on commit. |
The "win" figure walks updown's price ladder, so it is slightly less than the amount divided by the headline price whenever there is a spread.
### Market
| Element | What it does |
| ------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Side pill (**Up 51¢** / **Down 49¢**) | Pick the side. |
| **Dollars** | The amount to spend (default \$50). This is the only sizing input. |
| **Odds** | The side's price read as a chance, for example "51% chance". |
| **Max payout** | What you receive if the side wins: dollars divided by price, for example $98.04 on $50 at 51¢. |
| **Buy Up** / **Buy Down** | Places the order. Reads "Placing…" while it fills. |
### Limit
The Limit form (inputs **Contracts** and **Limit price**, a "Submit as resting order only" checkbox, and **Cost** / **Max payout** readouts) is visible but **not yet available**. Its button is disabled and reads "Limit orders open with the order book".
Do not plan on limit orders yet. Interval trades fill instantly against updown's quote, and nothing rests in the **Open orders** tab until the order book ships.
### On a phone
The ticket is a bottom sheet with a **Quick / Market / Limit** toggle. Quick is two steps: tap **Up 51¢** or **Down 49¢**, then hold a box on that side's **$1 / $5 / \$10** row. Collapsed, the sheet shows **Buy Up 51¢** / **Buy Down 49¢** pills.
## Confirmation
After a fill, a **Trade executed** card appears for about two seconds:
* Buys read "Bought $5.00 **Up** @ 51¢" and "Pays $9.80 if Up wins".
* Sells read "Sold $4.90 Up @ 49¢" and "+$0.40 realized", with "· settling…" while the on-chain payout confirms.
* A partial fill adds "Filled $X of your $Y — book was thin here".
## How fills work
updown's treasury is the counterparty on every trade. It quotes an Up ladder and a Down ladder for each window, six price levels deep, with about **20 contracts of net exposure per side per window**. The order book on the market page shows it:
| Element | What it shows |
| -------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Trade Up / Trade Down** | Which side's ladder you are viewing. |
| **Price / Shares / Total** | Each level's price, size in contracts, and cumulative size. |
| **Asks** and **Bids** | Asks above, bids below, with "Last 50¢ · Spread 2¢" between them. |
Key facts about fills:
* **No trading fee today.** The only cost is the spread: at least 2¢, widening near 50/50 as the window runs out of time. The **win** and **Max payout** figures already include it.
* **Partial fills** happen when the ladder is thin. You are told what filled.
* **Automatic price protection.** The app caps a buy at the shown price × 1.3 + 3¢ and floors a sell at the shown price × 0.7 − 3¢. If the average fill would breach that, the order is rejected instead: "Price moved to 55¢ (above your 40¢ limit) — order not filled." Try again at the new price. There is no user slippage setting.
* **No minimum order** beyond a positive amount. Quick Buy starts at \$1.
## Selling back
You can close all or part of a position at any time before the window closes. You are filled at updown's **bid** ladder, and the realized profit or loss (proceeds minus your average cost) is paid or collected immediately.
On the market page, find your side's row in the **Live Positions** panel and **hold the red Sell button** until it reads "Selling…". This sells that side's entire position in the window.
Switch the order type to **Market** and the toggle to **Sell**, pick the side, enter **Dollars** to sell, and click **Sell Up** or **Sell Down**. The amount closes dollars divided by price contracts.
You cannot sell more than you hold. Once the window has closed, selling is no longer possible; the position settles automatically.
## Errors you may see
| Message | Meaning |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| "Insufficient balance: need 5.00 pUSD, have 2.10." | Not enough Cash. Money in open windows does not count as buying power. |
| "No liquidity available at these levels." | The ladder is exhausted for this window. |
| "Price moved to … — order not filled." | Price protection rejected the fill. Retry. |
| "You only hold N contracts on this side." | A sell exceeded your position. |
| "Market is not open for trading right now." | Outside stock hours, or a sports window has not opened. |
| "Trading is paused — the game has ended. This window settles at the final odds." | Game over. See [How windows work](/trading/how-windows-work#market-hours-and-special-cases). |
The **Live Positions** panel marks your position at what updown would pay you right now (its bid). The Portfolio page marks at the midpoint. A fresh buy therefore looks roughly flat on Portfolio but slightly negative on the market page. The two converge when you sell or settle.