How to Read the Order Book on Polymarket (US 2026)

How We Verify

Checked Aug 8, 2026

We checked Polymarket US’s published Glossary (Order book: list of bids and asks showing available prices and size at each level; Bid; Ask; BBO / Best Bid and Offer; Spread; Size; Liquidity; Open order), Prices & Market Data (central limit order book; Bids; Asks (offers); BBO is the highest bid and lowest ask — the price a market order would trade at if size is there; market states Open / Pre-open / Suspended / Halted / Expired), Spreads (you buy at the ask and sell at the bid), Liquidity (Depth and Posted Size; each price level shows how many shares can trade there), How are Polymarket odds determined? (prices update when a buy or sell is matched; Polymarket US does not set prices), Browse Markets (market question, current Yes and No prices, resolution date), Place a Trade (tap any market to open it), Website vs App, official Markets BBO API fields (lastTradePx, currentPx, bestAsk, bestBid, bidDepth, askDepth), official Get Market Book fields (bids, offers, qty, lastTradePx, lastTradeQty), and the official US docs index (llms.txt). Official Limit Orders help (international, updated April 20, 2026) names an Order Book on the market’s page and puts your resting clip just below it. Official Place a Trade, Official Browse Markets, Official Prices & Market Data, and Official Glossary do not reprint a retail tab labelled Order Book, Book, or Bids / Asks on the US swipe we checked. We will not invent one. If the live US card already prints Order Book, Book, or Bids and Asks, we describe the action and tell you to follow that live label. We do not reprint a live bid, ask, last print, or depth count. Last checked August 2026.

Reviewed by: Scott, Editor
Terms checked against: Operator-published terms, August 8, 2026
Hands-on testing: In progress — updates to follow

Who this guide is for

US adults who can already see a Polymarket card and now need to find and read the public order book on that market — the bids and asks sitting on the book, not their own open orders. Official Glossary names that list. If the live card says Order Book or Bids and Asks, follow that word. This is not how to read open orders, not how to read last price, not how to read liquidity, and not how to set a limit price. Those pages are your working list, the last print, posted-size risk, and the cents you type. This page is only the public ladder on one ticket. Then we link out. Polymarket is the only live outbound on this page.

Where the public book lives

Official Browse Markets names current Yes and No prices on each card — not Order Book. Official Glossary names the order book as the list of bids and asks. Official Place a Trade does not reprint an Order Book chip on the swipe we checked. If the live app uses a different label, follow that label — we will not invent one.

Open one ticket — the public book sits on that market

Official Browse + Place a Trade

Official Browse Markets: each tile shows the market question, the current Yes and No prices, and a resolution date. Official Place a Trade: tap any market to open it. Official Prices & Market Data: that opened ticket is a central limit order book other traders post into. Official Browse Markets does not list Order Book on the tile. We will not invent a home-screen Book chip those pages do not print. If the sports desk is hidden where you live, stop.

Official US retail help does not reprint an Order Book tab

Action, not an invented header

Official Place a Trade, Official Browse Markets, Official Prices & Market Data, and Official Glossary name the book as a list of bids and asks. They do not reprint a retail column or tab labelled Order Book, Book, or Bids / Asks on the swipe we checked. We will not invent one. The action is: on that opened ticket, look for the public list of bids and asks sitting on the market. If the live control is labelled Order Book, Book, Bids and Asks, or something else — or is missing — use the live screen.

International web names Order Book — the US desk is the app

Official Limit Orders help + Website vs App

Official Limit Orders help (international, updated April 20, 2026) names an Order Book on the market’s page and puts your own resting clip just below it. Official Website vs App: US residents deposit and trade in the Polymarket US app, not on polymarket.com. That published “Order Book” header is a web label. We will not paste it onto the US swipe as if Place a Trade printed that menu. If the live US card already uses those words, follow that live word.

API bids / offers / bestBid / bestAsk are field names — not a phone chip

Official Get Market Book + Markets BBO API

Official Get Market Book names bids and offers, plus qty at each level, lastTradePx, and lastTradeQty. Official Markets BBO API names bestBid, bestAsk, bidDepth, and askDepth. Those are published field names. Official Place a Trade does not reprint them as an Order Book chip. We will not paste an API field onto the US swipe as if the retail page printed that menu.

Official US docs · Order book named · no invented Order Book tab · follow live labels

The public book is not your open orders

Official Glossary splits the order book from an open order. Official Limit Orders help puts your clip under that ladder on web. See how to read open orders for the personal list — this page does not repeat that row.

The public book is everyone else’s bids and asks

Official Glossary

Official Glossary: the order book is the list of bids and asks showing available prices and size at each level. Official Prices & Market Data: bids are buy orders — prices traders will pay; asks (offers) are sell orders — prices traders will accept. That ladder is the public book. It is not a sportsbook hold, and it is not a row we invent.

Your open order is one request sitting on that book

Official Glossary + Limit Orders help

Official Glossary: an open order is an order waiting on the book to be filled. Official Limit Orders help puts that personal clip just below the Order Book on the international market page. The public ladder above it is other traders’ size. How to read open orders is your working list. This page does not walk that list.

Do not mash “my resting clip” into “the book”

Two different reads

A working-order row is size you already posted. The public book is the bids and asks anyone can take. Official Prices & Market Data: Polymarket US does not set those prices — other traders do. If you only look at your own leftover, you have not read the book. Leave the cancel and status walk on How to read open orders.

Public bids / asks ≠ your resting clip · open-orders how-to stays linked

Best bid, best ask, and depth

Official Prices & Market Data is the BBO. Official Spreads is which side a take pays. Official Liquidity names Depth and Posted Size. We name the sides. We do not reprint a live ladder.

Best bid — the highest price buyers will pay right now

Official Glossary + Spreads

Official Glossary: the bid is the highest price buyers are willing to pay. Official Spreads: when you sell, you receive the bid. Official Markets BBO API names that top-of-book number bestBid. Official Prices & Market Data: the BBO is the tightest pair at the top of the book. We do not reprint a live bid.

Best ask — the lowest price sellers will accept right now

Official Glossary + Spreads

Official Glossary: the ask is the lowest price sellers are willing to accept. Official Prices & Market Data also names this side Asks (offers). Official Spreads: you buy at the ask. Official Markets BBO API names that top-of-book number bestAsk. Hitting the best ask is taking posted size, not locking a sportsbook line. We do not reprint a live ask.

Depth — size sitting under those two prices

Official Liquidity + market-book fields

Official Liquidity’s Depth and Posted Size section: each price level shows how many shares can trade there before the next level is touched. Official Glossary: size is contracts at a given price; liquidity is how much of that size is there to trade. Official Markets BBO API names bidDepth and askDepth as how many levels sit on each side. Official Get Market Book names qty on each bid or offer row. Those are field names. How to read liquidity is the thin-book walk. This page only names the sitting ladder.

Official Bid / Ask / BBO · depth is sitting size · no live quote

Last price is not the best bid or best ask

Official Get Market Book names lastTradePx. Official How are Polymarket odds determined? reprints that match when orders fill. Official Prices & Market Data is the live BBO you can take. See how to read last price for the stamp — this page does not repeat that print walk.

Last price is a completed match — history

Official lastTradePx + odds FAQ

Official Get Market Book stats name lastTradePx as the most recent trade, plus lastTradeQty for that clip. Official How are Polymarket odds determined?: prices update whenever a buy or sell is matched. A last-price stamp is that print. It already happened. It is not the best bid, not the best ask, and not a promise the next swipe pays the same cents. How to read last price is that stamp. This page does not clone it.

The BBO is the now-quote — what a take would hit

Official Prices & Market Data

Official Prices & Market Data: a market order fills at the best available price on the other side right now — the BBO. Official Glossary: that pair is the tightest bid and ask at the top of the book. A last print can sit one number; the best ask can sit another. Official Liquidity: treat the displayed price as dynamic, especially in live sports. Read the sitting sides first.

Yes/No cents on the tile are a display — not the ladder

Official Browse Markets

Official Browse Markets shows current Yes and No prices on the card. That tile is a display. The public book is the bids and asks under the opened ticket. We will not treat the home-screen cents as a confirmed Order Book header, and we will not reprint a live Yes or a live No.

lastTradePx = history · BBO = sitting quote · Yes/No tile ≠ the ladder

How to find and read the public book

Step 1

Open one US market — not a tweet, and not your working-order list

Find the market, then look at a single ticket. Official Website vs App: US residents browse and trade in the Polymarket US app, not on polymarket.com. Official Browse Markets: the card shows the question, the current Yes and No prices, and a resolution date. Official Place a Trade: tap the market to open it. Official Prices & Market Data: confirm the market is Open if you intend to trade later. If the sports desk is hidden where you live, stop. How to read open orders is your resting clip. This page is only the public book.
Step 2

Find the public list of bids and asks if official help or the live card shows it

Official Glossary: the order book is the list of bids and asks with size at each level. Official Limit Orders help names an Order Book on the international market page. Official Place a Trade does not reprint a retail header labelled Order Book, Book, or Bids / Asks on the swipe we checked. If the live card already uses one of those words, follow that live label. If no such word is there, the action is still: find the public bids and asks sitting on that opened ticket. Do not invent a tab.
Step 3

Read the best bid versus the best ask — then glance at depth

Official Glossary: bid is the highest buyers will pay; ask is the lowest sellers will accept; the BBO is that tightest pair. Official Spreads: a take-now buy pays the ask. Official Liquidity: each level shows how many shares sit there before the next price is touched. Official Markets BBO API names bestBid, bestAsk, bidDepth, and askDepth. We do not reprint a live quote or a live depth count. How to read liquidity is whether that sitting size can cover a clip. This page only names the sides and the depth under them.
Step 4

Treat last price as history — it is not the best bid or the best ask

Official Get Market Book stats name lastTradePx as the most recent match. Official How are Polymarket odds determined?: that print updates when orders fill. Official Prices & Market Data: a market order still pays the best available price on the other side right now. A last print can sit far from that ask. How to read last price is the stamp. Do not mash it onto the book.
Step 5

Then leave open orders, last price, liquidity, and limit price on their own pages

How to read open orders is your working list. How to read last price is the last match. How to read liquidity is posted size as a fill risk. How to set a limit price is the cents you type on a new order. Event contracts can settle at zero. Trade only what you can afford to lose. Nothing here is investment advice.

This is not last price, liquidity, or a limit you type

Official Get Market Book stats name lastTradePx. That stamp lives on How to read last price on Polymarket. Official Liquidity is posted size as a fill risk — How to read liquidity on Polymarket. Official Orders & Trading is the cents you set before a rest — How to set a limit price on Polymarket. This page will not repeat those click paths, invent a Limit tab, or reprint a live last.

The take-versus-rest decision after you already see the ladder lives on How to read the Polymarket order book. Who added size versus who lifted it is How to tell maker from taker. Leftover after a match is How to read a partial fill. We do not clone those either.

Blocked and contested states

Reported unavailable as of June 2026: Arizona, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada and Ohio. That list is not a promise it stays still — litigation around sports event contracts in particular can narrow or shift access. If you are in a listed state, do not treat a public bid or ask as size you can take. If you are in Florida or another green-light state, still confirm the ticket appears and still shows a public book before you send money.

Age is 18+ with identity verification. That is a different gate from the 21+ / responsible-gambling frame on our DFS pages, because these are traded financial instruments. If you also want NFL DFS, start at the picks hub — those slate-lock clocks do not carry over. Compare platforms on the prediction-markets hub.

What you will not get from this page

A dollar welcome match, a paste-this promo code, an invented Order Book / Book / Bids-Asks tab Official Place a Trade does not print, a live bid, ask, last, or depth count, a cloned open-orders / last-price / liquidity / volume / limit-price / maker-versus-taker / partial-fill walkthrough, a newsletter form, or claim buttons for Kalshi, DraftKings, FanDuel, Underdog, Sleeper, PrizePicks, Hard Rock or BetRivers. We could not verify a standing official US welcome bonus on Polymarket’s own terms. Other publishers’ partner codes are theirs; we do not copy them. The honest user-facing line is still US access via CFTC-regulated QCEX — official Glossary names the order book as the public list of bids and asks, official US help does not reprint an Order Book chip we invent, that ladder is not your open orders, last price is not the best bid or best ask, depth is sitting size under those sides, and if the live card prints Order Book or Bids and Asks, use that live word. Last verified August 8, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do I find the public order book on a Polymarket US market?

Official Place a Trade: tap a market from the home screen to open the ticket. Official Glossary: the order book is the list of bids and asks on that market. Official Limit Orders help names an Order Book on the international market page. Official Place a Trade does not reprint a retail header labelled Order Book on the swipe we checked; if the live card already prints Order Book, Book, or Bids and Asks, follow that live word. The action is: find the public bids and asks sitting on that opened ticket — not your own working-order row. The only live claim on this page hops through /go/polymarket.

Does official US help print an Order Book tab on the card?

Official Glossary names Order book as the list of bids and asks. Official Get Market Book names bids and offers. Official Limit Orders help (international web) reprints Order Book on the market’s page. Official Place a Trade, Official Browse Markets, Official Prices & Market Data, and Official Glossary do not reprint a retail header labelled Order Book, Book, or Bids / Asks on the US swipe we checked. We will not invent that header. If the live US card uses one of those words, use the live label. If it does not, describe the action: read the public bids and asks on the opened ticket.

Is the public order book the same as my open orders?

No. Official Glossary: the order book is everyone else’s bids and asks; an open order is your request still waiting on that book. Official Limit Orders help puts your resting clip just below the Order Book on the international page. How to read open orders is that personal list. This page is only the public ladder sitting on the market.

What is the best bid versus the best ask?

Official Glossary: the bid is the highest price buyers will pay; the ask is the lowest price sellers will accept; the BBO is that tightest pair at the top of the book. Official Spreads: a marketable buy pays the ask; a sell receives the bid. Official Markets BBO API names those tops bestBid and bestAsk. We do not reprint a live pair. Depth is the size sitting at those levels and the ones behind them — Official Liquidity’s Depth and Posted Size section, plus official bidDepth / askDepth / qty field names.

Is last price the same as the best bid or best ask?

No. Official Get Market Book stats name lastTradePx as the most recent trade. Official Prices & Market Data: a market order fills at the best available price on the other side right now — the BBO. Official How are Polymarket odds determined?: prices update when the next orders match. A last print is history. The best bid and best ask are the sitting quote. How to read last price is that stamp. This page is the public book.

Is this the same as reading liquidity, volume, last price, or setting a limit price?

No. How to read liquidity is posted size as a fill risk. How to read volume is how much has already traded. How to read last price is the last match. How to set a limit price is the cents you type on a new order. This page is only how to find and read the public book — bids and asks sitting on one market, best bid versus best ask, and depth. We link those walks instead of cloning them.

Is this the same as the existing “how to read the Polymarket order book” how-to, maker versus taker, or a partial fill?

No. How to read the Polymarket order book is the take-versus-rest decision after you already see the ladder. How to tell maker from taker is who added size versus who lifted it. How to read a partial fill is leftover after a match. This page stops at finding the public book and reading the sitting sides. We link out instead of cloning those click paths.

Can I read a Polymarket order book in every US state?

No. As of our June 2026 check Polymarket was reported unavailable in Arizona, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada and Ohio. Florida is a green-light state. Sports markets are the most legally contested category anywhere. Confirm the ticket still appears — and still shows a public book — before you treat a bid or ask as size you can take.

Which claim button is actually live on this page?

Polymarket only. The claim button hops through /go/polymarket. There is no /go/kalshi, DraftKings, FanDuel, Underdog, Sleeper, PrizePicks, Hard Rock or BetRivers claim here. We do not invent tracking URLs.

Is there a Polymarket order-book bonus or promo code on this page?

No. We do not publish a dollar welcome or a promo code. Partner codes that appear on other sites belong to those publishers. Confirm any live terms in the Polymarket US app. If you open Polymarket through our link we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you — that is not a user bonus.

Is reading a Polymarket public book the same as reading a sportsbook board or an NFL DFS slate?

No. A sportsbook posts a house line you take or leave. Daily fantasy is a state-licensed gambling product — often 21+, with a 1-800-GAMBLER frame. Event contracts are CFTC-regulated financial/derivatives products, typically 18+ with KYC. Other traders post this book. A contract can settle at zero. There is no protected bonus floor.

Advertising disclosure: Polymarket links are affiliate links — we may earn a commission at no cost to you, which never affects our ratings. Kalshi, DraftKings, FanDuel, Underdog, Sleeper, PrizePicks, Hard Rock and BetRivers have no live outbound claim on this page. Event contracts are CFTC-regulated financial products, not gambling. Trading involves risk and you can lose money, including your entire stake. Not investment advice. 18+. DFS pages on this site use a separate 21+ / 1-800-GAMBLER frame. Availability and terms can change — confirm current terms on Polymarket. Last verified August 8, 2026.