> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://tickside.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# The ladder

> One row per price: traded volume, both sides of the book, your own resting stakes, and what closing there would lock in.

Every outcome is its own ladder and every row is one price.

<Frame caption="One row per price, with both sides of the book on the same rungs.">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/tickside/uLPFPq1ZnYX0TY9I/images/ladder-anatomy.svg?fit=max&auto=format&n=uLPFPq1ZnYX0TY9I&q=85&s=a32f558c93408659421849b28904b5d4" alt="A tickside ladder showing six columns: spark, traded, lay, odds, back and P and L. Pink figures are money waiting to lay, blue figures are money waiting to back, and an amber chip marks the user's own resting stake." width="880" height="430" data-path="images/ladder-anatomy.svg" />
</Frame>

Reading left to right:

| Column     | What it holds                                           |
| ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Spark**  | a mark per trade, so recent activity has a shape        |
| **Traded** | how much volume has gone through at each odd            |
| **LAY**    | resting asks. Click to lay this outcome                 |
| **Odds**   | the price. Your own resting stakes appear here in amber |
| **BACK**   | resting bids. Click to back this outcome                |
| **P\&L**   | what closing at that odd would lock in, after fees      |

## Placing

**Click a BACK or LAY cell** to place at that price. Click into the current
market price for a taker order that fills now. Click away from it for a maker
order that rests until the market reaches your price.

Click the same cell again to **stack** more at that price. The amber total in
the odds column grows with it.

<Note>
  A resting order never jumps the spread. It sits at the price you chose and fills
  only when the market gets there.
</Note>

## Working orders and fills

An order can be filled all at once or in smaller parts. **Unmatched** shows the
amount still waiting. **Matched** shows the amount already traded. P\&L and the
position update as fills arrive.

Your working stake appears in amber on the price row. With a mouse, drag that
amber stake to another row to cancel it at the old price and place the same
remaining amount at the new price.

## Cancelling

Four ways, and they differ in reach.

| Gesture                                  | Cancels                                    |
| ---------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| Click the amber stake in the odds column | everything at that rung, both sides        |
| Right click a BACK or LAY cell           | that side of that rung                     |
| **✕** in the Unmatched panel             | that one order                             |
| <kbd>X</kbd>                             | every order on the ladder under the cursor |
| <kbd>Shift</kbd> <kbd>X</kbd>            | every unmatched order in every market      |

<Warning>
  <kbd>Shift</kbd> <kbd>X</kbd> also cancels orders in markets that are not open on
  screen.
</Warning>

## Closing out

Two ways out, and they are the same trade at different sizes.

**⇄ hedge** flattens the whole position through the book in one click. It takes
whatever the market is offering right now.

**Click a P\&L cell** to close at one particular price instead. The column already
shows what closing at each rung would lock in, after fees, so you are picking a
number you can read rather than doing the arithmetic first. The cells only
respond while you hold a position the book can actually close.

The P\&L remains visible after trading activity, including while fills, positions
and working orders are being reconciled. Tickside keeps the last validated value
rather than briefly showing zero or hiding the column.

Closing a ladder window does not close a position or cancel an order. If the
ladder has a position or working order, Tickside asks for confirmation before
closing the window.

## What your stake means

The **S / L / E** button (or <kbd>M</kbd>) decides what your preset stands for.
This is the control most worth understanding, because the same number can mean
three very different amounts of risk.

<Note>
  If you are new, start with **S for Stake** in paper mode.
</Note>

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="S for Stake">
    The figure is the **stake**. A back risks it. A lay risks it × (odds − 1).

    So \$100 at 1.10 risks \$10, and the same \$100 at 10.0 risks \$900.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="L for Liability">
    The figure stays **fixed whatever the odd**, and both sides size as
    stake ÷ (odds − 1).

    A lay risks exactly it: \$100 at 10.0 risks \$100 to win \$11. A back turns it
    into the **profit** you are playing for: \$100 at 5.0 stakes \$25 to win \$100.

    This is Bet Angel's grammar, for anyone arriving from there.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="E for Exposure">
    The figure is the **cash that leaves your wallet**, the same on either side
    at any odd.

    A lay sizes as it does under **L**, so \$100 at 10.0 puts \$100 up. A back
    simply spends it: \$100 at 5.0 stakes the whole \$100, to win \$400.

    That back is the only thing separating **E** from **L**.
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Below the ladder

**Matched / Unmatched** lists your fills and your working orders. The header
carries exposure and live P\&L.

<Warning>
  A taker order that never actually entered shows as **VOID**. It never counts
  toward P\&L. The desk shows it so a bet you thought you had does not simply
  vanish.
</Warning>

## The header chips

Three panes open from the chips beside the market name. **Markets** shows every
market in the event. **Line** opens the price chart over 15M, 45M, 90M or all
available history. **Flow** shows trades as they happen.
