# Quickstart

You do not need a wallet to explore HermesTrade. Markets, order books, and price history are all public. This quickstart shows you how to read the market list, interpret the order book, and understand what a position actually means — before you commit any money.

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**Estimated time: 5 minutes.** No account or wallet required.
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## Steps

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### Open the market list

Go to the HermesTrade app. The home screen shows a list of active markets. Each card displays:

* **Question** — the binary event being traded (e.g., "Will X happen by date Y?")
* **YES price / NO price** — the current best prices for each side, in cents per share ($0.00–$1.00)
* **Volume** — total collateral traded so far
* **End date** — when the market closes to new orders and moves to resolution

YES price and NO price always sum to approximately $1.00 plus the spread. A YES price of $0.68 and NO price of $0.34 would signal a wide spread; $0.68 and $0.32 is tighter and more liquid.
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### Open a market and read the order book

Click any market to see the detail page. The order book shows:

* **Bids** — open buy orders, sorted from highest price down. The top bid is the best price a buyer is currently willing to pay for a YES share.
* **Asks** — open sell orders, sorted from lowest price up. The top ask is the cheapest YES share available to buy right now.
* **Bid-ask spread** — the gap between the best bid and the best ask. A spread of $0.02 is liquid; $0.10 or more suggests low activity.
* **Last trade price** — the price of the most recent fill.

The price history chart shows how the YES price has moved over time, reflecting how the market's collective probability estimate has shifted.
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### Understand a position

Before placing any order, work out the risk/reward in dollar terms.

**Example:** The best ask for YES shares is $0.65.

| Scenario                        | What happens                                       |
| ------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- |
| You buy 100 YES shares at $0.65 | You spend $65                                      |
| Event resolves YES              | Each share pays $1.00 → you receive $100, gain $35 |
| Event resolves NO               | Shares expire worthless, you lose $65              |

The YES share price is your cost per share and your implied probability. Buying at $0.65 means you think the real probability is above 65%. If you think it is below 65%, buying NO shares at (approximately) $0.35 is the trade.

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You can also sell your shares before resolution at the current market price. You do not have to hold through the outcome.
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### Next: connect your wallet to trade

Browsing markets requires no account. To actually buy or sell shares you need to connect a wallet and set up your smart wallet for gasless trading.
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## What's next?

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[Connect wallet](/getting-started/connect-wallet.md)
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[Core concepts](/core-concepts/core-concepts.md)
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