A position is a table of outcomes, not a single bet
On a sportsbook you have a bet. On an exchange you have a position: for every outcome of the market, an amount you win or an amount you lose. The screen colours them green and red, and the colours move while the market does.
The position table
Every exchange position can be read as a small table. Two things make it worth reading carefully: the amounts are net of nothing until the market settles, and a single row can be a large loss even when the stake was small.
| Outcome | If it happens | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The laid selection wins | -£75 | Stake multiplied by (price - 1) |
| The laid selection loses | +£25 | The stake, before commission |
| Any other selection wins | +£25 | The lay is unaffected |
A green figure across every outcome of a market — a fully hedged position — is a locked-in result only if the market settles as defined and no adjustment follows. Until then it is a quotation.
Why it moves
Positions move for the plain reason that the market moves. Prices shift as money arrives and events unfold, and a position valued at those prices changes with them — even though nothing you own has changed.
- Revalue your position continuously against the current market
- Let you close part or all of a position before the event
- Show a liability figure that grows as a lay price moves against you
- Promise the quoted value at any future moment
- Stop a market moving against an open position
- Let you close a position while the market is suspended
Where the figure comes from
The numbers on your position screen come from the exchange’s own market valuation, and the final figure comes from its settlement of that market under its rules. Those rules — not your reading of the position — decide the outcome.
- Matched sizeThe amount of your order that was actually taken by other customers. The rest is unmatched and carries no risk.
- Average priceThe price your matched money actually got, which differs from the top of the book whenever your order crossed several rows.
- LiabilityThe most you can lose on a lay if the selection wins, before any trading you do to close it.
- Net market resultWhat remains after both sides of the same market are netted and any commission is applied.
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