Opening an account is very quick and easy. To the right of the Intrade homepage you will see a green Sign Up button: Just click on this button and complete the online form. A confirmation email will then be sent to you, which contains a link to confirm your account. Once you've done that your Intrade account is open and ready to use.

To login click on the Login button located on the row of tabs at the top of the Intrade homepage: Then enter your login credentials and click on the green Login button:

IMPORTANT:

If you opened your account on the older version of Intrade then you should login using your account username and password. Do not use your email address to login.

If you opened your account on this new version of Intrade then please use your email address and password.

If you have forgotten your password we can send a temporary password that you can use to get logged back into your account.

First, click on the Login button located on the row of tabs at the top of the Intrade homepage:

Then click on the Forgot your Password? link located just below the green Login button:

This will generate an email automatically addressed to us. Send that email, adding anything else to the email that you think we should know. Once we have received that email we'll send a temporary password and instructions on how to get logged back into your account.

The option to change your password is located on the My Intrade page (which is accessible only when you are logged into your account).

On the My Intrade page you will see a menu down the left side of the page. Under My Profile is the option to change your password:

Just click on this and follow the on-screen instructions to change your password.

Funds can be added to your account on the My Intrade page (which is accessible only when you are logged into your account): On the My Intrade page you will see a menu down the left side of the page. Under My Money you will see the available deposit options:

Click on the option you would like to use and follow the on-screen instructions. You can use your debit or credit card to deposit funds directly, while the check and bank wire sections will provide full instructions on how to use these methods to deposit funds.

At present there are three ways you can add funds to your account - debit or credit card, check (personal or cashiers) and bank wire transfer. Unfortunately we are not able to use PayPal, MoneyBookers, Western Union, MoneyGram or NETeller.

If your credit or debit card was issued by a US bank then unfortunately you will not be able to use your card to fund your account. New regulations that came into force in the US on June 1st 2010 now heavily restrict the use of credit and debit cards on sites such as Intrade.

You can request a withdrawal from your account on the My Intrade page (which is accessible only when you are logged into your account): On the My Intrade page you will see a menu down the left side of the page. Under My Money you will see the available withdrawal options: At present there are two ways you can withdraw funds from your account: check or bank wire. Click on the option you would like to use and follow the on-screen instructions. Please also be sure to read all information presented on the withdrawal screens, which includes details about fees and charges.

Intrade charges a $4.99 monthly fee. If you do not have any funds in your account the fee is not charged. The fee is debited from your account balance on the first day of each month. If, for example, you have opened your account on January 10th, you will not be charged your first monthly fee until February 1st. This fee encourages and provides for an unlimited number of predictions. There are no transaction fees or commission charges other than the monthly fee of US$4.99. If your account is unused for eighteen-months then a dormant account fee of $5.00 will be debited from your account balance on a monthly basis. If you do not have any funds in your account this fee will not be charged. To avoid the dormant account fee you need to login and either buy/sell shares or make a deposit/withdrawal.

You can view your current account balance on the My Intrade page: When you visit the My Intrade page you see by default the My Dashboard screen, which displays the amount of funds available for you to invest in predictions, how much you already have invested and the total balance of your account: The same information is available using the My Money option from the menu down the left side of the My Intrade page.

You can see a history of all cash transactions applied to your account balance on the My Intrade page: When you visit the My Intrade page you see by default the My Dashboard screen. Just above details of your current account balance is a link: View Your Balance History: Click on that link to access the last thirty days of account balance information. You can use the drop-down menu to the right to adjust the time period displayed: You can display information from the last 7, 14, 30 or 60 days. If you need information older than 60 days then please email help@intrade.com and we will send you that information in spreadsheet format.

To close your account please email a request to help@intrade.com. Before you submit a request to close your account there are a couple of things you may need to take care of:

1) If you have any matched predictions then you will need to trade out of these predictions. Please see "How do I get rid of shares I have bought or sold?" for details on how this is done. 2) If you have any unmatched predictions you need to cancel these predictions. Please see "How do I cancel an un-matched prediction?" for more information on this. 3) If you have funds in your account you will need to request a withdrawal for the remaining funds in your account. Please see "Withdrawing funds from your Intrade account" for more information about this.

We cannot close your account and refund your full balance until you have completed these three steps. There are no fees or charges for closing your account.

You can browse all markets currently open on Intrade using the Markets page, which is accessed by clicking on the Markets tab: When you click on the Markets tab you will see the various market categories listed down the left side of the page. Clicking on a category will open up the various sub-categories that are used to further organise the markets. Clicking on a sub-category will show all markets listed within. To make a prediction on a particular market just click on the green predict button located to the right of each market description.: You can also search for markets using the search box located at the top of each page. Simply enter your query and click the Go button to display the relevant results. (If you hover your mouse over the Markets tab a menu showing the most active markets will be activated. This allows quick access to the markets that are currently most popular.)

Once you have found the market you are looking for and clicked on the green Predict button, the prediction screen for that particular market will be opened. This where you buy or sell shares. On the prediction screen you can buy or sell shares by clicking on the corresponding green or red button: You'll then be asked to set the price of your prediction (which by default is always set at the best price currently available) and the number of shares you wish to buy or sell. The cost of your prediction will be calculated and displayed as you do this: Finally, you will be asked to review your prediction before it is sent to the market. At this point you can go back and adjust the price and the number of shares if you wish, or you can send your prediction to the market to be matched.

You can track your predictions on the My Intrade page, using the My Predictions option from the menu down the left side of the page: You will see a table that contain the following tabs: Matched: This shows all current matched predictions and details of those predictions. Un-Matched: This shows all un-matched predictions (explained further below). Expired: This shows all predictions that you made on markets that have recently been settled. Watching: This shows all markets that you have on your watch-list (explained further below). The matched predictions tab is the one you will likely use most often. It shows which markets you are currently have a prediction on, the price of your prediction, the current market price and your total profit or loss from buying and selling shares (this is actual profit and loss, not potential profit and loss). You can also access your current matched and unmatched predictions by hovering your mouse over the green My Predictions tab located at the right-hand end of the tab bar located on every page, and selecting Matched Predictions:

Intrade is an exchange, so when you buy or sell shares you are trading with other members of the exchange. Your predictions are matched with the predictions of others. For example, if you buy shares then your prediction must be matched with that of someone selling shares. So how do you know if your prediction has been matched? Each time a prediction is matched you receive a notification. If you don't get a notification then your prediction has not been matched. These notifications can be seen in two places: For quick access you can hover your mouse over the My Prediction tab located at the right-hand end of the tab bar located on every page, and selecting Notifications: More detailed notifications can be found on the My Intrade page. In the menu down the left side of the page you will see the My Notifications option. Clicking on this will show notifications for your recently matched predictions: Here you also have the option of deleting all notifications one you've read them. This is useful if you have a lot of notifications. Important: A prediction can be partially matched. For example, you may enter a prediction for 20 shares but only 15 get matched. You will get a notification of those 15 being matched and you will have an un-matched prediction for the 5 remaining shares. See the following sections for how to handle un-matched predictions.

If your prediction is not matched it will remain open in the market until it gets matched or until you manually cancel the prediction yourself. All un-matched predictions can be viewed on the My Intrade page. From the menu on the left of the page click on the My Predictions option, then click on the Un-Matched tab on the All Predictions table: You can also see your un-matched predictions by hovering your mouse over the green My Predictions tab located at the right-hand end of the tab bar located on every page, and selecting Un-Matched predictions: Important: A prediction can be partially matched. For example, you may enter a prediction for 20 shares but only 5 get matched. You will then be left with an un-matched prediction for the remaining 15 shares.

Un-matched predictions are cancelled on the My Intrade page. Click on the My Predictions option in the menu down the left side of the My Intrade page to bring up the All Predictions table. Then click the Un-Matched tab on the table: On this tab you will see all of your currently un-matched predictions. Next to each one is a blue cancel option - click on this to cancel the un-matched prediction.

To exit a prediction you need to make a counter-prediction. If you have bought shares then you need to sell them. If you have sold shares then you need to buy them back again. For example, if you have bought 25 shares then you need to enter a new prediction, but this time to sell 25 shares. You'll then be left with no shares at all, and no stake in the final outcome of the event. The My Predictions table located on the My Intrade page will tell you how many shares you have for each prediction. On the same table click on the market name to activate the prediction screen. Then you either sell the shares you have previously bought, or buy back the shares you previously sold. The system will always calculate a net position overall. It knows that you are trying to exit a prediction and not entering a new, separate prediction. Please be aware that if you sell shares for a lower price than you bought them for then you will suffer a loss. On the other hand if you sell them or more than you bought them for you'll make a profit.

The prediction screen for each market displays the best price at which you can currently buy or sell shares. The number of shares you can buy and sell at that price are also displayed. Let's look at this example: On the buy side you can buy 46 shares at a price of $5.99 per share. On the sell side you can sell 75 shares at a price of $5.90 per share. But what happens if you want to buy 75 shares when there is only 46 available? You have two options. Firstly, you can see what other prices are available. This is done using the View All Un-matched Predictions tab located on the prediction screen: Here, in addition to the 46 shares available for purchase at $5.99 you can see that there are 840 shares for sale at $6.00. Next there are 4 shares being sold at $6.20, and so on. So if you are looking to buy 75 shares then you can take the 46 that are available at $5.99 and then take 29 shares at $6.00. The same applies if you are selling. On the sell side you can see that buyers are currently looking for 75 shares at $5.90. Next you can sell 100 shares at $5.85, then 21 shares at $5.82. Your second option is to take the 46 shares currently on offer at $5.99 and then leave an un-matched prediction to buy the remaining 29 shares at the same price. If that were the case then your un-matched prediction would appear on the View All Un-matched Predictions tab detailed above, waiting for a seller to match it. And because your buy price of $5.99 is better (i.e. higher) than any other price, it will be first in line to be matched.

When making a prediction you do not have to take the prices on offer - you can set your own. For example, if you think the price of shares is too high then you can enter your prediction with a lower price. This prediction will not be matched, but it will be sitting there waiting should the market drop as far as your price. All of the prices shown on the View All Un-matched Predictions tab located on the prediction screen have been set by those seeking a market price that is different from the ones on offer.

On the Markets page you will see the option to watch a particular market: This function allows you to set up a watch-list of markets you want to keep an eye on. This saves you from navigating back and forth across the Markets page to find markets - by watching them you can keep them all in one place. All markets you are currently watching can be seen on the My Intrade page, on the Watching tab of the All Predictions table: You will also notice the Remove link next to each market, which is used to remove that market from your watch-list.

You can see the predictions you made on markets that have been settled on the My Intrade page. Click on My Predictions from the menu down the left of the page and then select the Expired tab on the All Predictions table: You can see the market on which you made your prediction, the total profit or loss from your predictions, and the final settlement price of the market.