Read this page against the trading page. First distinguish the four amounts, then learn the trading functions.
| Name | Meaning | Role in trading |
|---|
| Order value | Price × contract multiplier × lots. The notional size of the contract. | Measures contract size. It is not the amount deducted to open. |
| Margin used | The funds actually locked for this position. | Keeps the position open. If it is insufficient, the position may be liquidated. |
| Available | What you can still use to open a new position. | Use the figure shown as Available on the trade page. |
| Principal | The amount transferred into the trading account for this term. | Used only to calculate the Protection Fee, the Claim threshold and the Credit Facility. It does not move with each order value. |
Note: when you open, the system freezes margin used, not order value.
Order value = price × multiplier × lots → notional contract value. That amount is not taken from the account in full.
Margin used = the funds frozen to maintain this position. After you open, Available falls mainly by this amount.
After you close, margin used is released and profit or loss is settled into the account.
What you are trading (CL2610 as example)
| Term | Meaning |
|---|
| Futures | Standardized exchange-traded forward contracts. You trade the contract. A barrel of crude is not delivered to your account. |
| CL2610 / WTI Oct-26 | Product code CL + contract month 2610 (October 2026). You must select a dated contract. You cannot open on the continuous series. |
| Continuous / 0000 | A spliced price series for charting only. It has no expiry month and cannot be opened. |
| Front | The month with the most volume and open interest. The bid-ask is usually tighter and fills are easier. |
| Lot | The unit of size. One lot = one contract of that specification. It is not one barrel and not one US dollar. |
| Micro contract | The same underlying with a smaller multiplier. For example, one Micro WTI (MCL) lot has a smaller notional and a smaller margin than one WTI (CL) lot. |
| Term | Meaning |
|---|
| High | Highest traded price in the current session (usually today). |
| Low | Lowest traded price in the current session. |
| Volume | Lots traded in the current session. How active the session is. |
| Open interest | Lots still open in the market. How much of the contract remains outstanding. |
| Candlestick | One bar for one period: open, high, low, close. |
| Timeframe | The length of each candle. On the 5-minute chart, each candle is 5 minutes. On the daily chart, each candle is one trading day. |
| Moving average (MA) | The average close of the last N candles. Shows price versus its recent mean. |
| Volume (VOL) | Volume inside that candle’s period. |
| Last | Most recent trade price. Unrealized P&L is marked to this price. |
| Change % | Last versus the prior benchmark (usually prior settlement or prior close). |
| Order book | Resting bids and offers that have not filled. Prices near mid are usually easier to trade. |
| Term | Meaning | When to use it |
|---|
| Open | Create a new position. | You do not yet have this side, or you want to add. |
| Close | Exit an existing position. | You already have a position and want to leave. |
Opening is entry. Closing is exit. If you already hold 1 lot long and stay on Open + Buy, another click becomes 2 lots long. It does not flatten the first lot. To exit, use Close.
Buy / long · Sell / short
Futures can be bought first or sold first.
| Term | What you are doing | Profit if | Loss if |
|---|
| Buy / long | Buy first, sell later at a higher price. | Price rises | Price falls |
| Sell / short | Sell first, buy back later at a lower price. | Price falls | Price rises |
| Action | Result | | |
| Open + Buy / long | New long. You are entering a bullish view. | | |
| Close + Sell / short | The long is closed. The bullish trade exits. | | |
| Open + Sell / short | New short. You are entering a bearish view. This is not closing a long. | | |
| Close + Buy / long | The short is closed. The bearish trade exits. | | |
| Term | Meaning | Note |
|---|
| Market | Fill at the price available now. | Faster. The fill may differ from the last print. That gap is slippage. It is larger in fast markets. |
| Limit | Fill only at your price or better. | You set the price. Until it fills it stays under Orders. It does not become a position, but it may freeze part of Available. |
| Price field | Locked to Market on a market order. Enter a price on a limit order. | Buy limits are usually at or below the last price; sell limits at or above. Too far away and the order may never fill. |
Size, multiplier and Available (CL2610)
| Term | Meaning |
|---|
| Quantity (lots) | How many contracts this order opens or closes. 1 / 5 / 10 / 20 are shortcuts. |
| Attach TP / SL | If checked, preset exit prices are sent with the opening order. |
| Contract | The dated contract on the trade page, e.g. CL2610. |
| Available | What remains for a new position. |
| Contract multiplier | CL = 1,000. If crude moves USD 1, one lot P&L is 1,000 USDT. |
| Minimum tick / tick value | CL minimum increment is 0.01; one tick on one lot is 10 USDT. |
| Order value | Contract value, not the cash you must have ready. Example: CL2610 at 92.88, multiplier 1,000, one lot → order value 92,880.00 USDT. |
Margin and leverage (CL2610)
| Term | Meaning |
|---|
| Margin used | The funds locked for this lot. Shown as Margin used on the position row. Example: one CL2610 lot with contract value 92,880.00 USDT uses 800 USDT. If Available in the trading account is below 800 USDT, the lot cannot be opened. |
| Leverage | Order value ÷ margin used. 92,880 ÷ 800 ≈ 116×. Both figures must refer to the same lot count. |
| Can you set leverage? | No. There is no 50× / 100× switch. Margin follows the exchange and the market, so the implied multiple changes. The platform does not publish a fixed leverage ratio. |
Notes:
The locked amount is opening margin. It stays used while the position is open.
Losses hit margin first. If it is no longer enough, the position is liquidated.
SECOND LIFE does not change how much margin you must have to open.
| Side | Formula |
|---|
| Long | (Last − average open) × multiplier × lots |
| Short | (Average open − last) × multiplier × lots |
| Example | Result |
|---|
| Opened at 92.35, last 92.45, 1 lot long | (92.45 − 92.35) × 1,000 = 100 USDT |
| Not yet closed | 100 is unrealized P&L only. It is not booked until you close. |
| Column | Meaning |
|---|
| Positions (n) | How many open positions you have. |
| Orders | Submitted orders that have not filled. |
| Product | Contract name and code. |
| Side | Long = bullish. Short = bearish. |
| Position / Close qty | How many lots you hold and how many you can close now. |
| Avg entry | Average fill of this position. P&L starts here. |
| Last | Current market price. |
| TP / SL | Preset automatic close prices. Blank means none set. |
| Unrealized P&L | Mark-to-last estimate. Not booked until close. |
| Margin used | Margin locked on this position. |
| Close | Exit this position. The column header above the button can stay blank. |
| Term | Meaning |
|---|
| Active | Principal is in the trading account, the Protection Fee has been paid, and cover for this term has started. |
| Principal | The amount transferred into the trading account this term. The Protection Fee, Claim threshold and Credit Facility are all calculated from it. |
| Protection Fee | 10% of the transferred principal. |
| Claim threshold | Triggered when the original account reaches the agreed loss. The rule is about 80% of principal. This is not position liquidation. |
| Credit Facility | 50% of the original principal. It cannot be withdrawn. It can only be traded. |
| Progress bar | How far current loss is from the Claim threshold. |
Full rules: About Us / Second Life. This page only explains the block at the lower right of the trade screen.
When you are losing, read this order
| Step | What happens |
|---|
| 1 | Price moves first. That becomes unrealized P&L. |
| 2 | If margin cannot hold the position, that position is liquidated. |
| 3 | If account losses reach the Claim threshold, SECOND LIFE issues the Credit Facility. |
| Term | In one line |
|---|
| Open | Create a position. |
| Close | Exit an existing position. |
| Long | Buy first, sell later. Bullish. |
| Short | Sell first, buy back later. Bearish. |
| Market | Fill now at the available price. |
| Limit | Fill only at your price or better. |
| Slippage | Fill differs from the price you saw. |
| Liquidation | The system closes the position because margin is insufficient. |
| Margin used | Funds locked on this position. |
| Available | What you can still use to open. |
| Notional / order value | Price × multiplier × lots. |
| Multiplier | How much one price unit is worth on one lot. |
| Tick value | P&L of one minimum price increment. |
| Front | The month with the most activity now. |
| Continuous | Charting series only. Not a dated contract. |
| Credit Facility | Trading credit issued by SECOND LIFE. Not withdrawable. |
| Vest | Eligible profit released in equal parts over trading days. |
Notice
Futures trading involves risk of loss and liquidation. Losses may exceed margin posted. This page explains the interface. It is not investment advice and does not guarantee recovery of principal or profit. Margin, the contract list, the front month and the Claim threshold follow the trade page and the product rules. You must be 18 or the legal age in your jurisdiction. Restricted countries follow the platform notice.