page_title: Chicago Board of Trade
section_title: The Pit
hierarchical_section_title: Chicago Board of Trade / Trading platforms / The Pit
caption_attribution_description: English: Chicago Board of Trade (detail) Français&#160;: Détail de la devanture du Chicago Board of Trade
context_page_description: The Chicago Board of Trade, established on April 3, 1848, is one of the world's oldest futures and options exchanges. On July 12, 2007, the CBOT merged with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to form CME Group. CBOT and three other exchanges now operate as designated contract markets of the CME Group.
context_section_description: The pit is a raised octagonal structure where open-outcry trading takes place.  Operating during regular trading hours (RTH), the CBOT trading floor contains many such pits.
  The steps up on the outside of the octagon and the steps down on the inside give the pit something of the appearance of an amphitheater, and allow hundreds of traders to see and hear each other during trading hours.  The importance of the pit and pit trading is emphasized by the use of a stylized pit as the logo of the CBOT.  The Pit is also the title and subject of a classic novel (1903) by Frank Norris.
  Trades are made in the pits by bidding or offering a price and quantity of contracts, depending on the intention to buy (bid) or sell (offer).
  This is generally done by using a physical representation of a trader's intentions with his hands.  If a trader wants to buy ten contracts at a price of eight, for example, in the pit he would yell "8 for 10", stating price before quantity, and turn his palm inward toward his face, putting his index finger to his forehead denoting ten; if he were to be buying one, he would place his index finger on his chin.  If the trader wants to sell five contracts at a price of eight, they would yell "5 at 8", stating quantity before price, and show one hand with palm facing outward, showing 5 fingers.  The combination of hand-signals and vocal representation between the way a trader expresses bids and offers is a protection against misinterpretation by other market participants. For historical purposes, an illustrated project to record the hand signal language used in CBOT's trading pits has been compiled and published.
  With the rise of electronic trading the importance of the pit has decreased substantially for many contracts, though the pit remains the best place to get complex option spreads filled.
caption: Clock on the front of the building
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