Patent ID: 8566225

Claim:
A method for trading NOW orders in an electronic options trading environment with market maker participation, comprising: (a) listing by a computing system having at least one processor and at least one memory a plurality of options series on a market center, wherein the market center has an order book for each option series and a quote book for each option series, and wherein a plurality of the option series have an appointed lead market maker; (b) receiving by a computing system an NOW order; (c) retrieving by a computing system the side of the NBBO opposite the NOW order; (d) determining by a computing system whether the NOW order price is equal to or overlaps with the retrieved side of the NBBO; (e) responsive to determining that the NOW order price is equal to or overlaps with the retrieved side of the NBBO, determining by a computing system whether the NOW order is for an option series that has a lead market maker, and determining if the lead market maker has a quote at the NBBO; and (f) responsive to determining that the NOW order is for an option series that has a lead market maker and the lead market maker has a quote at the NBBO, computing by a computing system an allocation percentage for the lead market maker and matching by a computing system the NOW order up to the lesser of the total size of the NOW order or the computed allocation percentage amount for the lead market maker.