PRACTICE GUIDE OPTIVER
Optiver Basket Arbitrage Practice Test
Basket arbitrage means buying and selling equivalent exposures at different executable prices. Your task is to finish with every commodity balance at zero and a positive cash profit.
This guide prepares the skill using Outcry's twenty-board, eight-minute exercise. Those are the game's settings, not a claim about Optiver's assessment timing or marking. Check your invitation for the format you will sit.
Outcry is not affiliated with Optiver and has no access to their assessment content. This guide describes an assessment format that candidates report publicly; the questions here are generated by Outcry and are not Optiver’s own.
What it screens
A global market maker headquartered in Amsterdam, trading options, ETFs and futures on major exchanges.
- ✓Replicating a basket exactly from its components
- ✓Buying at the ask and selling at the bid
- ✓Netting every commodity exposure to zero
- ✓Sizing a profitable hedge within position limits
Where it sits at Optiver
For Optiver preparation, keep basket replication separate from likelihood ranking: one tests equivalent exposures and executable prices, while the other orders uncertain outcomes by probability.
Use this page to learn the trading arithmetic. It does not establish that a particular office, role or recruitment year uses this exact game or these timings.
The format
These are Outcry's practice-game settings, not verified figures for the firm's assessment.
| Questions | 20 |
|---|---|
| Time | 8 minutes |
| Per question | 24 seconds on average |
| Negative marking | No |
| Answer style | Set buy/sell quantities, then execute a balanced trade |
| Where it sits | Outcry skill practice; follow your invitation for the firm's format |
What it tests, with a worked example
These worked examples are written by Outcry to explain the skills practised here. They are not the firm's questions.
Replicate the basket
Match the commodity quantities before comparing prices.
Example
Basket Z contains 2 Gold and 1 Oil. Card A contains 1 Gold and card B contains 1 Oil. What replicates Z?
Answer 2 A + 1 B
Two A cards supply 2 Gold; one B supplies 1 Oil. The composition matches Z exactly.
Buy asks, sell bids
Use the side of each quote you can actually trade.
Example
Quotes are bid / ask. Ignore fees; all legs can execute together.
A is quoted 19 / 21, B is 9 / 11, and Z = 2 A + B is 56 / 59. What profit does buying the components and selling one Z lock in?
Answer $3
Buy 2 A at 21 and 1 B at 11: cost 53. Sell Z at its bid of 56. Profit = 56 - 53 = 3, with no residual exposure.
Check the reverse direction
A cheap basket may be bought and its components sold.
Example
Quotes are bid / ask. Ignore fees.
A is 24 / 26, B is 14 / 16, and Z = A + B is 34 / 36. What is the best locked profit per Z?
Answer $2
Buy Z at 36. Sell A at 24 and B at 14, receiving 38. Profit is 2; the basket and the short components cancel.
Net every exposure to zero
Cash profit with a leftover position is not a completed arbitrage.
Example
You buy 2 A and 1 B, then sell 1 Z. A = Gold + Silver; B = Oil; Z = Gold + Silver + Oil. What remains?
Answer 1 Gold + 1 Silver
The second A is unmatched. Reduce the purchase to 1 A, keeping 1 B and selling 1 Z, to cancel every commodity.
Subtract shared components
Overlapping baskets can require a component sale in the replicating hedge.
Example
A = Gold + Silver, B = Silver + Oil, C = Silver. Express Z = Gold + Silver + Oil using A, B and C.
Answer A + B - C
A plus B contains two Silver. Selling one C removes the extra Silver, leaving exactly Z.
Scale within the limits
The largest required leg determines how many complete hedges fit.
Example
A hedge buys 2 A and 1 B, sells 1 Z, and earns $3. Each card has a position cap of 3 in magnitude. How much can this hedge earn at maximum whole-number scale?
Answer $3
One hedge uses 2 A. Doubling would require 4 A and break the cap. The largest whole-number scale is one, so profit remains 3.
What a good score looks like
There is no verified firm cutoff stated here. In the Outcry exercise, first aim for a balanced, profitable trade on every board; then improve speed and size.
How to train for it
- 01Match composition first: write each commodity balance and require every balance to equal zero.
- 02Price both directions at executable quotes: basket bid minus component asks, then component bids minus basket ask.
- 03Include any fees stated in the question. A small apparent edge can disappear after costs.
TRAIN IT HERE
The drills that match each section
SIT THE FULL BATTERY
All the sections back to back on one clock, marked the way the real screen marks them, with a by-skill breakdown at the end. Included with any pass.
Also reported at Optiver
Common questions
- What do I need to calculate?
- Find a combination of cards whose commodity exposures cancel. Buy at asks, sell at bids, subtract any stated costs, and check that the cash result is positive.
- How long is the practice?
- Outcry's game has twenty boards on one eight-minute clock. This is a practice setting, not a verified Optiver test duration.
- What happens if my trade is wrong?
- The game rejects trades with residual inventory or non-positive cash profit. Check your commodity balances and which quote side you used, then correct the position.
- Where can I practise?
- Use the Basket Arbitrage game linked below. The examples here show the reasoning before you attempt the timed boards.