What is a future? (vocabulary only)
Vocabulary for the SIM futures practice desk — not a futures broker, and not a live chain. Practice elsewhere on /mock/ uses FAKE MONEY only. Not investment advice.
What a futures contract is (plain language)
A futures contract is an agreement to buy or sell a stated amount of something (an index, commodity, rate product, etc.) at a future date, under exchange rules. Traders often talk about futures as standardized contracts on a listed venue.
This page names ideas. It does not tell you to trade futures.
Words to know
| Term | Plain meaning |
|---|---|
| Contract / multiplier | The unit size the futures ticks against (product-specific) |
| Expiry / roll | Contracts end; “rolling” means moving exposure to a later expiry (concept) |
| Mark-to-market | Daily gains/losses are often settled in live markets (broker-dependent) |
| Margin | Performance bond / collateral language in live futures — not free leverage |
| Contango / backwardation | Curve shapes people name when later prices sit above/below nearer ones (descriptive) |
Risk shapes (education)
- Futures can embed leverage: small margin moves can mean large P&L swings in live markets.
- Gaps, limit moves, and liquidity differ by product and session.
- We do not invent live futures chains on Voltron. SIM stubs are educational doors — not live chains.
See What is risk and Risk of ruin.
Practice on Voltron
/mock/Futures SIM desk : FAKE MONEY practice — educational marks only; not a live futures chain or broker. Open futures desk- Quest:
learn_futures→ this page (literacy XP, never profit). - Still not a real brokerage. Journal process, not contract picks.
See Unlock path · What is risk.
What this page will not do
- No contract picks or roll recipes
- No broker margin how-to for live accounts
- No “guaranteed” curve trades
- No Associates CTAs on this domain
Related
- Learn index · Fees & spreads · Unlock path
- Practice: /mock/ · Desk doors: /desk/
Tutor …16k · Trading CEO fit CLEAR · Sentry CLEAR · FAKE MONEY education only.