Prep by Firm

Optiver interview prep: train the exact formats

Optiver's funnel leans hard on raw speed: arithmetic, pattern recognition and fast probability first, then live market-making games with a trader. Every one of those formats has a matching drill here, free, in your browser.

Open the Optiver training plan Try the 80-in-8 first

What the Optiver process tests

The 80-in-8 screen: 80 arithmetic questions in 8 minutes, +1 per hit and -2 per miss. A pass usually sits around 55 to 60.
Beat the Odds: quick probability questions on a relentless per-question clock.
Number sequences: spot the pattern, type the next term.
Cognitive games (Zap-N): reaction time, attention, spatial reasoning.
Interviews: probability brainteasers, expected value, and market-making games where the interviewer trades against your quotes.

Warm up on the real thing

80-in-8 pace: 34 × 26

884. Difference of squares around 30: 30² − 4² = 900 − 16. At sprint pace you want this on reflex, not long multiplication.

Beat-the-Odds pace: you roll two dice and are paid the larger of the two faces. Fair price?

161/36 ≈ 4.47. E[max] = Σ m · P(max = m) = Σ m(2m − 1)/36 = (1 + 6 + 15 + 28 + 45 + 66)/36. Knowing the tail-sum and max/min tricks cold is what the clock is really testing.

Sequences: 3, 4, 7, 11, 18, ?

29. Each term is the sum of the previous two. Optiver's sequence section mixes arithmetic, geometric, interleaved and Fibonacci-style rules.

A ready-made training plan

The app's Prep by Firm desk has an Optiver card that maps each stage of their process onto the right drill and launches it in one click: the 80-in-8 sprint with their exact scoring, a timed number-sequences run, the Odds Sprint (15 fast probability calls on a per-question clock), a probability study set on expected value, dice, coins, cards and urns, the market-making arena, and a full timed interview simulation. Your best scores are tracked per format so you can see where the bar still is.

Start the Optiver plan free

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Explore the rest of the desk

Mental MathZen, timed and sprint drills across 11 categories Probability Lab285 interview questions with worked solutions Market Maker ArenaQuote two-sided markets against informed flow Interview SimA timed, three-part mock with a debrief

Based on public interview reports and candidate accounts; formats change, so verify the current process with your recruiter. My Quant Journey is independent: not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by Optiver.