The Risk Takers Podcast Exactly How to Start your First Automated Trading Project + PM Doom & Gloom | Ep 148
16 snips
Mar 25, 2026 They walk through starting an automated API trading project, from a simple balance print to CSV-driven orders and trade tapes. They explore finding liquid wide markets, building alerts and opportunity scores, and metrics to rank attractive markets. They also debate platform fees, legal risks to prediction markets, and where VC money should flow.
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Reframe PMs As Peer Trading Not Deny They're Betting
- Do reframe prediction markets as fair peer-to-peer trading rather than deny they're sports betting.
- SP recommends leaning into arguments like peer-versus-peer, trading skill, and clearer federal handling instead of saying "this isn't sports betting."
Fees Are A Practical Cost Of Truth Discovery
- Introducing fees is expected and necessary for platform sustainability, not a betrayal of a 'free truth' product.
- John and SP note Polymarket's fees vary by price regime, mirroring Kalshi's approach to cover operating costs.
Use Decimal Pricing To Improve Tail Liquidity
- Do prefer decimal/tail pricing for low-liquidity long-shot markets to free up capital and enable finer quoting.
- John and SP argue decimals help tails (e.g., 99.9 vs 99) and reduce cost-to-exit, improving churn and liquidity on illiquid outrights.