Effective spread measures execution cost at trade time. Realized spread measures cost after the market moves. This guide explains both, why they differ, and what each metric tells you in prediction markets.
Read full guide →If you do not log the right fields, you cannot measure effective spread, slippage, or all in cost correctly. This guide gives a practical logging template for prediction market trading and research.
Read full guide →Fees are quoted in different formats. This guide shows how to convert per contract fees and percent fees into comparable units, and how to add fees into all in cost and minimum edge calculations.
Read full guide →Holding to settlement can reduce trading costs because you avoid exit execution. Exiting early adds round trip cost but reduces uncertainty and frees capital. This guide explains the tradeoffs in prediction markets.
Read full guide →Price improvement happens when you get filled at a better price than the current ask or bid. This guide shows practical tactics to achieve it and how it reduces effective spread in prediction markets.
Read full guide →Last traded price can be stale and non executable. This guide explains why it misleads traders in prediction markets and what to use instead for cost and liquidity decisions.
Read full guide →A strategy is not profitable unless its edge exceeds total trading costs. This guide shows how to translate spread, effective spread, and fees into a minimum edge threshold for prediction market trading.
Read full guide →Maker taker pricing changes your incentives. Makers provide liquidity and may pay less or earn rebates. Takers remove liquidity and usually pay more. This guide explains how to classify your trades and avoid fee surprises.
Read full guide →Most traders underestimate costs because they only measure entry. Round trip cost includes entry and exit execution plus fees. This guide shows how to estimate it and why it matters in prediction markets.
Read full guide →All in cost is the only metric that matters for strategy survival. This guide shows how to combine effective spread and fees into a single number you can compare across markets and platforms.
Read full guide →Price impact is the cost of being large relative to liquidity. This guide explains what impact is, how it differs from slippage, and how to reduce it in prediction markets.
Read full guide →Spreads widen when uncertainty rises and liquidity pulls back. This guide explains why spread widening happens in prediction markets, how to spot it early, and what to do to avoid paying peak execution costs.
Read full guide →Before you trade, you need a quick way to decide if a market is actually tradable. This checklist covers spread, depth, activity, and the warning signs that execution costs will destroy your edge.
Read full guide →Depth at the best bid and ask looks like a guarantee, but it is not. This guide explains what top of book depth really means, why it disappears, and how to use it to avoid slippage.
Read full guide →Market orders give certainty of execution but can be expensive in thin books. Limit orders control price but may not fill. This guide explains the real cost tradeoffs and practical rules for prediction markets.
Read full guide →An order book is where bids and asks meet. This guide explains how prediction market order books work, what to focus on, and what to ignore when evaluating tradability and costs.
Read full guide →Slippage is the gap between the price you expected and the price you got. In thin markets it is common, predictable, and often avoidable with better sizing and execution.
Read full guide →VWAP is the correct execution price when your order fills in multiple parts. This guide shows the exact formula, worked examples, and the most common mistakes.
Read full guide →Midquote is the foundation of effective spread, but only if you capture it correctly. This guide explains snapshot timing, stale quotes, and the logging rules that keep your cost metrics clean.
Read full guide →Quoted spread is what you see. Effective spread is what you actually paid. This guide explains the difference, when quoted spread lies, and how to use both metrics correctly in prediction markets.
Read full guide →A step-by-step guide to measuring real execution costs in prediction markets using midquote, VWAP, and effective spread. Includes examples and common mistakes.
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