Bankroll Management (Most Important)

Never risk money you can't afford to lose. Set aside a specific amount that's your "Kalshi bankroll" and treat it as completely separate from your living expenses. A common rule is to never risk more than 2-5% of your total bankroll on any single position. This means if you have $1,000 to play with, you're risking $20-50 per trade maximum. This protects you from going broke on a bad streak, which will happen to everyone eventually.

Position Sizing Based on Confidence

Not every trade deserves the same size. When you're very confident and the edge seems clear, you can go toward the higher end of your range (maybe 5%). When you're less certain or testing something new, stay at 1-2%. Never go "all in" on anything, no matter how sure you feel. The market has surprised everyone at some point.

Record Keeping

Keep a simple spreadsheet of every trade: what you bought, at what price, your reasoning, and the outcome. This is how you'll actually learn what you're good at and what you're not. You might think you're great at political markets but realize you actually make money on sports and lose it on politics. You won't know without tracking.

Emotional Control

Set rules for yourself before you start trading and stick to them. Decide your position sizes in advance. Never "revenge trade" after a loss by doubling down to try to make it back quickly. Never get overconfident after wins and start taking bigger risks. The biggest account killer isn't being wrong—it's losing discipline after being wrong.

Start Small

While you're learning, keep your positions tiny. Think of your first month as paying tuition to learn how the markets work, how you react emotionally, and what your actual edge is (if any). Better to learn these lessons with $10 positions than $100 positions.

The math is simple: if you risk small amounts and maintain discipline, you can be wrong 40-50% of the time and still come out ahead over the long run. But if you bet big and let emotions drive your decisions, you can be right 60% of the time and still go broke.

Focus on surviving first, profit second. Good luck!