Don't ignore the spread on Kalshi for small contracts

Learned a stupid lesson on Kalshi recently, cost me more than it should have. Was playing around with a few low-probability NO contracts on some political outcomes, nothing major, just tossing $20-30 on each. My mistake was not properly accounting for the bid-ask spread on these small positions. When you're only putting down $20 on a contract priced at $0.05, and the spread is, say, $0.02, that's a 40% immediate haircut just to get in. It adds up fast. Ended up holding a bunch of contracts I probably would have exited sooner if I wasn't already underwater on the spread. Just basic market mechanics, but easy to overlook when you're just clicking a few bucks here and there. Stupid, I know. Lesson learned: always factor in the spread, especially on small-value contracts on thin markets. It's not just the potential payout; it's the cost to enter/exit that eats into your edge.