SideGuy · Prediction Markets · Automated Backtest

Is there a platform that can automatically backtest strategies on Kalshi and Polymarket?

Short answer: not yet · not well · and probably not in the shape you're imagining. Here's the operator-honest read on what exists, what's buildable, and what the SideGuy framework runs instead.

TL;DR

Why traditional backtesting doesn't translate to prediction markets

The conventional backtest pattern assumes long-running markets with deep liquidity and predictable closing mechanics — equities, futures, FX. Prediction markets violate all three.

1. Market lifecycle is too short

Most Kalshi event contracts resolve in hours to days. Polymarket sports markets resolve in single game windows. Year-over-year historical data doesn't exist for the bulk of markets because the markets themselves only existed for a few days. A traditional backtest expecting decades of price action has nothing to chew on.

2. Liquidity is sparse — simulated fills are unreliable

An equities backtester can assume your $10,000 order fills at the printed price because the underlying market handles millions of dollars per minute. A Polymarket sports prop at $1,200 of total liquidity cannot honestly fill a $5,000 simulated order. Backtests that ignore this systematically overstate strategy returns.

3. The actual edge isn't statistical · it's operator judgment

The strategies that produce real returns in prediction markets are not the strategies that backtest well:

All four depend on operator judgment exercised in real time. None backtest cleanly because the action that creates edge happens AFTER the entry · not at the entry.

What IS buildable in 2026

Four narrower projects an operator can ship with Python + the APIs:

ToolWhat it doesEffort
Closing-line-value trackerPull every settled Kalshi + Polymarket market you bet, compare entry price vs final settle, compute CLV by strategy class~1 week
Cross-platform arb scannerMatch same events across Kalshi + Polymarket + Underdog, alert when implied probabilities diverge beyond a threshold~2 weeks
Paper-trade engineConsume live API data, simulate entries/exits per strategy spec, log P&L without real capital · honest about fill assumptions~2-3 weeks
Doctrine-tagged rep logEvery position logged with platform/stake/strategy-tag/settle-outcome · the SideGuy "bets-in-the-repo" pattern~1 day

The last is the most operator-honest. Backtesting backwards on data you didn't generate from your own strategy execution is most often a self-deception. Logging forward on positions you DID take is real signal.

The SideGuy approach · "Bets in the Repo"

Instead of trying to backtest a strategy on synthetic historical data, SideGuy operates a continuous-learning substrate:

This is the release-carve operating system in production. The "release" is the locked-rail bet (Underdog parlay, Kalshi single, Polymarket entry). The "carve" is the real-time modulation (Polymarket inverse hedges, partial exits, asymmetric sizing).

Full doctrine: /sideguy-betting-lab.html — the public Betting Lab framework page.

⚠️ Not financial advice. Prediction market trading is high-variance and the framework reduces variance but doesn't eliminate it. Bet only what you can afford to lose. The point of "no good backtest exists" is precisely that you cannot trust historical simulations · the only training data that matters is your own live reps.

If you're building a backtester anyway · the data sources

The honest answer to the original question

If you Googled "is there a platform that can automatically backtest strategies on Kalshi and Polymarket?" — the answer is no production-grade unified one exists, the structural reasons above explain why, and the operator-honest move is to build the doctrine-tagged rep log forward instead of trying to backtest backward.

SideGuy runs this approach openly. The state file is in the repo · the doctrine library is public · the carving math is documented. If this matches what you were searching for, text PJ — we may be on the same operator wavelength.

Want to see the framework run live?

The SideGuy Betting Lab is the public doctrine page · 12 layers of structure, from bracket / middle / gap through the release-carve operating system that replaces backtesting.

Read the SideGuy Betting Lab

© 2026 SideGuy Solutions · Encinitas, CA · Text PJ 858-461-8054

💬 Text PJ