Win Rate

Win rate is the percentage of trades that end in profit. Alone it's meaningless — a 90% win rate can still lose money if losses are larger than wins. Always paired with risk/reward for meaningful analysis.

Definition

Win rate is the most misunderstood trading statistic. New traders chase high win rates, but professional traders know win rate must be evaluated alongside average win size and average loss size. A 40% win rate with 1:3 R:R is far more profitable than an 80% win rate with 1:0.2 R:R. The goal isn't to be right often — it's to be right big and wrong small.

Formula

Win Rate % = (Winning Trades ÷ Total Trades) × 100

Example

30 wins out of 50 trades = 60% win rate. But if avg win is $100 and avg loss is $200, this is a losing strategy.

See Also

Want AI-powered stock scoring + trading discipline tools?
Join the waitlist →