Definition, as the journal computes it
There is no band around zero: +$0.01 is a win and −$0.01 a loss. A trade that made $7.00 gross and paid $7.00 in commission is a breakeven. A breakeven is neither a win nor a loss, but it is a closed trade.
- Trade count = closed trades in range = wins + losses + breakevens.
- Win rate = wins ÷ closed trades.
- Loss rate = losses ÷ closed trades.
- Breakeven rate = breakevens ÷ closed trades.
Breakevens are in the denominator, so the three rates add up to 100%, and expectancy equals win rate × average win + loss rate × average loss exactly.
From the journal's written definitions: Win, loss and breakeven; Trade count and rates
On this page
What is win rate in trading?
Win rate is the share of your closed trades that were winners: winning trades ÷ closed trades. A win is any trade whose net P&L, after commission, swap and fees, is above zero.
A loss is any trade below zero, and a trade at exactly zero is a breakeven. Open trades aren’t counted until they close.
How do you calculate win rate?
Count the winning trades and divide by all closed trades, breakevens included. The sample account has 4 wins out of 10 closed trades, so its win rate is 4 ÷ 10 = 40.0%.
- Closed trades4 wins + 5 losses + 1 breakeven= 10
- Win rate4 ÷ 10= 40.0%
- Loss rate5 ÷ 10= 50.0%
- Breakeven rate1 ÷ 10= 10.0%
The sample’s trades are listed on the trading metrics page.
Do breakeven trades count in win rate?
Yes, as closed trades but not as wins, so they lower the win rate slightly. That way win rate, loss rate and breakeven rate always add up to 100%: 40% + 50% + 10% in the sample account.
Some tools leave breakevens out and divide by wins plus losses only, which would put the sample at 4 ÷ 9, about 44.4%. When you compare your win rate with someone else’s, check which way it was counted.
Costs decide what a breakeven is. A trade that made $7.00 before costs and paid $7.00 in commission is a breakeven, and one that nets +$0.01 is a win.
What is the difference between win rate and win/loss ratio?
Win rate divides wins by all closed trades; a win/loss ratio usually divides wins by losses. The sample account’s 4 wins and 5 losses give a 40.0% win rate and a win/loss ratio of 0.80.
“Win/loss ratio” is also used for the average win divided by the average loss, which is a different number again: $97.50 ÷ $58.00, about 1.68, in the sample. The journal shows win rate, average win and average loss, and doesn’t use the ambiguous term.
Is a high win rate good?
Not on its own, because it says nothing about how big the wins and losses were. A 70% win rate still loses money if the average loss is more than about 2.3 times the average win.
That’s because 0.70 × the average win has to cover 0.30 × the average loss, and 0.70 ÷ 0.30 is about 2.33. The figure that combines both is expectancy. To see the win rate a single trade plan needs, put its stop and target into the risk reward calculator.
Why does my win rate change so much?
With few trades, each one moves the percentage a lot: on 10 trades, one more win moves it by 10 percentage points. The journal flags fewer than 30 closed trades as a small sample for that reason.
Even at 30 trades, a strategy that truly wins half the time will usually show somewhere between about 32% and 68%. Read an early win rate as a rough range, not a score.