← Glossary Free resource

Win rate

Win rate is the number of winning trades divided by the total number of trades, as a percentage. It is the most quoted statistic in trading and the most misused, because it counts trades without ever weighing them: a $3 win and a $3,000 win each count as one.

The formula

Winning trades ÷ total trades.

How to read it

The share of your trades in the green. Not enough alone if your losses are big (see Profit factor and average R).

Always read it alongside your RRR. A 35% win rate with winners three times bigger than losers is a profitable system; an 80% win rate with losers five times bigger than winners is an account bleeding out slowly. The break-even point is computable: you need a win rate above 1 ÷ (1 + RRR).

The classic mistake

Pushing it up by cutting winners early and letting losers run. It is the most natural move in the world, it improves the displayed figure every time, and it destroys the account. A win rate rising while P&L falls is a warning, not progress.

To go deeper on this : read the full guide. Every term is gathered in the glossary.