Measure, Track, and Improve Your Trading Results
You cannot improve what you do not measure. Trading metrics give you objective, data-driven feedback on your strategy, execution, and risk management. This hub connects every metric, calculator, and guide for measuring performance.
A good ABIT aligns with your strategy's intended timeframe — scalpers target 2-4 bars on 5-min charts; momentum day traders 8-20 bars. More critica...
A good average losing trade is smaller than your average winning trade. Most profitable traders keep their average loss below 1R, meaning each loss...
A good average profit per trade is at least 2-3x your total costs (commissions + slippage) per trade. For active traders, $50-$150 per trade after ...
Average R:R is the mean ratio of average win size to average loss size across all trades. An average R:R above 1.5:1 supports profitability at mode...
A healthy duration ratio (avg loser duration / avg winner duration) is below 1.0, meaning winners are held at least as long as losers. A ratio abov...
Average win vs loss ratio should be tracked alongside win rate for full picture.
A good average winner size is at least 1.5× your average loser. Consistently profitable traders typically achieve a 1.5:1 to 2.5:1 winner-to-loser ...
Your break-even win rate depends on your risk-reward ratio. At 1:1 R:R you need 50%, at 1:2 you need 33.3%, and at 1:3 you need 25%. Profitable tra...
A good Calmar Ratio is above 3.0, meaning annualized returns are at least three times the maximum drawdown. Most retail traders fall between 0.5 an...
A good CAGR for active traders is 15-25% annually, outperforming the S&P 500 long-term average of roughly 10%. Elite traders may sustain 30%+ CAGR,...
A sustainable cost per trade keeps total friction below 20% of your average gross gain. Active traders should target under $0.01/share all-in; scal...
A good daily P&L volatility shows a Coefficient of Variation (CV) below 1.0, meaning your standard deviation of daily P&L is smaller than your aver...
A strong day-of-week pattern shows at least one weekday with positive expectancy above $100 per trade and 55%+ win rate across 60+ trades — use tha...
A good maximum drawdown duration is under 30 trading days. Consistently recovering within 10-20 days signals strong risk management and psychologic...
An edge ratio above 1.0 confirms a structural edge — trades move further in your favor on average than against you. Above 1.5 is considered tradeab...
Equity curve analysis is the visual tracking of account equity over time. A smooth upward curve signals a consistent edge; jagged or flat curves si...
A healthy trading strategy keeps net profit above 70% of gross profit. If costs consume more than 30% of gross gains, your strategy may not be viab...
A healthy hold time ratio is above 2.0 for trend-following strategies and 1.0–1.5 for mean-reversion. Any ratio below 1.0 means you are holding los...
Most traders should use fractional Kelly (25-50% of the full Kelly percentage). Full Kelly maximizes long-term growth but causes severe drawdowns, ...
A good longest drawdown period is under 3 months for active traders. Swing traders should target under 6 months; trend-following strategies under 1...
A MAR ratio above 1.0 is institutional-grade. Most retail systematic traders land between 0.5 and 1.0. Below 0.5 signals the strategy destroys capi...
Good exposure time depends on style: scalpers target 60-80%, intraday traders 15-35%, swing traders 10-20%. Pair it with P&L per exposure minute to...
A good MAE threshold is the highest unrealized loss your winning trades typically reach — any trade exceeding that level has historically low recov...
Maximum drawdown is the largest percentage drop from a peak to a trough in your account. Keeping it below 20% is critical for capital preservation.
A healthy MFE profit efficiency ratio is above 0.5, meaning you capture more than 50% of the peak unrealized profit. Ratios below 0.5 indicate a st...
A good consistency ratio is above 1.5, with 65%+ profitable months for day traders, 60%+ for swing traders, and monthly return standard deviation u...
A net expectancy above 1.5× your average cost per trade is the minimum viable threshold. Below zero means the strategy is losing money regardless o...
A good net profit margin per trade is above 0.5% of position value for day trades and above 1.0% for swing trades, after all commissions, fees, sli...
Payoff ratio is your average winning trade divided by your average losing trade. A ratio above 1.5 is good; above 2.0 is excellent. It must be pair...
Strong active day traders achieve 55-65% profitable days. Below 50% over a rolling 20-day window signals a consistency problem — regardless of over...
A good Risk Deviation Ratio is 0.9–1.1x, meaning your actual exit risk is within 10% of your planned stop loss. Ratios above 1.2x indicate chronic ...
Keep total portfolio heat below 6-10% of account equity. For a $50,000 account, that means no more than $3,000–$5,000 at risk across all open trade...
Profit factor is gross profits divided by gross losses. Above 1.0 means profitable; above 1.5 is good; above 2.0 is excellent. Below 1.0 means losi...
A good Profit Per Day depends on account size and goals. Day traders targeting $50,000/year need roughly $200 PPD across 250 trading days. Always r...
A good realized-to-planned R:R ratio is 0.8 or above, meaning you capture at least 80% of your planned risk-reward on average. Below 0.6 signals se...
A good trading ROI depends on timeframe. Annualized, 15-30% is strong for active traders. Above 30% is exceptional but hard to sustain, while below...
A skewness coefficient between -0.5 and +0.5 is roughly symmetric. Below -0.5 warrants scrutiny; below -1.0 indicates dangerous tail risk. Positive...
Risk of ruin should be below 1% to ensure long-term survival.
Target below 1%. A 50% win rate with 1.1:1 payoff risking 1% per trade yields 0.005% ruin probability. The same edge at 5% risk jumps to 13.6% — a ...
A good risk per trade is 1-2% of account equity. Risking more than 2% per trade significantly increases the probability of large drawdowns and acco...
A good risk-adjusted return means your ratio scores (Sharpe > 1.0, Sortino > 1.5, Calmar > 3.0) consistently show profits that more than compensate...
A good risk-reward ratio is 1:2 or higher, meaning your potential profit is at least twice your potential loss on each trade, allowing profitabilit...
Setup accuracy measures how often your identified setups play out as expected.
Good slippage is under $0.02/share on liquid stocks or 0.25 ticks average on ES futures. Total annual slippage drag should stay below 2% of account...
A good SQN is 2.5 or above over at least 100 trades. Scores of 3.0–5.0 are excellent. Anything below 2.0 on 100+ live trades signals the edge is to...
A good per-setup result is positive expectancy after 50+ trades — (win% × avg winner) − (loss% × avg loser) above zero. Cut any setup showing negat...
A good Trade Efficiency Ratio is 40% or above. Most discretionary day traders average 20–40%. Above 60% indicates elite or scalping-style execution...
Expectancy is the average dollar amount you expect to make per trade. A positive expectancy means the strategy has an edge; negative means it loses...
A good Treynor ratio exceeds the market benchmark of roughly 0.05–0.07. A Treynor above 0.10 indicates strong risk-adjusted performance relative to...
A good Ulcer Index is below 5, indicating shallow, short-lived drawdowns. Values above 10 suggest deep or prolonged equity declines requiring strat...
A good daily VaR at 95% confidence should be 1-2% of account equity, meaning on 19 out of 20 days your losses should not exceed that threshold.
A good volatility-adjusted return score depends on the method, but using Sharpe Ratio as the standard, above 1.0 is acceptable and above 2.0 is exc...
Win rate is the percentage of trades closed at a profit. A good win rate depends on your risk-reward ratio — 40-50% is strong with 2:1 R:R or better.
A good win/loss ratio is above 2.0, meaning you have twice as many winning trades as losing ones — but it must be evaluated alongside your payoff r...
A losing streak is statistically normal until it exceeds log(N)/log(1/(1-p)) trades. Beyond that threshold, run the Wald-Wolfowitz test — if |Z| ex...
Absolute return is the total gain or loss of an investment expressed as a percentage, without comparison to any benchmark.
Alpha measures the excess return of an investment relative to its benchmark, representing the value added by active management or skill.
Average holding time is the mean duration a trader holds open positions, calculated as total hold time divided by trade count, from fill to close.
Average loss is the mean loss amount across all losing trades, calculated by dividing total losses by the number of losing trades.
Average win is the mean profit amount across all winning trades, calculated by dividing total profits by the number of winning trades.
Batting average in trading is the percentage of trades that result in gains, equivalent to win rate or hit rate.
Beta measures a security's volatility relative to the overall market, where beta of 1 indicates movement in line with the market.
Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) is the mean annual growth rate of an investment over a specified time period longer than one year.
Calmar ratio is a risk-adjusted performance metric calculated as CAGR divided by maximum drawdown, measuring return per unit of drawdown risk.
Drawdown is the decline from a portfolio's peak value to its lowest point, expressed as a percentage of the peak.
Equity curve is a line chart of cumulative account value over time, showing whether a trading strategy produces consistent gains or erratic, luck-d...
Trading expectancy is the average amount a trader expects to win or lose per trade, calculated as (Win Rate × Avg Win) - (Loss Rate × Avg Loss).
Information ratio measures a portfolio's risk-adjusted excess returns against a benchmark, calculated as active return divided by tracking error.
Kelly criterion is a mathematical formula that determines the optimal position size to maximize long-term growth while managing risk of ruin.
Maximum Adverse Excursion (MAE) is the largest unrealized loss a trade experiences at any point before closing, used to set data-driven stop-loss l...
Maximum drawdown (MDD) is the largest peak-to-trough decline in portfolio value before a new peak is reached, measuring worst-case loss.
Maximum Favorable Excursion (MFE) is the largest unrealized profit a trade achieves at any point between entry and close, used to diagnose exit eff...
Maximum Favorable Excursion (MFE) is the highest unrealized profit a trade reaches before it is closed — the peak paper gain during the trade's lif...
Monte Carlo simulation is a technique that runs thousands of randomized sequences of historical trade results to model the range of possible equity...
Omega Ratio is a risk-adjusted performance metric that divides probability-weighted gains above a threshold by probability-weighted losses below it...
Payoff ratio is the average winning trade divided by the average losing trade, measuring the relative size of wins to losses.
Profit factor is the ratio of gross profits to gross losses, calculated as Total Winning Amount / Total Losing Amount.
R-multiple expresses a trade's profit or loss as a multiple of the initial risk (R), where 1R equals the amount risked on the trade.
Recovery factor measures how quickly a trading strategy recovers from drawdowns, calculated as net profit divided by maximum drawdown.
Risk of ruin is the probability of losing a predetermined percentage of trading capital given a strategy's win rate and risk parameters.
Risk-reward ratio compares the potential loss (risk) to the potential gain (reward) of a trade, expressed as a ratio like 1:2 or 1:3.
Return on Investment (ROI) measures the gain or loss generated on an investment relative to its cost, expressed as a percentage.
Sharpe ratio measures risk-adjusted returns by dividing excess return over risk-free rate by standard deviation of returns.
Sortino ratio is a risk-adjusted return metric that only penalizes downside volatility, calculated as excess return divided by downside deviation.
Standard deviation is a statistical measure of how spread out a security's returns are around their mean, quantifying volatility and powering tools...
System Quality Number (SQN) is a metric by Van Tharp: √(N) × mean(R) ÷ stdev(R), scoring a trading system's edge, consistency, and sample size in o...
Trade frequency is the number of trades executed over a given period, affecting commission costs, tax implications, and strategy effectiveness.
Win/Loss Streak is a consecutive sequence of wins or losses whose length and probability can be calculated from a system's win rate using binomial ...
Compound returns grow exponentially: Final Balance = Starting Capital x (1 + Return Rate)^Periods. Even 1% daily turns ₹5L into ₹61L in one year.
The R-multiple measures profit or loss as a multiple of initial risk (1R). Formula: R-Multiple = (Exit Price - Entry Price) / (Entry Price - Stop L...
The Sharpe ratio measures risk-adjusted return using the formula: (Portfolio Return - Risk-Free Rate) / Standard Deviation. Above 1 is good, above ...
Expectancy = (Win Rate x Avg Win) - (Loss Rate x Avg Loss). A positive expectancy means your strategy is profitable long-term.
The win rate is winning trades divided by total trades (Win Rate = Wins / Total Trades × 100), but profitability depends on combining win rate with...
Discover and quantify your unique trading edge using journal data. Learn expectancy calculations and how to build a setup playbook.
Learn a structured framework for reviewing past trades to find patterns, eliminate mistakes, and consistently improve your trading performance over...
A structured framework for reviewing your trading journal at daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly intervals to extract actionable insights from yo...
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