Win/Loss Ratio: Definition, Formula, and Examples in Trading (2024)

What Is the Win/Loss Ratio?

The win/loss ratio for traders is the total number of winning trades compared to the total number of losing trades in a specific period of time, such as a trading session.

It does not take into account how much was won or lost, but simply the number of trades that made money versus the number of trades that lost money.

The win/loss ratio is also known as the success ratio.

Key Takeaways

  • The win/loss, or success ratio, is a trader's number of winning trades divided by the number of losing trades.
  • The win/loss ratio can indicate how many times a trader will have successful, money-making trades relative to how many times they'll have money-losing trades.
  • The win/loss ratio doesn't take into account the amounts of money that trades made or lost.
  • Traders can use the win/loss ratio to rate the success of a trading strategy.
  • The win/loss ratio and the win rate (wins/total trades) can be used to determine the probability of being profitable.

The Formula for the Win/Loss Ratio

Win/lossratio=WinsLosses\text{Win/loss ratio} = \frac{\text{Wins}}{\text{Losses}}Win/lossratio=LossesWins

The win/loss ratio can also be stated as winning trades : losing trades.

What the Win/Loss Ratio Can Tell You

The win/loss ratio is used mostly by day traders to assess their daily wins and losses from trading and as a way to gauge the success of the trading strategy that they used.

For example, if the win/loss ratio shows more wins than losses, then they might continue using their current strategy, all other things being equal. If the ratio shows more losses than wins, they might review and fine-tune their trading strategy to address why they had those losses.

The win/loss ratio is often used with the win rate, which is the number of trades that make money out of the total number of trades conducted. Together, the win/loss ratio and the win rate can help traders understand the probability of their trading being profitable.

How to Interpret a Win/Loss Ratio

  • A win/loss ratio of more than 1.0 means that a trader had more winning trades than losing trades.
  • A win/loss ratio of less than 1.0 means that a trader had more losing trades than winning trades.
  • A win/loss ratio equal to 1.0 means that a trader had the same number of winning trades as losing trades.

Active traders should make it a habit to regularly review their win/loss ratios, risk/reward ratios, and win rates to stay on top of their trading efforts and avoid losing too much money. Essentially, win/loss ratios and win rates can alert you to how often you are winning or losing money on your trades.

Example of the Win/Loss Ratio

Assume that you made a total of 30 trades, of which 12 were winners and 18 were losers. This would make your win/loss ratio 12/18, which equals 0.67. Such a ratio means that you are losing 67% of the time. Using the benchmarks above, .67 is less than 1.0 and an indication of a less-than-winning strategy.

Along with that figure, the win rate, or probability of success, is 12/30, or 40%.

Incorporating the Risk/Reward Ratio

The risk/reward ratio indicates the profit potential of a trade relative to its loss potential. The profit potential of a trade is determined by the difference between the entry price and the targeted exit price (at which a profit will be made).

The trade is executed using a stop-loss order set at the target exit price, and the profit is determined by the difference between the entry point and the stop-loss price.

For example, a trader purchases 100 shares of a company for $5.50 and places a stop loss at $5.00. The trader also places a sell limit order to execute when the price hits $6.50. The risk on the trade is $5.50 - $5.00 = $0.50, and the potential profit is $6.50 - $5.50 = $1.00. The trader is, thus, willing to risk $0.50 per share to make a profit of $1.00 per share after closing the position.

The risk/reward ratio is $0.50/$1.00 = 0.5. In this case, the trader’s risk is half of his potential payoff. If the ratio is greater than 1.0, it means the risk is greater than the profit potential on the trade. If the ratio is less than 1.0, then the profit potential is greater than the risk.

Together, the win/loss ratio and the risk/reward ratio can provide a trader with a good idea of their trading success and risk profile. For example, these ratios can help them determine whether they should temporarily stop trading due to lack of successful trades and financial losses or keep trading based on positive results.

In addition, having a high win rate (again, winning trades/total trades) doesn't necessarily mean a trader will be successful or even profitable if the risk-reward ratio is very high. And a high risk-reward ratio may not mean much if the win rate is very low.

Limitation of the Win/Loss Ratio

Although the win/loss ratio is used to determine the success rate and probability of future success of stock traders, it is not very useful on its own because it does not take into account the monetary value won or lost in each trade.

For example, a win/loss ratio of 2:1means the trader has twice as many winning trades aslosing. Sounds good, but if the losing trades have dollar losses three times as large as the dollar gains of the winning trades, the trader has a losing strategy.

What Does the Win/Loss Ratio Imply?

The win/loss ratio can indicate performance success as a trader and a probability of future success. It can also point to the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of trading strategies.

Is a High Win/Loss Ratio Good?

Generally, yes. It means that there were more trades that made money than trades that lost money. Bear in mind, though, that it says nothing about the amounts of money made or lost. For instance, you may have 15 winning trades and five losing trades for a positive win/loss ratio of 3.0. However, those five losing trades may have cost you more than the 15 winning trades made you.

What Is the Win/Loss Ratio if I Have Zero Losses?

In such a case, you wouldn't bother to calculate a win/loss ratio (or any other ratio) because dividing a number by zero results in an undefined result.

The Bottom Line

For traders, the win/loss ratio compares the number of trades that made money to the number of trades that lost money in a given trading session. It has nothing to do with the amount of money made or lost by those trades.

It's used by traders to get an idea of the success of their trading efforts for that session, which, in turn, can help them decide whether to stick with a particular trading strategy or devise a new one.

Win/Loss Ratio: Definition, Formula, and Examples in Trading (2024)

FAQs

Win/Loss Ratio: Definition, Formula, and Examples in Trading? ›

The win-loss ratio is calculated as the percentage of won opportunities over lost opportunities. For example, if your team had 3 won opportunities and 7 lost opportunities, the Win-Loss Ratio is 42.8% (3 / 7 = 42.8%).

How do you calculate win loss ratio in trading? ›

The win/loss ratio is the total number of winning trades divided by the total number of losing trades and can reflect the success of a trading strategy. The risk/reward ratio is used by many investors to compare the expected returns of an investment with the amount of risk undertaken to capture these returns.

How to calculate the win loss ratio? ›

How to Calculate Win to Loss Ratio. You don't need a winning percentage calculator to determine your win loss rates. All you need to do is divide the number of opportunities you've won or converted by every lost opportunity. However, you should only count a completed deal or those with definitive outcomes.

What is the 3 5 7 rule in trading? ›

What is the 3 5 7 rule in trading? A risk management principle known as the “3-5-7” rule in trading advises diversifying one's financial holdings to reduce risk. The 3% rule states that you should never risk more than 3% of your whole trading capital on a single deal.

What's a good win-loss ratio? ›

The general lessons on win-loss ratios are: A 40% win-loss ratio is a good performance. A higher win-loss ratio is achievable with target customers, providing you have established a good relationship. Spend a small amount of time pre-qualifying bids to avoid chasing “hopeless” bids.

What is the formula for the trade ratio? ›

The trade-to-GDP ratio is an indicator of the relative importance of international trade in the economy of a country. It is calculated by dividing the aggregate value of imports and exports over a period by the gross domestic product for the same period.

What is the win loss method? ›

Like film study, win-loss analysis is the process of going back and reviewing your closed opportunities—wins and losses—to uncover the trends and insights that can influence future success rates.

How does win ratio work? ›

If that is not known, only then they are labelled a 'winner' or 'loser' depending on who had a HF hosp first. Otherwise they are considered tied. The win ratio is the total number of winners divided by the total numbers of losers. A 95% confidence interval and P-value for the win ratio are readily obtained.

How to calculate ratio? ›

Since ratios compare data between two numbers of the same kind, this means your formula would be A divided by B. For instance, if A equals 5 and B equals 10, then your ratio will be 5 divided by 10. Now, you're ready to solve the equation. Divide A by B to find a ratio. In this case, the answer is 0.5.

How to write a win/loss record? ›

Though it's not strictly a range, a 10–4 record expresses a comparison, as in “ten wins compared to four losses.” This makes records analogous to scores; a score of 34–6 could be restated as “thirty-four points compared to six.” So use an en dash for both. Write “win–loss record” with an en dash too.

What is No 1 rule of trading? ›

Rule 1: Always Use a Trading Plan

You need a trading plan because it can assist you with making coherent trading decisions and define the boundaries of your optimal trade. A decent trading plan will assist you with avoiding making passionate decisions without giving it much thought.

What is 90% rule in trading? ›

The 90 rule in Forex is a commonly cited statistic that states that 90% of Forex traders lose 90% of their money in the first 90 days. This is a sobering statistic, but it is important to understand why it is true and how to avoid falling into the same trap.

What is the 80-20 rule in trading? ›

In investing, the 80-20 rule generally holds that 20% of the holdings in a portfolio are responsible for 80% of the portfolio's growth. On the flip side, 20% of a portfolio's holdings could be responsible for 80% of its losses.

Is a 1.0 win loss ratio good? ›

In general, you should aim for a win rate of 50% to 70%, a win/loss ratio above 1.0, and a risk/reward ratio below 1.0.

What is a bad loss ratio? ›

The lower the ratio, the more profitable the insurance company, and vice versa. If the loss ratio is above 1, or 100%, the insurance company is unprofitable and maybe in poor financial health because it is paying out more in claims than it is receiving in premiums.

What is the difference between hit ratio and win loss ratio? ›

The Hit Rate is simply defined as the number of correct decisions as a percentage of the total number of decisions. However, the Hit Rate is only half the story when assessing the Manager's skill. The Win Loss Ratio compares the alpha generated from good decisions to the alpha lost from poor decisions.

What is 1.5 win loss ratio? ›

For instance, if an investor makes 100 trades, 60 trades are profitable, while 40 are not, the win/loss ratio would be 60/40 or 1.5. This means the investor is winning 1.5 trades for every losing trade.

How do you calculate loss on trade in? ›

To calculate your gain or loss, subtract the original purchase price from the sale price and divide the difference by the purchase price of the stock. Multiply that figure by 100 to get the percentage change.

What is the difference between hit rate and win loss ratio? ›

Hit rates and win loss ratios

The hit rate is defined as the number of winners in the portfolio as a percentage of the total number of observations. The win loss ratio compares the outperformance that comes from good decision making to the alpha lost from making poor decisions.

How to calculate risk reward ratio in trading? ›

To calculate risk-reward ratio, divide net profits (which represent the reward) by the cost of the investment's maximum risk. For instance, for a risk-reward ratio of 1:3, the investor risks $1 to hopefully gain $3 in profit. For a 1:4 risk-reward ratio, an investor is risking $1 to potentially make $4.

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