Win rate
Win rate is the share of your trades that made money. Thirty winners out of fifty trades is a 60 percent win rate. On its own it says nothing about whether you are profitable.
In depth
Two traders, same fifty trades. The first wins 60 percent, makes 500 dollars on a winner and loses 300 on a loser, so an average trade is worth 180 dollars. The second wins 40 percent, makes 1,200 and loses 200, so an average trade is worth 360.
The lower win rate earns twice as much per trade. Win rate only means something next to the average winner and the average loser. A high win rate with a fat average loser is the common trap: lots of small green days and one red day that takes them all back.
Why it matters
Chasing a high win rate pushes you to cut winners early and hold losers, because that is how you keep the count green. The account goes the other way. Judged on its own, win rate tells you how it feels to trade your system, and almost nothing about what it pays.
TraderLog never shows win rate alone. Imported fills produce win rate beside average winner, average loser, profit factor and expectancy, plus the cuts: per symbol, long against short, streaks, results after a win against after a loss, and results by hold time.
Frequently asked questions
There is no single answer. A 40 percent win rate works if winners are much bigger than losers.
Only if the losses are small. One large loser can erase a long run of small wins.
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