Question 1

Is a high win rate good?

Accepted Answer

Not on its own. A strategy can win 80 percent of its trades and still lose money if the losers are much larger than the winners. Win rate only means something once you also know the average win and the average loss.

Question 2

What should I read instead of win rate?

Accepted Answer

Read win rate together with the average win, the average loss, and expectancy. Expectancy combines how often you win with how much you win or lose into the average result per trade, which is the number that tells you whether the math leans in your favor.

Question 3

What is R in trading results?

Accepted Answer

R is your initial risk on a trade. An R-multiple expresses each result as a multiple of that risk, so a trade that makes twice what it risked is plus two R and a trade that hits its stop is minus one R. Measuring in R lets you compare trades of different sizes on one scale.