Which statistics to track in your trading journal

A journal generates a lot of numbers. Four are enough to steer your progress.

Win rate: necessary but misleading

The percentage of winning trades is the first metric everyone looks at — and the most misread. A 40% win rate can be comfortably profitable if your winners return three times what your losers give back. Conversely, a 70% hit rate can ruin an account if the rare losses are enormous.

Risk/reward ratio (R:R)

This is what you win on average relative to what you risk. An R:R of 2 means your average gains are worth twice your average losses. Paired with win rate, it determines whether your system is viable at all.

Expectancy: the real arbiter

Expectancy is your average gain per trade, expressed in R. The formula is simple:

Expectancy = (win rate × average win) − (loss rate × average loss)

A positive expectancy means that, statistically, every trade pays you. It is the one metric that summarises the profitability of your approach on its own.

Drawdown: your tolerance for risk

Drawdown is the largest fall in your capital from a peak. It measures the pain your system puts you through. A drawdown you cannot stomach psychologically will make you abandon an otherwise profitable system — a subject we cover in why I break my trading discipline.

Computing them without effort

Calculating these metrics by hand is tedious and error-prone. Altiora computes them automatically from your imported trades and displays them on a clear dashboard. To understand the whole picture, go back to the complete trading journal guide, or try the platform for free.