Type three numbers, see the risk-reward ratio of the trade and the win rate it has to clear to be profitable. The planned R:R is the easy part. The realised one is what tells you whether the strategy works.
The Definition
A 1:3 ratio means you are willing to risk one to make three. The other side of that number is the win rate the trade has to support.
The risk-reward ratio is the distance from your entry to your target, divided by the distance from your entry to your stop. A 50-pip stop and a 150-pip target gives a 1:3 ratio. The trade risks one unit to make three.
The number that matters next to it is the breakeven win rate the ratio implies. A 1:1 ratio needs better than 50% to be profitable. A 1:2 ratio needs better than 33%. A 1:3 ratio needs only 25%. The wider the ratio, the lower the win rate it can survive.
The trap is treating the planned ratio as the realised one. Stops slip, targets get cut, trailing stops take some trades off early. The actual R:R across 100 trades is almost always below the planned figure, and the gap is what most traders never measure. See why a 1:3 ratio can still lose money for the full picture.
Free Calculator
Enter entry, stop and target. Works for longs or shorts. Add risk amount to see the dollar reward.
Risk/Reward Calculator
All four prices in the same units. The risk amount is the dollars you stand to lose at the stop.
Breakeven win rate is the line you have to cross over many trades. WR = 1 ÷ (1 + R:R)
Ratios and Their Win Rates
The win rate the ratio has to clear, in one table.
| R:R | Breakeven WR | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| 1 : 1 | 50% | Coin-flip strategy. Hard to beat after costs and slippage |
| 1 : 1.5 | 40% | Realistic for most pullback strategies, comfortable margin |
| 1 : 2 | 33.3% | The sweet spot for many discretionary traders |
| 1 : 3 | 25% | Trend-following territory. Few winners pay for many losers |
| 1 : 5 | 16.7% | Big-win strategy. Requires patience and a wide expectation of losers |
Planned vs Realised
The realised ratio across many trades is what your equity curve actually reflects.
Winners taken at 1.5R when the plan was 3R drag the realised ratio down. Most traders do this far more than they think.
A planned -1R loss closes at -1.4R after stop slippage. The downside grows faster than the upside.
A move-to-breakeven on every trade caps the average R well below the planned target. The realised ratio collapses.
Half off at 1R, runner to target. The realised average sits somewhere between, almost always below the planned ratio on a clean target hit.
Trades closed in fear before reaching target. Each one shaves a little off the average. Across 50 trades, the impact is large.
A loser that "would have" come back, with the stop nudged 10 pips. The R on the loss balloons, the ratio gets worse on both sides.
Supported Platforms
Connect your account and the realised risk-reward is computed on every trade, broken down per setup.
cTrader
Connects via the official cTrader API. Planned stop and target captured per trade and compared to the realised exit.
Learn about cTrader → 7-day free trial included
Bybit
Connects via read-only API key (Bybit Global). Realised R:R on Perpetuals and Spot, synced every 2 hours.
Learn about Bybit → 7-day free trial included
OANDA
Connects via the OANDA API. Forex, indices, metals and commodities with R:R captured on every trade.
Learn about OANDA → 7-day free trial included
MetaTrader 4 & MT5
Connects via API to any MT4 or MT5 broker. Realised R:R synced automatically without plugins or CSV exports.
Learn about MetaTrader → 7-day free trial includedFAQ
Risk-reward ratio is the reward distance divided by the risk distance. Risk distance is the absolute difference between your entry price and your stop. Reward distance is the absolute difference between your entry price and your target. If risk is 50 pips and reward is 150 pips, the ratio is 1:3.
The breakeven win rate is one divided by (one plus the risk-reward ratio). For a 1:1 ratio it is 50%. For 1:2 it is 33%. For 1:3 it is 25%. Your strategy needs to beat this win rate on average for the ratio to be profitable.
Not always. Higher ratios mean targets are further from the entry, which usually lowers the win rate that hits those targets. A 1:5 strategy that only wins 15% of the time is unprofitable. The right question is whether the realised ratio across many trades, including the ones that exit before the target, beats the breakeven win rate.
Slippage on stops, stops being moved wider during the trade, targets being cut early, and partial exits all push the realised R:R below the planned one. The planned ratio is the best case. The realised ratio is what your equity curve actually reflects, and it is usually lower.
Tracker Fx captures the planned stop and target on each trade and compares them to the realised exit, on every trade synced from cTrader, Bybit, OANDA, MT4 and MT5. The realised risk-reward, expectancy and R-multiple are computed automatically and broken down per setup, symbol and session.
Yes. Tracker Fx includes a 7-day free trial with full access to all journaling and analytics features. The free trial is available for all supported platforms, including MetaTrader.
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Connect cTrader, Bybit, OANDA or MetaTrader and Tracker Fx tracks both the planned and realised risk-reward on every trade, so the gap between the two stops being invisible.
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Planned vs Realised R:R7-Day Free TrialPer Setup & Per SessionAll Platforms Including MetaTrader