R Multiple Calculator: Score Every Trade Against Its Risk
One R is what you risked. Scoring trades in R is how you compare a gold trade with a EUR/USD trade, a big account with a small one, and this month with last.
R is a trade's result divided by the amount it risked: (exit minus entry) divided by (entry minus stop), sign-flipped for shorts. A trade that made twice its risk is +2R and one that hit the stop is -1R. Score against the stop you set at entry, not one you moved, or the number flatters you.
R multiple calculator
R = result ÷ original risk. Score against the stop you set at entry, not one you moved later, or the number flatters you. Costs are not included here — the profit calculator nets them off.
The formula
R = (exit − entry) ÷ (entry − stop), sign-adjusted for shorts. A trade that made twice what it risked is +2R; one that hit the stop is −1R; one closed early for half the risk is +0.5R.
The calculator takes a single trade, or paste a list and it scores the whole set - total R, average R, win rate and the best and worst trade. That is a rough expectancy reading in ten seconds.
R only means something over a sample. Chart Bound builds the sample fast, free, on real historical charts.
Play free, no signup →Why R beats money
- It removes position size. A trader who sizes up on the trades they "feel good about" looks profitable in money and flat in R. The R view exposes that.
- It survives account changes. Deposit, withdraw or change instruments and R is still comparable.
- It makes samples poolable. Fifty trades in R can be measured; fifty in dollars across three account sizes cannot.
Honest edges of the method
- A stop that moves mid-trade makes R ambiguous. Score against the original stop, or the number flatters you.
- Scaling out needs each exit weighted by size; the calculator takes an average exit for that.
- R says nothing about how long capital was tied up, which matters when comparing styles.
- Costs come out of R too - the profit calculator nets them off.
Once you have a set of R results, the expectancy calculator turns it into a per-trade edge, and the sample-size calculator tells you whether it is enough trades to mean anything.
Frequently asked questions
What is an R multiple?
A trade's result divided by the amount it risked. +2R means it made twice the risk; -1R means it lost exactly what was planned.
How do I calculate R?
(Exit minus entry) divided by (entry minus stop), with the sign flipped for shorts. The calculator does single trades or a pasted list.
Should I score against the original stop or the moved one?
The original. Scoring against a moved stop hides the cost of moving it.
What is a good average R?
Any reliably positive average after costs, over a large enough sample. The size matters less than whether the sample is honest.
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420×620 by default and it scales down to fit a narrower column. Please keep the attribution link.
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R only means something over a sample. Chart Bound builds the sample fast, free, on real historical charts.
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