Glossary · Trading basics

Win rate

The percentage of your trades that ended in profit; meaningful only next to your break-even win rate and over many trades.

By Sky Trade editorial teamUpdated November 5, 2026

Win rate is wins divided by total trades (ties are usually left out). It is the most quoted trading statistic and probably the most misread.

On its own a win rate says little. In fixed-payout trading what matters is the gap between your win rate and the break-even win rate for the payouts you actually traded. A 57% win rate is profitable at a 90% payout and unprofitable at a 70% payout.

Sample size is the second trap. Over 20 trades, someone with no edge at all can easily show 65% or 35% by pure chance. Only hundreds of trades, logged honestly, start to tell you something. That is also why screenshots of impressive streaks prove nothing.

Third, a win rate is easy to flatter without noticing: skipping the journal on bad days, counting only “real” setups after the fact, or stopping right after a good run. A trading journal that records every trade, including the embarrassing ones, keeps the number honest.

The demo practice plan suggests measuring your win rate on demo before risking real money.

Example

You took 200 trades at an average 84% payout and won 112: a 56% win rate against a 54.3% break-even. That is a thin margin that the next 200 trades could easily erase.

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