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R:R Ratio & Break-Even Win Rate
Enter your entry price, stop loss and take profit to see the exact risk-to-reward ratio of any forex or gold trade, plus the win rate that ratio needs to break even.
Select your pair, enter the three price levels from your trade plan, and see the risk, the reward and the ratio between them measured in pips.
Calculate the risk-to-reward ratio of your trade to check whether the potential reward justifies the amount you are risking.
A ratio of 1:2 or higher is a common benchmark, but no ratio removes risk from a trade. Pip sizes follow standard contract specifications, so always verify them with your broker.
Three inputs, one number. Here is how to read the result before you place a trade.
Choose the instrument you are trading from the majors, minors or metals list. The calculator applies the correct pip size automatically: the fourth decimal on most pairs, the second decimal on JPY pairs, and a $0.01 move on XAU/USD.
Type the exact prices from your trade plan: entry price, stop loss and take profit. The tool measures both distances in pips and updates the ratio in real time as you adjust the levels.
Read the ratio and the break-even win rate it implies. If the reward does not justify the risk, move the target to a real level, tighten the stop to a real level, or skip the trade. Forcing the numbers is how sound risk management gets undone.
How the ratio is calculated, what it does not tell you, and the win rate every ratio needs just to break even.
The risk reward ratio compares how much you lose if the stop loss is hit with how much you make if the take profit is reached. It is written risk first, so 1:2 means risking one unit to make two. The ratio says nothing about how likely the trade is to work: it only describes the payoff if it does. That is why it has to be read alongside a realistic win rate rather than on its own.
The formula is straightforward: R:R = (take profit - entry) / (entry - stop loss), with both sides measured in the same units. A long EUR/USD trade entered at 1.1000 with a stop at 1.0950 risks 50 pips, and a target at 1.1150 offers 150 pips, which is a ratio of 1:3. Because the pip size appears on both sides of the division, it cancels out, so the ratio is identical whether you count in pips, points or dollars. The calculator above converts your prices to pips using the correct pip size for the pair you selected.
Every ratio implies a minimum win rate you need simply to stay flat. The formula is break-even win rate = 1 / (1 + reward-to-risk), which puts 1:1 at 50%, 1:2 at roughly 33%, 1:3 at 25% and 1:4 at 20%. The table below runs the same maths in the other direction, showing the minimum ratio each win rate needs to break even. Spreads, commissions and swaps push the real threshold slightly higher, so treat these figures as a floor, not a target.
| Win Rate | Minimum R:R Needed | Break-Even Ratio |
|---|---|---|
| 30% | 1:2.33 | 1:2.33 |
| 40% | 1:1.50 | 1:1.50 |
| 50% | 1:1.00 | 1:1.00 |
| 60% | 1:0.67 | 1:0.67 |
| 70% | 1:0.43 | 1:0.43 |
Six principles for using the ratio as a real filter rather than a box-ticking exercise.
Decide what you are willing to lose before you look at the reward. Most professionals cap risk at 1-2% of the account per trade, which keeps a losing streak survivable instead of account-ending.
Calculate the ratio while the trade is still an idea, not after you are already in it. If a setup only offers 1:0.8, it is far easier to walk away before your money is on the line.
A take profit invented to force a 1:3 ratio is not a target. Place stops and targets at structure such as swing highs and lows, supply and demand zones or session ranges, then measure the R:R that structure actually offers.
Scalpers often work near 1:1 and need a high strike rate; swing traders aim for 1:3 or more and can be wrong far more often. Neither is superior. What matters is that your ratio and your realistic win rate fit together.
Taking partial profit at 1:1 feels safer but lowers your average reward per trade. If you scale out, decide the levels before entry and recalculate the blended R:R rather than improvising mid-trade.
Every United Kings signal is published with an entry, a stop loss and a take profit, so you can run the numbers through this calculator and know your risk reward before you take the trade.
Common questions about risk reward ratios and how to use this calculator.
Measure the distance from your entry to your stop loss (the risk) and from your entry to your take profit (the reward), then divide the reward by the risk. If you buy EUR/USD at 1.1000 with a stop at 1.0950 and a target at 1.1150, the risk is 50 pips and the reward is 150 pips, which is a ratio of 1:3. The calculator above does this automatically and converts your prices into pips using the correct pip size for each pair.
1:2 is the benchmark most traders start with: risking 1% to make 2%. It is not a magic number, though. A 1:1 setup can work with a high strike rate, and a 1:5 swing trade can work with a low one. What matters is that the ratio and the win rate you realistically achieve fit together over a large sample of trades rather than a handful.
At 1:2 you break even at roughly 33%, because one winner covers two losers. The formula is break-even win rate = 1 / (1 + reward-to-risk), so 1:1 needs 50%, 1:3 needs 25% and 1:4 needs 20%. Spreads and commissions push each of those numbers slightly higher in live trading. No ratio guarantees you will clear its break-even level.
Not bad, but it leaves no margin for error. At 1:1 you need to win more than half your trades simply to break even once spreads, commissions and swaps are counted. Many traders prefer 1:2 or wider because it lets them be wrong more often and still finish flat, which is easier to live with psychologically during a losing run.
Yes, because the ratio compares two distances and the unit cancels out. The only difference is how those distances are expressed: this calculator treats a $0.01 move in XAU/USD as one pip, while some brokers define a gold pip as $0.10. Either convention gives the same ratio. What does change is volatility, since gold can travel several hundred pips in a session, so a stop that is sensible on EUR/USD may be far too tight on XAU/USD.
Take the entry, stop loss and take profit from any United Kings signal and enter them here to see the ratio before you place the trade. Then use the lot size calculator to turn your chosen risk percentage into an exact position size. Every trade carries risk, so only take setups where you are comfortable losing the amount you have put at stake.
A risk reward calculator answers one question before you commit to a trade: is the potential reward worth the amount you are putting at risk? By comparing the distance from your entry to your stop loss with the distance from your entry to your take profit, the risk reward ratio turns a vague feeling that a chart looks good into a number you can compare across setups. It is one of the few pieces of trading maths you can complete before the market moves, which is exactly why experienced traders run it on every position.
The ratio only becomes useful when you pair it with a win rate. Risking 1% to make 2% is a 1:2 ratio, and at 1:2 you break even at a win rate of roughly 33%, since one winner covers two losers. Widen the ratio to 1:3 and the break-even win rate falls to 25%; narrow it to 1:1 and you need better than 50% once trading costs are included. Neither combination is automatically better and neither removes the possibility of an extended losing run. The point is to know which trade-off you are making before a drawdown teaches you the hard way.
Risk reward is instrument-agnostic because it compares two distances measured in the same units. On most forex pairs a pip is the fourth decimal, on JPY pairs it is the second decimal, and on XAU/USD this calculator treats a $0.01 move as one pip, although some brokers define a gold pip as $0.10 instead. Whichever convention your broker uses, the ratio comes out identical, because the pip size sits on both sides of the division. What does change between instruments is volatility and pip value, which is why the ratio should always be paired with a proper position size calculation.
United Kings publishes forex and gold signals with a defined entry, stop loss and take profit on every setup, so the risk reward ratio is visible before you click buy or sell. Drop those three levels into the calculator above to see the R:R and the break-even win rate the trade implies, then use the lot size calculator to convert your risk percentage into an exact position size. Trading always carries risk and losing trades are part of every strategy, so the purpose of a structured risk reward process is to keep those losses small enough that the winners still count.