Trading metrics and terms, explained

Plain-language explainers for the vocabulary and the maths — drawdown, expectancy, win rate, P&L, MFE, backtesting — so the numbers in your reports mean something specific.

Guides

13 articles

Guides9 min
TradingView Automated Trading: From Alerts to Broker Execution and Trade Journaling

How TradingView automated trading works: where alerts become orders, why fills differ from signals, and how to journal executed trades the right way.

Updated 9 Oct 2026Read →
Guides8 min
Interactive Brokers Trading Journal: Auto Sync Your IBKR Trades

Auto sync Interactive Brokers trades into your trading journal with IBKR Flex Queries: setup steps, what gets imported, sync timing, and fixes for common errors.

Updated 3 Oct 2026Read →
Guides15 min
What Is a Trading Plan And How to Build One That Wins

What is a trading plan: identity, markets, entry/exit rules, risk sizing, review routine, and how journaling proves whether you follow it.

Updated 9 Oct 2026Read →
Guides10 min
What Percentage of Day Traders Are Successful and Why It Matters

What percentage of day traders succeed? What studies in Taiwan, Brazil and the US actually found, why headline numbers mislead, and how to improve your odds.

Updated 9 Oct 2026Read →
Guides14 min
What Is MFE And How Can It Improve Your Trading Results

What is MFE (Maximum Favorable Excursion)? Learn how to calculate it, read real trade examples, and use MFE data to improve exits and profit targets.

Updated 9 Oct 2026Read →
Guides17 min
What is backtesting: How to Validate Your Trading Ideas Without Losing Money

What is backtesting: replay strategies on historical data, key metrics, pitfalls like overfitting, and how it pairs with paper trading and journals.

Updated 9 Oct 2026Read →
Guides12 min
What Does PNL Stand for in Trading? A Plain Language Guide

What does P&L stand for: profit and loss basics, realized vs unrealized, how to calculate trading P&L, and tools to track it automatically.

Updated 18 Mar 2026Read →
Guides21 min
Trading Plan Template: How to Build Discipline and Consistency

Trading plan template: goals, setups, entry/exit rules, risk limits, and review routine — plus how to track adherence with a journal.

Updated 10 Oct 2026Read →
Guides7 min
Loss Ratio Formula in Trading: Calculate, Read and Use It

Trading loss ratio formula: gross loss ÷ gross profit. Worked example, how it relates to profit factor and win rate, and why to track it per setup.

Updated 5 Oct 2026Read →
Guides19 min
What Is Maximum Drawdown? A Trader’s Guide to This Key Risk Metric

Maximum drawdown (MDD) explained: peak-to-trough loss, formula, why it matters for risk, and how to track it in your trading journal.

Updated 13 Oct 2026Read →
Guides6 min
Risk Management for Traders: Position Sizing, Stops and Loss Limits

Risk management for traders: the 1% rule, sizing from the stop for stocks, futures and options, stop types, daily loss limits, open risk and drawdown math.

Updated 10 Oct 2026Read →
Guides5 min
How to Calculate Win Rate in Trading: Formula, Examples and Sample Size

Win rate = winning trades ÷ total closed trades. How to count break-evens, pair it with expectancy, find your break-even win rate, and how many trades you need.

Updated 10 Oct 2026Read →
Guides8 min
Paper Trading: How to Practice Trading With Fake Money

Paper trading explained: open a free TradingView, thinkorswim or IBKR demo, set a real balance, risk 1% per trade, log 50 trades, then decide when to go live.

Updated 14 Oct 2026Read →

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