Loss recovery.
After a losing streak, what does getting back to even actually cost?
Run it on your own numbers.
Every figure comes from what you type, and the formula behind the answer is printed under it.
Loss recovery
How much harder is the climb back than the fall was, in my own numbers?
Gain needed to recover
8.7%
- 10% down needs 11.1% back
- 20% down needs 25% back
- 30% down needs 42.9% back
- 50% down needs 100% back
Recovery percent = drawdown in dollars / current balance. The hole always deepens faster than it refills; that asymmetry is the whole case for small risk per trade.
How it is computed
A loss of X percent needs a gain of X divided by (100 minus X) percent to recover, which is why deep drawdowns are so expensive: losing 20 percent needs 25 percent back. The calculator also converts that gain into winning trades at your average reward-to-risk, so recovery reads in trades rather than percent.
Runs in your browser over the numbers you type. Nothing is stored, nothing is sent anywhere, and no result is a recommendation or financial advice.
Asked about this calculator.
Short answers in the same plain arithmetic the calculator uses.
Why is the recovery percent bigger than the loss?
Because the gain is computed on a smaller base. After losing 10 percent of 100,000 you must grow 90,000 back to 100,000, which is an 11.1 percent climb.
Should I increase size to recover faster?
The arithmetic says the opposite. Bigger size after a drawdown means one more ordinary loss cuts deeper into a limit that is already closer. Most funded traders cut size in drawdown and let the trade count do the work.
How does this interact with a trailing drawdown?
Under a trailing model the floor moved up with your old peak, so the room you are recovering into may be smaller than the loss suggests. Check the remaining allowance in the max lots calculator.
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