Understanding R

What 1R means, how each trade's R is calculated, and the difference between Financial R and Technical R

R is a single unit that lets you measure every trade on the same scale -- your own risk. Instead of comparing raw dollar results (which depend on account size and position size), R expresses each result as a multiple of one standard risk. A +2R trade made twice your standard risk; a -1R trade lost exactly one. This is why TradeLog uses R throughout the Journal, the Mini Dashboard, and Analytics.

What is 1R?

1R is your account's DEFINED risk per trade -- the amount you decided is your standard bet. You set it in the account's risk profile, either as a flat amount (Fixed Amount mode) or as a percentage of your balance (Fixed and Dynamic modes). Whatever that resolves to in your currency becomes your 1R yardstick.

Fixed Amount: a flat $250 per trade -> 1R = $250
Percentage: 0.5% of a $50,000 balance -> 1R = $250
Your 1R is the base. Every trade's R is measured against it.

The defined risk stays the BASE R. If 1R = $250, then risking only $125 on a trade means you used 0.5R of your risk, and risking $500 means you used 2R. The Actual R column shows this risk utilisation as a small lead-in before the result — for example "0.50R →" — on the Financial row. It is hidden when your planned 1R cannot be resolved, rather than shown as zero.

How each trade's R is calculated

A trade's Financial R is its NET result divided by your 1R. With a $250 base: a trade that nets +$250 is +1R, a trade that nets +$125 is +0.5R, and a trade that loses $250 is -1R. Note the divisor is always your DEFINED 1R, not whatever you happened to risk on that single trade -- so under-risking or over-risking one trade never distorts the scale, it shows up in the R itself.

1R = $250 (your defined risk)
Net result +$250 -> 250 / 250 = +1R
Net result +$125 -> 125 / 250 = +0.5R
Net result -$250 -> -250 / 250 = -1R

Financial R vs Technical R

TradeLog measures R two ways at once. Financial R is the primary number (the headline R and the blue F tag); Technical R is a secondary reference (the grey T sub-value). They answer different questions, so a trade can be strong on one and weak on the other.

Financial R answers: what did this trade do to my money? It divides your NET profit or loss -- after commissions, fees and swap -- by your PLANNED 1R, the standard risk you defined for the account. Because every trade divides by that same 1R, your Total R multiplied by 1R reconciles exactly with your net money result.

Financial R = Net P/L (after fees and swap) ÷ your planned 1R
Example: 1R = $250. A trade that nets +$300 after costs -> 300 / 250 = +1.2R
Costs live in the NUMERATOR -- they reduce your net result. They are never added to the divisor.

Technical R answers: how did the trade do against its own stop? It divides your GROSS profit or loss -- before fees and swap -- by the risk the position actually carried from entry to stop loss. It ignores how you sized the trade relative to plan, which is exactly what makes it comparable to Financial R.

Technical R = Gross P/L (before fees and swap) ÷ the position's entry-to-stop risk
Example: the position risked $200 from entry to its stop and closed +$400 gross -> 400 / 200 = +2R
Do not confuse it with Initial RR, which is the PLAN ratio (target distance ÷ stop distance) and lives in its own column. Initial RR is an unsigned ratio; Technical R is a signed outcome.

The gap between the two is a SIZING signal, not a cost signal. Financial R divides by the risk you PLANNED; Technical R divides by the risk the position actually carried. So when Financial R runs consistently above Technical R you are sizing larger than plan, and below it, smaller -- which is the same reading the Risk Consistency card gives you in Analytics. Your costs are not in this gap: they are the difference between your gross and your net result.

R stays fixed once a trade is closed

Each closed trade keeps the 1R that was in effect when you opened it. Changing your risk setting later -- or switching between Fixed, Fixed Amount, and Dynamic -- never rewrites the R of past trades. On Fixed and Fixed Amount accounts your 1R does not move with balance; on Dynamic (compounding) accounts your 1R grows or shrinks with the account, so each new trade uses the 1R that applied at that moment.

For a position closed in several parts, Financial R is measured against the position's planned 1R, not against each slice. Closing half a position for +$125 against a $250 1R counts as +0.5R, and all the parts add up exactly to the position's total R.

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