R-Multiple & Breakeven Win Rate Reference Card

Most traders blow up chasing the setup they missed, not the one in front of them.

Jason Parker, Founder of Trading Habits

A static lookup table for the relationship between risk/reward ratio and breakeven win rate, before any trading costs. No inputs, no calculation — print it and pin it next to your monitor as a quick sanity check.

Table 1: Win Rate Needed to Break Even, by R-Multiple

R-multiple = reward divided by risk on a single trade (a 2R trade risks $1 to make $2). Breakeven win rate = 1 ÷ (1 + R).

R-Multiple	Risk : Reward	Breakeven Win Rate
0.5R	1 : 0.5	66.7%
0.75R	1 : 0.75	57.1%
1R	1 : 1	50.0%
1.5R	1 : 1.5	40.0%
2R	1 : 2	33.3%
2.5R	1 : 2.5	28.6%
3R	1 : 3	25.0%
4R	1 : 4	20.0%
5R	1 : 5	16.7%

Table 2: Minimum R-Multiple Needed to Break Even, by Win Rate

The same relationship read the other direction. Minimum R = (1 − win rate) ÷ win rate.

Win Rate	Minimum R Needed	Minimum Risk : Reward
30%	2.33R	1 : 2.33
35%	1.86R	1 : 1.86
40%	1.50R	1 : 1.50
45%	1.22R	1 : 1.22
50%	1.00R	1 : 1
55%	0.82R	1 : 0.82
60%	0.67R	1 : 0.67
65%	0.54R	1 : 0.54
70%	0.43R	1 : 0.43

How to use this card

Both tables show the same breakeven relationship, just read in opposite directions. Table 1 answers "if my reward is this many multiples of my risk, what win rate do I need?" Table 2 answers "if I already know my win rate, what R-multiple do I need to be profitable?"
These numbers are the breakeven line only, with zero edge. A win rate or R-multiple that lands exactly on this table means a trader is not making money over time, only covering costs of being wrong — before commissions, fees, and slippage are even factored in.
Commissions, fees, and slippage push the genuine breakeven win rate higher than what's shown here. Use the win rate from Table 1 as a floor, not a target, and check the actual number after costs with the calculator linked below.
This card has no scoring or auto-generation. It's a fixed reference table meant to answer "is this trade's math roughly sane?" at a glance, not to replace a full plan.

Not financial advice: This reference table is for general education about risk/reward math only. It does not account for trading costs, does not evaluate any specific trade or security, and is not a guarantee of any trading outcome. See our Terms of Service for full disclosures.

R-Multiple & Breakeven Win Rate Reference Card

Table 1: Win Rate Needed to Break Even, by R-Multiple

Table 2: Minimum R-Multiple Needed to Break Even, by Win Rate

How to use this card

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