How to calculate risk to reward?

Asked by: Margarete O'Conner  |  Last update: February 25, 2026
Score: 4.9/5 (36 votes)

Remember, to calculate risk/reward, you divide your net profit (the reward) by the price of your maximum risk. Using the XYZ example above, if your stock went up to $29 per share, you would make $4 for each of your 20 shares for a total of $80. You paid $500 for it, so you would divide 80 by 500 which gives you 0.16.

How do you calculate risk formula?

Risk is the combination of the probability of an event and its consequence. In general, this can be explained as: Risk = Likelihood × Impact. In particular, IT risk is the business risk associated with the use, ownership, operation, involvement, influence and adoption of IT within an enterprise.

What is a good risk-reward ratio?

Yes, a 2:1 risk reward ratio is considered good as it indicates that the potential reward is twice the potential risk, providing a favourable balance for profitable trades. What is a 2.3 risk/reward ratio? A 2.3 risk/reward ratio means the potential loss is 2.3 times greater than the potential gain.

What is a 1.5 risk-reward ratio?

The 1.5 Risk-Reward Ratio: Balancing Risk and Reward

A commonly cited benchmark in trading is the 1.5 risk-reward ratio. This ratio suggests that for every unit of risk taken (usually measured as a percentage or dollar amount), an investor should aim for a potential reward that is one and a half times greater.

How to calculate 1/3 risk-reward ratio?

For example, if a trader has a potential 40 pip difference between their entry price and stop loss, and a 120 pip difference between their potential entry price and take profit, the risk-reward ratio is 120/40 = 3 and is expressed as 1:3.

The Fastest Way to Calculate Risk Reward on a Forex Trade

31 related questions found

How is risk to reward calculated?

How to Calculate Risk-Reward. Remember, to calculate risk/reward, you divide your net profit (the reward) by the price of your maximum risk.

How do you calculate the risk ratio?

Risk ratios When risks are computed in a study, the risk ratio is the measure that compares the Riskexposed to the Riskunexposed . The risk ratio is defined as the risk in the exposed cohort (the index group) divided by the risk in the unexposed cohort (the reference group). A risk ratio may vary from zero to infinity.

How to calculate risk to reward ratio in Excel?

Using Excel, you would calculate:
  1. Risk: 1000 - 950 = 50 INR.
  2. Reward: 1150 - 1000 = 150 INR.
  3. Risk-Reward Ratio: 50 / 150 = 1:3.

What is a 2 to 1 risk-reward ratio?

A positive reward:risk ratio such as 2:1 would dictate that your potential profit is larger than any potential loss, meaning that even if you suffer a losing trade, you only need one winning trade to make you a net profit.

How to calculate stop loss and take profit?

Thus, the level of Stop Loss = Current Quote - Price Change in pips, comfortable for a potential loss = 1.6815 - 0.001 = 1.6805. Let's calculate the possible Take Profit = Current Quote + Price Change in pips, sufficient to get the selected potential profit = 1.6815 + 0.002 = 1.6835.

What is an example of risk and reward?

To calculate risk-reward ratio, divide net profits (which represent the reward) by the cost of the investment's maximum risk. For instance, for a risk-reward ratio of 1:3, the investor risks $1 to hopefully gain $3 in profit. For a 1:4 risk-reward ratio, an investor is risking $1 to potentially make $4.

How to calculate risk factors?

Typically, project risk scores are calculated by multiplying probability and impact though other factors, such as weighting may be also be part of calculation. For qualitative risk assessment, risk scores are normally calculated using factors based on ranges in probability and impact.

What is the difference between risk reward and win rate?

Risk/reward is a ratio of the size of winning trades compared to losing trades. If lose $100 on a losing trade but make $200 on a winning trade your risk/reward is 100/200=0.5. You can also think of it as reward/risk = 200/100 = 2. Meaning your win is twice as big as your loss.

What is the simplest risk formula?

Risk is commonly defined as: Risk = Threat x Vulnerability x Consequence.

What is the best risk reward ratio for day trading?

How the Risk/Reward Ratio Works. In many cases, market strategists find the ideal risk/reward ratio for their investments to be approximately 1:3, or three units of expected return for every one unit of additional risk.

What is a good risk score?

You can find a detailed explanation of how it's calculated below; however, for general reference, a score of 1–3 is considered low, 4–6 is medium, and 7–10 is high.

How much should I risk on a 50k funded account?

One popular method is the 2% Rule, which means you never put more than 2% of your account equity at risk (Table 1). For example, if you are trading a $50,000 account, and you choose a risk management stop loss of 2%, you could risk up to $1,000 on any given trade.

What is the 2% stop loss rule?

The 2% rule is an investing strategy where an investor risks no more than 2% of their available capital on any single trade. To apply the 2% rule, an investor must first determine their available capital, taking into account any future fees or commissions that may arise from trading.

Is 1.5 risk Reward good?

Active traders who frequently trade precious metals usually go for a 1 (risk) to 1.5 (reward) ratio. On the other hand, investors who prefer taking fewer trades but aim for substantial gains tend to use higher ratios, often 1:5 or even more.

What is the formula for calculating risk ratio?

The risk ratio is defined as the risk in the exposed cohort (the index group) divided by the risk in the unexposed cohort (the reference group). A risk ratio may vary from zero to infinity.

What is the formula for calculating risk?

The formulation "risk = probability (of a disruption event) x loss (connected to the event occurrence)" is a measure of the expected loss connected with something (i.e., a process, a production activity, an investment...) subject to the occurrence of the considered disruption event. It is a way to quantify risks.

What is risk and reward in business?

The risk-return tradeoff states that when there is a higher risk, there is a higher potential reward. Market uncertainty, financial risk, health risk, and no guaranteed returns are the risks associated with starting a business enterprise.

How do you calculate risk percentage?

It's calculated by multiplying the probability of a risk occurring by the financial impact of that risk. Here's the formula to determine risk:Risk = probability x impactTypically, project managers and business leaders use this formula to quantify risk when the outcome of their activities is uncertain.

What does a risk ratio of 1.5 mean?

A risk ratio greater than 1.0 indicates a positive association, or increased risk for developing the health outcome in the exposed group. A risk ratio of 1.5 indicates that the exposed group has 1.5 times the risk of having the outcome as compared to the unexposed group.

What is the formula for the risk free ratio?

To understand the real risk-free rate, start with the nominal risk-free rate and adjust for inflation. For example, if the real risk-free rate is 5.0% and the inflation rate is 3.0%, you can calculate the nominal risk-free rate as follows: Nominal rf Rate = (1 + 5.0%) × (1 + 3.0%) – 1, resulting in 8.2%.