Principle · Read before you subscribe to a signal

Win rate is not a success metric.
Profit factor is.

A 68% win rate sounds convincing. In reality it is one of the most misleading metrics in the field. This primer explains why — and what to look at instead.

The myth

Win rate tells you only ONE thing: how often a trade closed in profit. It says nothing about how big the win was, how big the loss was, or whether the sum of wins covered the sum of losses.

A simple counter-example

Look at what happens with two imaginary systems, each trading 100 trades:

System A: 90% win rate, small wins, large losses
90 wins × +10 EUR = +900 EUR
10 losses × −200 EUR = −2,000 EUR
Net: −1,100 EUR · the system loses money
System B: 35% win rate, large wins, small losses
35 wins × +100 EUR = +3,500 EUR
65 losses × −30 EUR = −1,950 EUR
Net: +1,550 EUR · the system makes money

Across the same 100 trades: the higher win rate loses, the lower one earns. Win rate alone does not tell you which side you are on.

What to look at instead

Profit factor (PF) — the sum of all profit divided by the sum of all loss. PF = 1.00 means net zero. PF = 1.20 means that for every 1 EUR of loss there is 1.20 EUR of profit. Institutional filters usually look for PF ≥ 1.30. Below 1.00 is a losing system — regardless of win rate.

A real example: Techno Long Term

Let us apply this framework to our flagship signal. The figures are a direct snapshot from MQL5 on 13 May 2026.

Total trades4,005
Win rate68.31%
Best trade+37.12 EUR
Worst trade−58.93 EUR
Profit factor1.22
Max balance DD−30.85%
Total growth since inception+475.52%

The win rate is strong (68.31%), but on its own it is not a reason to subscribe. The critical number is PF 1.22 — for every 1 EUR of loss, 1.22 EUR of profit. The system earns not because the wins are bigger, but because they are more frequent.

Rule

Win rate tells you how often a system wins. Profit factor tells you whether it wins at all. The first is emotion. The second is mathematics.

Every number is live and third-party verified on MQL5.
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No martingale. No grid. No averaging down.
Systematic algorithmic trading, built to compound.

Educational material. This is not investment advice or an offer to buy or sell. Past results do not guarantee future results.

Nice Trader OÜ · LEI 6488HT10Z91OQ3PO8252 · Tallinn, Estonia