GLOSSARY · STATISTICS
What is r multiple?
An R multiple expresses a trade's result as a multiple of the amount risked, so a trade that gained twice its stop distance is +2R regardless of account size.
What it means
Normalising results to R removes account size, position size and instrument from the comparison, which makes trades from different periods and different symbols directly comparable. It is the standard unit for evaluating a strategy rather than an account.
Why it matters
Recording every trade in R also removes the emotional distortion of dollar amounts. A −1R loss is a −1R loss whether it cost $12 or $1,200, and a system judged in R is judged on its behaviour rather than on how it felt.
What this changes in practice
The requirement is that R is defined at entry and never adjusted afterwards. Widening a stop mid-trade and then reporting the result against the original risk understates the loss, and it is the most common way trade journals quietly become fiction.
Related terms
- ExpectancyExpectancy is the average amount a strategy is expected to win or lose per trade, calculated fro…
- Risk-reward ratioThe risk-reward ratio compares the distance to a trade's take profit against the distance to its…
- Risk per tradeRisk per trade is the fraction of account equity a single position is allowed to lose if its sto…
Educational information only, not financial advice. Trading leveraged products carries substantial risk of loss. Last updated 2026-08-11.