R is the amount you risked on a trade: the distance from your entry to your stop, times your shares. Scalpel measures every result in it: a stop-out is about -1R, a trade that makes twice what you risked is +2R. You see R on the chart's stop, target and entry chips, in the orders panel's UNREAL (R) and NET (R) columns, and in Analytics, and the default take-profit sits at 2R above your entry.
Dollars make trades hard to compare: $50 on a 100-share trade and $50 on a 2,000-share trade are very different results. R fixes that. If you risked $48 and made $96, that is +2R whatever the stock, the price or the size. Over a few hundred trades, your average R per trade (your expectancy) tells you whether what you are doing works.
How R is worked out
1R = (entry price - stop price) x shares, using the stop you entered with.
Our demo trade: 400 ABCD at 5.50 with the stop at 5.38. 1R = 0.12 x 400 = $48.
Price
P&L
In R
5.38 (stop)
-$48.00
-1.0R
5.50 (entry)
$0.00
0.0R
5.70 (now)
+$80.00
+1.7R
5.74 (target)
+$96.00
+2.0R
R is fixed when the position opens, in SIM and LIVE alike. Dragging the stop later does not change it, which is why a stop dragged wider reads more than -1R: the chip is telling you the trade now risks more than you planned. Adding shares keeps the 1R per share of the first fill, so 1R in dollars grows with the shares.
Where you see R
On the chart
The stop and take-profit chips show what each level would realise, in dollars and R. The chip on the entry line shows your live P&L and R.
CHART
10s1m5m1h1d
Above VWAP, EMAs upBroke the range high
BuyShares v$571100 sh$1.4k250 sh$2.9k500 sh$5.7k1000 sh
Offset-10c+
SellFull1/21/41/2 Ask1/2 MidB/ETrailCancel
Offset-10c+
The stop chip -48.00 (-1.0R), the target +96.00 (+2.0R) and the live P&L +80.00 (+1.7R). Demo data.
In the orders panel
On the Positions tab, UNREAL (R) shows the open P&L and its R; each closed trade's NET (R) shows the result after fees and its R. Because the net is after commissions, a trade stopped out exactly at the stop usually reads a little worse than -1.0R.
ORDERS & POSITIONS
PositionsOrdersNET P&L+$90.64
OPEN
SYMBOLQTYAVGNOTIONALFEEUNREAL (R)
ABCD4005.50$2.3K2.68+80.00 (+1.7R)
CLOSED
TIMEQTYENTRYEXITFEENET (R)
09:31:442005.215.402.68+35.32 (+1.5R)
09:18:022005.335.222.68-24.68 (-1.0R)
The open trade at +1.7R, a winner at +1.5R and a loser at -1.0R after fees. Demo data.
In Analytics
Analytics (the header's VIEW picker) adds the R up across trades: expectancy in R, total R, and the R distribution of your wins and losses (guide 6.4).
Take-profit at N x R
The automatic target sits at Take profit (R) times R above your entry: 2R by default, so 5.50 + 2 x 0.12 = 5.74 in the example. Change the multiple in Settings > Stops (0 turns the automatic target off), or drag the target on the chart (guide 5.2). A 2R target means one winner pays for two full losers.
R while trailing
While trailing is on, the R on the entry chip and in UNREAL (R) is measured to the current, raised stop, so it shows what you now stand to lose. Once the stop is at or above your entry there is no risk left to measure, and the R figure goes blank until trailing is off (guide 5.3). The stop and target chips keep using your entry R.
Show percent instead
If you prefer percent of entry, set Settings > Appearance > Stops / TP returns to Percent (%). The chips then read like -48.00 (-2.18%) and the columns become UNREAL (%) and NET (%).
How stop, take-profit and position returns read on the chart chips and the orders table: R-multiples or percent of entry.
UI scale100%
Zooms the whole cockpit. Ctrl+/- steps by 5%; Ctrl+0 resets to 100%.
Zebra stripes
CancelApply
Settings, Appearance: Stops / TP returns, Return (R) by default.
CHART
10s1m5m1h1d
Above VWAP, EMAs upBroke the range high
The same trade in percent: the stop -2.18%, the target +4.36%. Demo data.
Using R to get better
Keep 1R the same size. Risk presets do this for you (guide 4.2). If 1R is $25 on one trade and $250 on the next, your R numbers stop meaning anything.
Losers should be about -1R. Losers of -2R or -3R mean stops are being widened, jumped, or ignored.
Watch the average, not the trade. One +3R trade means little; your average R over a hundred trades is the honest number. Most traders find it is below zero at first, which is what SIM is for.
Questions
What is an R multiple in trading?
A trade's result divided by the amount you risked on it. Risk $50 to the stop and make $100 and the trade is +2R; get stopped out and it is -1R.
How does Scalpel calculate R?
1R is the distance from your entry to the stop you entered with, times your shares. Every P&L is divided by that. Moving the stop later does not change 1R.
Why does my stopped-out trade show -1.1R, not -1.0R?
NET (R) is after commissions, and the exit can fill a little below the stop. Both make a full stop-out slightly worse than -1R.
Can I see percent instead of R?
Yes. Set Settings > Appearance > Stops / TP returns to Percent (%).
Does R work on LIVE trades?
Yes. Scalpel records the entry risk on LIVE positions the same as in SIM, so the chips, the orders panel and Analytics show R. Only older LIVE trades journaled before it recorded LIVE risk show dollars without R.