Do you count breakeven as a win or loss?

[scifos]

First off, WOW! I didn't expect so much interest in what I thought was going to be a simple question. and 10 to 8 in favor of loss isn't exactly a landslide (and the poll doesn't close).

It's more than just the money that matters. And if everyone could get that through their heads their trading would improve. But unfortunately, emotion gets in the way of all that.......as well as the perception that losses are bad and to be ashamed of and gains are good and to be boasted about.

I couldn't agree more. I see people (in real life and around here sometimes too) that boast about all their great picks but never mention their bombs. I think that when people boast up their winners and hide their losers they are trying to decieve themselves into thinking they are god-like. I've had plenty of big busts. I lost 99.8% one time in a penny stock, about 50% on 3 other picks. Rarely do I have a winner over 20%.

See, in my humble opinion, it's the trades that stop out even or for limited loss in a disciplined fashion that are great trades, and proof that one is doing well.......trading a plan to perfection. Sure, they made no money, but they are INCREASING your value as a trader/investor. Every loser is a winner in my book.

Thats why I think its important to take a closer look at your performance beyond the total Gain/Loss of a port or average trade G/L. Things like standard deviation clue you in to how erratic your performance is. Mathematical Expectation will let you know if you've been just lucky or have a real edge. Sharpe Ratio will show you how much risk you take on to beat a riskless (3-month treasury bill for example) investment. These things can be good to know.