Where 20 straight losses actually leaves you.
Fixed-fractional sizing never mathematically reaches zero — but broker minimum sizes and psychology do not obey the math.
Educational tool only — not financial advice. Verify figures with your broker.
The Risk-per-Trade Ladder is a free fixed-fractional drawdown tool that traces what a losing streak does to your account balance. It answers one blunt question: if you risk a fixed percentage of equity per trade, where do 20 straight losses actually leave you — and how many consecutive losses it takes to cut your account in half.
This models fixed-fractional (percent-of-equity) sizing: each loss is taken on the balance that survived the previous loss, not the original starting equity. So equity after N losses is the starting equity multiplied by (1 − risk%) raised to the power N — a compounding decay rather than a straight-line subtraction. That's why the drawdown slows as losses pile up, and why Losses to reach −50% is found by solving how many multiplications of (1 − risk%) drop equity below half.
With fixed-fractional sizing, less than you might fear — at 1% risk per trade, 20 straight losses leave roughly 82% of your equity, because each loss is taken on a shrinking balance. This risk-per-trade drawdown ladder shows the exact figure for your inputs.
It depends on your risk per trade. At 1% per trade it takes about 69 straight losses to halve the account; at higher fixed fractions it happens far faster. The ladder computes the exact count for your risk percentage.
Because you always risk a percentage of what's left, not a fixed dollar amount, so each loss removes a smaller absolute sum. Mathematically the balance approaches zero without touching it — but broker minimums and human psychology don't follow that math.
Keep in mind: The ladder shows only the arithmetic of fixed-fractional sizing, which never mathematically reaches zero — but that is not reassurance. Broker minimum trade sizes, margin rules, and the psychological toll of a long losing streak all impose real floors the math ignores, and nothing here implies the account will recover or profit.