Drawdown Recovery Calculator
A 50% loss needs a 100% gain. See the exact climb back to your high-water mark and what your edge implies for the timeline.
Recovery plan optional - how many trades, and how long?
to climb back to your high-water mark
| Drawdown | Gain to recover |
|---|---|
| 5% | +5.3% |
| 10% | +11.1% |
| 15% | +17.6% |
| 20% | +25.0% |
| 25% | +33.3% |
| 30% | +42.9% |
| 40% | +66.7% |
| 50% | +100% |
| 60% | +150% |
| 75% | +300% |
| 90% | +900% |
You need +25.0% to get back. The math is brutal; the fix is behavioral.
Helix AI builds your recovery plan from the trades that dug the hole - the setups, sessions and sizing behind the drawdown.
Build my recovery planWhy recovery is asymmetric
A percentage loss leaves a smaller balance on which the recovery must be earned. Lose 20% and the remaining 80% must gain 25% to return to the peak. The deeper the drawdown, the faster the required gain rises.
The formula
Required gain = drawdown / (1 - drawdown). A 10% loss needs 11.1%, 20% needs 25%, 30% needs 42.9%, 50% needs 100%, and 75% needs 300%.
Sizing up is not a recovery plan
More risk can shorten a projected recovery only until variance drag takes over. Beyond that point, larger swings slow geometric growth and can make recovery impossible. The durable fix is restoring process and controlling risk, not forcing the account back in one session.