Loss Containment

When you were wrong, did the loss stay the size you said. Counts only losers that had a real stop — a trade with no stop says nothing about stop discipline, so it is excluded, not passed. Limbix scores loss containment as the share of those losers that closed near or inside a 1R loss.

How it's calculated#

1. Limbix takes every losing trade in the last 30 days that had a real stop: a stop price you recorded on the trade.
2. For each, it reads the realized R: how many times your planned risk you actually lost. A full stop-out is about −1R.
3. A loser is contained if it closed at your stop or better, with a small allowance past −1R for slippage and fees.
4. The score is contained losers ÷ all losers with a stop × 100, rounded.

Why there is an allowance past −1R. Fees are inside net P&L. A stop that filled exactly where you placed it still lands a touch beyond −1R once commission is taken. Scoring that as a breach would fail every trader for the cost of trading. A loss that clearly ran past the stop is still caught.

What it cannot tell apart. A trade that gapped through its stop reads the same as a stop you moved. For intraday traders this is rare. For swing traders holding overnight, it happens.

The exact weights and tolerances are part of Limbix's method version provisional-2026-09.4; they'll be published here once the method is validated.

Worked example#

In the last 30 days you had 11 losing trades. Three had no stop recorded, so they are left out. The other 8 closed at:

Loss Containment = 6 ÷ 8 × 100 = 75.

The breakdown card counts the losses that ran past your stop and totals, in R, how much more they cost than you planned. Here it's two of eight, and together the two breaches cost almost two extra stop-outs' worth.

When it shows "—"#

The card says: "Recent trades have no stop recorded, so risk can't be sized". If you have plenty of losers but none has a stop, the component stays "—" however many you log. When it shows "—", its weight passes to the other components. It is never scored as 0.

What's a good loss containment score?#

100 means every loss stopped where your stop was. The breakdown card colours components with the discipline cutoffs: 85 and above reads as strong, below 50 as breaking.

Loss Containment is one of the two components that carry most of the Risk Score's weight.

How to improve it#

1. Record the stop you actually used on every trade. Without it, the loser isn't counted. See add a stop and target.
2. Decide before entry that the stop only moves toward profit. If you catch yourself widening it, add a custom mistake called “Moved stop” to the trade so it shows up in your mistake costs. See mistakes on a trade.
3. Review the two or three worst losers each week. The card's R total tells you what the breaches cost beyond plan. See find your weakest part.

Where you'll see it#

• Discipline & Risk (/discipline): the Loss containment row in What the risk score is made of, with a sentence counting the losses that ran past your stop. See read the risk ring.
• Indirectly wherever the Risk Score and Discipline Score appear.

Frequently asked questions#

What does it mean to contain a loss in trading?#

It means the loss stopped at the size you planned when you set your stop. Limbix measures it in R: a full stop-out is −1R. A loss that closes at −1R or better, give or take a small allowance for fees and slippage, counts as contained. One that runs to −2R means the stop didn't hold, whether you moved it, removed it or ignored it.

Why don't trades without a stop count?#

Because they can't be measured. Limbix uses the exit price as the stop on a losing trade with no stop, which makes every such loss exactly −1R. Scoring them would reward traders for not setting stops. They are excluded from this component but still show up elsewhere: your risk amount, your P&L and your drawdown.

Does a gap through my stop count against me?#

Yes, today it does. Limbix can't tell a gap from a stop you moved, because both close beyond −1R. For intraday traders this rarely matters. If you hold overnight and a gap caused the breach, note it on the trade. Limbix can't see your order history, so the journal entry is the record of what happened.

Does Limbix know if I moved my stop?#

No. Limbix reads your trade history, not your order history, so it only sees where the loss closed. A loss that ran well past −1R is the footprint of a moved or missing stop. To track the behaviour itself, add a custom mistake called “Moved stop” to the trade. That is yours to mark, not something Limbix detects. See Moved Stop.

Why doesn't Limbix publish the exact weights?#

Because the method is still being validated on real traders. The allowance for fees and slippage, and this component's share of the Risk Score, may change as Limbix calibrates them. Publishing numbers that may change would mean public corrections, and an exact line invites people to let losses run to it rather than honour the stop. This page explains everything that decides your score.