RoobetBankroll drawdown: losses, recovery maths and stake size
Understand why a 20% loss needs a 25% gain to recover. Compare fixed stakes with percentage stakes using clear worked examples.
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Measure the fall from a previous peak
A drawdown is the fall from a previous peak to a later value. If a bankroll reaches 1,000 and later stands at 800, the drawdown is 200, or 20% of that peak.
Drawdown percentage = (peak − current value) ÷ peak × 100.
Use consistent values. A performance series should account for deposits and withdrawals so that adding fresh money does not appear to reverse a loss. Keep a separate cash-balance series for deciding what is actually available.
If you track unsettled bets at cost, label that choice. Their value is uncertain, and the apparent drawdown can change when they settle. Avoid switching between cash-only and cash-plus-open-stakes figures midway through a chart.
Recovery uses a smaller denominator
After losing 20% of 1,000, the remaining 800 needs a gain of 200 to reach the old level. That is 200 ÷ 800 = 25%.
Gain needed to recover = loss fraction ÷ (1 − loss fraction).
Scroll the table horizontally if needed.
| Loss from starting value | Gain needed on the remaining value |
|---|---|
| 10% | 11.1% |
| 20% | 25% |
| 30% | 42.9% |
| 50% | 100% |
| 75% | 300% |
These figures describe arithmetic, not an achievable return or a target you must pursue. A previous peak does not create a debt that future bets owe you. At a 100% loss, no remaining bankroll exists on which to earn a recovery.
Fixed stakes and percentage stakes behave differently
With a 1,000 starting bankroll, a fixed 20 stake is initially 2%. After the balance falls to 500, the same stake is 4%. Keeping the cash stake unchanged increases its share of the remaining money.
With percentage staking, recalculating 2% after every settled loss gives:
Balance after n consecutive losses = starting balance × 0.98ⁿ.
After ten losses, about 817.07 remains. After fifty, about 364.17 remains. By contrast, fifty fixed losses of 20 exhaust the original 1,000.
The percentage example assumes sequential settlement, no rounding, no fees and no simultaneous open positions. It does not mean ruin is impossible: minimum stakes, other costs or an unaffordable remaining balance can end practical play much earlier.
Set review rules before the drawdown
A review threshold is a prompt to stop and examine the situation. It is not a signal to increase stakes. Decide the threshold before results make the decision emotional.
- Reconcile the records, including commission and payment costs.
- Check whether the original betting assumptions still apply.
- Check total exposure from unsettled bets.
- Reassess affordability outside the betting account.
- Decide whether to reduce activity, pause or stop.
There is no universally safe drawdown percentage. The same cash loss has different consequences for different people. If a loss is affecting essential spending or driving a need to win it back, protecting the remaining money matters more than following a staking model.
Do not confuse a pause with a mathematical reset
Taking a break can help you make decisions more calmly. It does not change the odds of an independent future event. Changing operator, starting a fresh spreadsheet or declaring a new bankroll also does not erase the loss.
Record a top-up as a deposit and a withdrawal as a withdrawal. Keep the original results in the history. Otherwise the record can show a succession of apparently healthy balances while repeatedly losing new funding.
Use the drawdown calculation to understand the size of a loss. Use your budget and limits to decide what happens next. Neither calculation supplies a reason to chase the previous peak.