To recover from a drawdown you need a gain larger than the loss, because you're growing a smaller balance. The formula is required gain = drawdown / (1 - drawdown). A 20% loss needs +25%, a 50% loss needs +100%, and a 90% loss needs +900%. This asymmetry is the single best argument for protecting capital.
The recovery formula
After a drawdown your account is smaller, so the percentage gain needed to get back to even is always larger than the percentage you lost. If D is the drawdown as a fraction:
Lose 10% and you need +11.1%; lose 25% and you need +33.3%; lose 50% and you need +100%. The gap widens fast because each additional percent of drawdown shrinks the base you have to grow from.
Why the curve goes vertical
The recovery curve above is flat for small drawdowns and then bends sharply upward. Below roughly 20% the required gain is close to the loss and recovery is realistic with disciplined trading. Past 40-50% it explodes: a 75% drawdown needs +300%, a 90% drawdown needs +900% - gains that most accounts never make.
This is why risk-first traders cap losses early. Avoiding a deep drawdown is mathematically far easier than recovering from one.
Recovery is about behavior, not just math
The arithmetic assumes you keep trading the same way. In reality, a deep drawdown changes behavior: the urge to 'win it back fast' leads to oversizing and revenge trades, which is exactly how a recoverable drawdown becomes ruin. The optional trades-to-recover estimate shows how long a steady, modest edge takes to climb back - usually longer than people expect.
After a drawdown, size new trades smaller with the position size calculator and confirm your edge with the expectancy calculator before pressing.
