A betting drawdown is how far your tracked bankroll has fallen from its previous high. If it rises to $600 and later drops to $480, the drawdown at that point is $120, or 20% of the peak. You could still finish the week ahead and have had a sizeable drawdown along the way.
That’s why drawdown answers a different question from profit. Profit tells you where you ended compared with where you started. Drawdown shows how far you fell from a high you had already reached.
Compare each balance with the highest one so far
Drawdown comes from performance measurement. Here, we use the same peak-to-trough idea to describe past settled betting results. The peak is the highest tracked balance so far; the trough is the low reached after that peak.
At any point, subtract your current tracked balance from the peak to get the dollar drawdown. Divide that gap by the peak, then multiply by 100 for the percentage. The starting balance counts as the first peak. When you reach a new high, the current drawdown returns to zero.
Maximum drawdown is the largest drawdown observed in the period you’re reviewing. Specify whether you mean dollars or percent: the largest dollar drop and the largest percentage drop can occur at different points.
Same ending profit, different ride
Imagine two hypothetical logs. Both start at $500 and contain the same four settled net results: +$100, −$80, −$40 and +$70. There are no deposits or withdrawals. Only the order changes.
| Checkpoint | Log A | Log B |
|---|---|---|
| Start | $500 | $500 |
| 1 | $600 | $420 |
| 2 | $520 | $380 |
| 3 | $480 | $480 |
| 4 | $550 | $550 |
Both finish $50 ahead. Log A’s worst drop is $120 from a $600 peak: 20%. Log B also drops $120, but from its $500 starting peak: 24%. Same dollar drop, different percentage because the starting point for each drop is different.
At the end, Log A is still $50 below its $600 high, so its current drawdown is about 8.3%. Log B is at a new high, so its current drawdown is zero. Neither ending balance erases the earlier maximum.
Keep transfers and unsettled bets separate
A deposit is money you added, not a win. A withdrawal is money you moved out, not a loss. For a simple results-only log, pick a starting balance and add each settled bet’s net profit or loss. Record transfers and open stakes separately so you can reconcile the actual cash balance and see what’s still at risk.
Choose a consistent checkpoint. A log recorded after every settlement can show a drop that an end-of-day summary misses. Our betting log guide explains how to record net results without counting the returned stake as profit.
Use the number to review your limits
A past maximum is an observation, not a ceiling on what you could lose next. It doesn’t tell you that a rebound is due or that a larger stake would help. If a drop is uncomfortable, take a break and revisit the limits you set before playing. The Responsible Gambling Council recommends setting time and spending limits in advance and avoiding chasing losses.
BetSlip Live helps you import and follow supported betslips. Use the original receipt to check the stake and settlement details you carry into your own log. If you record stakes in units, see what a betting unit measures before comparing sessions that used different dollar stakes.
All balances and net results are hypothetical. The examples describe past results and do not estimate future returns or losses.