Equity curve

A line of a strategy's running total, in units, one point per day it graded picks. Up is profit, down is loss. It shows what the net figure hides: whether the profit came steadily or in one lucky stretch, and how deep the losing runs went (see maximum drawdown).

• Unit — A standardized stake (typically 1–2% of bankroll) used to track results independent of dollar amounts, e.g. +12.5u.
• Max drawdown — The deepest drop in units from a running high to a later low — the worst stretch you'd have sat through.
• Variance — The luck-driven swing of results around their long-run expectation. Even +EV bettors have losing stretches from it.