Can someone explain to me how relative drawdown is calculated on mt4 detailed performance? I understand maximal but not how relative is calculated.
This isn’t a good explanation. It says its a percent drop from peak equity but if you look at a MT4 report you will see that this is what Maximal drawdown is, and maximal and relative aren’t always the same. If you think it makes sense please try explaining it to me.
Maximal drawdown is the number in dollars, relative drawdown is that number in percentage of your account.
The explanation was fine.
Go back, read the second and third posts, and look at the picture.
It will vary somewhat. The numbers change as your account grows or shrinks.
That still in not correct. “Maximal drawdown is the number in dollars” If you look it also has a percent next to the maximal drawdown, which I assume is the percent of the equity at the time. Next look at relative drawdown, that also has a percent??? If this is also a percent of equity like your saying then they should be the same 
Good lord.
THE NUMBER WILL VARY ACCORDING TO WHERE YOUR MAXIMAL LOSS HAPPENS IN RELATION TO YOUR ACCOUNT BALANCE.
Here, in nice easy numbers.
Say your account starts with 1,000 dollars.
You make a really bad trade, and hold on too long and lose $250.
Your maximum drawdown would be 250, and the [B]RELATIVE[/B] drawdown would be 25 percent.
Say you got your act together, and you built your account up to $2000.
And then you lost $500 on another bum steer.
Your maximal drawdown would now be 500, but the [B]RELATIVE[/B] drawdown would stay the same at 25 percent.
You still here?
Now say you got it together, however unlikely, and took your account to $10,000.
And now you took one on the chin for $1000.
Your maximal drawdown would now be of course $1000, but your [B]RELATIVE[/B] drawdown would be only 10 percent.
It’s [B]RELATIVE[/B] to the size of your account at the time of the inevitably incurred loss.
I need a beer.
You might wanna rethink that screen name…
Of course I’m kidding.
I know this post is 2 years old but, here’s the answer from articles.mql4.com
Absolute drawdown is the difference between the initial deposit and the smalles value of balance within testing:
AbsoluteDrawDown = InitialDeposit - MinimalBalance
Maximal drawdown is the highest difference between one of local upper extremums of the balance graph and the following lower extremums:
MaximalDrawDown = Max of (Maximal Peak - next Minimal Peak)
Absolute Drawdown: Drawdown from the initial account balance; how much the balance has decreased in relation to the initial deposit
Maximal Drawdown: The largest drop from a peak to a trough during a certain time period (expressed as a monetary value). It may be higher than the “Absolute Drawdown” and show a loss even during a profit-earning period.
Relative Drawdown: Shows the “Maximum Drawdown” expressed as a percentage of initial deposit