Realized gains can’t be given back
Compounding looks best on a spreadsheet, but only withdrawn profit is truly yours — the rest is still a market bet. This tool shows the cash-out vs the working balance for any skim rate. Pressure-test the compounding side on the compound interest calculator.
Skimming profits vs letting it all ride
The full-compound path grows fastest on paper and gives everything back in the drawdown; the full-withdrawal path banks every gain and never compounds. The calculator maps the middle: withdraw X% of monthly profits, compound the rest, and see both the account curve and the cumulative cash extracted.
Worked contrast over 24 months at 5% monthly: full compounding turns $10k into ~$32k — all still at risk. Withdrawing half the profits monthly grows the account to ~$18k while banking ~$7k in cash. Total wealth is lower (compounding is real) but a 50% strategy drawdown in month 25 hits $18k, not $32k, and the banked $7k is untouchable.
The behavioral case is stronger than the math: traders who never withdraw treat the account as a score rather than money, and scores invite bigger bets. A standing rule — half of profitable months out, automatically — converts a paper game into income and quietly enforces the risk discipline that discretion won't.