What is a good expectancy for a gold strategy?

Anything consistently above 0.15R per trade after real costs is a workable intraday gold edge. Above 0.3R sustained over hundreds of trades is exceptional and worth double-checking for data errors.

How do I calculate R on XAUUSD?

R is the money at risk at entry: stop distance in dollars per ounce multiplied by ounces traded. A 4.00 stop on 0.20 lots (20 ounces) is 80 dollars, so a 240 dollar win is 3R.

Should I include costs in expectancy?

Always. On gold scalps, spread and commission can consume a third of gross expectancy, which is the difference between a business and a hobby.

GOLD JOURNAL METRICS

The core gold journal metrics are expectancy in R, the R multiple distribution, maximum adverse excursion, maximum favourable excursion and the cost ratio of spread plus commission to gross profit.

Win rate alone is misleading on XAUUSD and must always be read alongside the average win-to-loss ratio.