How to Calculate Winning Percentage (With and Without Ties)
Winning percentage is wins divided by games played. A team that is 6–2 has a winning percentage of .750.
Here is the formula, how leagues count ties, how to write the result, and how to work out games behind in the standings.
The formula
Winning percentage = wins ÷ games played
A team that is 6–2 has played 8 games: 6 ÷ 8 = .750.
Counting ties
With ties, the most common method counts each tie as half a win:
Winning percentage = (wins + 0.5 × ties) ÷ games played
| Record (W–L–T) | Calculation | Winning percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 6–2–0 | 6 ÷ 8 | .750 |
| 5–2–1 | (5 + 0.5) ÷ 8 | .688 |
| 4–4–0 | 4 ÷ 8 | .500 |
| 3–3–2 | (3 + 1) ÷ 8 | .500 |
| 0–7–1 | 0.5 ÷ 8 | .063 |
Some leagues ignore ties instead (wins ÷ (wins + losses)). Whichever you use, state it in the rules before the season.
How to write it
Round to three decimal places and drop the leading zero: .750, .688, .500. A perfect record is 1.000. It's a decimal, not a percent, so .750 is read "seven-fifty".
Games behind
Games behind shows how far a team trails the leader:
Games behind = ((leader wins − team wins) + (team losses − leader losses)) ÷ 2
| Team | W–L | Games behind |
|---|---|---|
| Riverside FC | 8–2 | — |
| Net Results | 7–3 | 1 |
| Set Point | 6–4 | 2 |
| Block Party | 5–4 | 2.5 |
A half game appears when teams have played a different number of games.
Winning percentage or points?
Winning percentage is fair when teams play different numbers of games, for example after rainouts. Many soccer and hockey leagues use points instead, commonly 3 for a win, 1 for a tie and 0 for a loss, which rewards winning over drawing. Pick one before the season and publish it with your tiebreaker rules.
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate winning percentage?
Divide wins by total games. With ties, the most common method counts each tie as half a win: (wins + 0.5 × ties) ÷ games played.
How do ties affect winning percentage?
Most leagues count a tie as half a win and half a loss. A team that is 5–2–1 has (5 + 0.5) ÷ 8 = .688.
How is winning percentage written?
As a decimal to three places without the leading zero: .750, not 0.75 or 75%. A perfect record is 1.000 and a winless record is .000.
How do you calculate games behind?
Take the difference in wins plus the difference in losses between the leader and the team, and divide by 2. A 6–4 team trailing an 8–2 leader is 2 games behind.