Thanks for the kind words. I am going to try to do this one key point at a time so we can hopefully discuss and debate its merits
No quite the opposite. Stops ALWAYS matter. The difference is that if you are a traditional swing type of speculator - a Market Taker - then classic STOP, LIMIT setup works fine. If you are trading short term however, the volatility of price is such that you will be chopped to death if you do not scale into your trades. But even the scalpers - Market Makers - use stops. The difference of course is that they lose less frequently but much more severely when they do. One of the truths of trading I think is that you either are inaccurate but suffer only small loses per trade, or highly accurate but are subject to much larger risk when you are wrong. One of the little secrets in trading is that most hedge funds follow the second model - taking very few losses. This makes their returns look quite good for a long time until suddenly they lose 25% of your capital in 1 day. That's why any hedge fund that shows you a nice even equity curve that has very little losses is a huge red flag. If they are honest ask them for their maximum mark to the market drawdown to get a true idea of the risk. Most of course will never show you the dirty laundry.
I picked up a copy of the book and read through a couple of chapters. It's actually a pretty fun read, and if nothing else, shows you that there are no 'hard and fast' rules to making you a successful trader. It's kind of like reading old war stories, except these are maybe a little more interesting. Gives you stuff to think about in your own trading, comparing and contrasting to strategies and money management rules that other successful traders use. At the very least the book will entertain you. I can see how it would be especially helpful to those starting out in the game. As for the threadcrappers/trolls: you'll always serve a purpose. Namely, to piss everyone else off while looking like a complete asshole. Please, get a life.
Anyone who claims "stops don't matter", is a dumbass mofo... whose comment/advice on anything related to trading should be disregarded.
Nobody said stops do not matter. Please make an attempt at actually READING the thread before you comment on it.
Actually a good trader can beat Wall Street. Trading in and out of smaller positions than institutions, hedge funds, etc. makes it very possible to beat them consistently. Average long term return for stocks is 10% annually. Any decent trader can beat that year in and year out. Last, why can't most small cap, mid cap, large cap, tech funds, healthcare funds, etc. beat the indexes? Too much money to trade. But a smaller trader, retail or prop, can use their smaller capital base to their advantage.