Like it or not everyone has at least an eventual stop loss, yet it's unpopular practise to post a stop publicly. Obviously claims for high win rate decline whenever stops are being announced. Whenever I see a post I AM SHORT ES (NO STOP) this confirms the poster is totally new to risk management and hasn't yet had his own ass handed to him. But it always eventually happens.
I would say 98% of traders should use hard stops cause they have longer outlook and generally trend traders, trend traders have to usually risk more than counter-trend if they using current pivots for support/resistance, also the most of newbies have to use as they don't have a clue on how to trade and didn't back test enough. Those who scalp 100-200 plus times a day don't use stops, don't see the point-once you get in-watching the Dome and tick charts, they have mental stops. And as age catches up to all of us, just don't see the point as ES is so watered down compared to the 80s, I mean I have to trade 10 ES lots for same bang of the 1980s, and it costs more to lose since it trades in quarters-what a fricking scam by the exchanges and all the dough they collect, and made it so easy for sheep to open accounts, LOL
No, it don't always happen, if losing $1,000 bucks cause of a fat finger trader and either you had a stop or no stop is going to hurt you badly, you are under capitalized and trading too many lots, but very little discuss this. It is all risky, everyone forecasts their trade will work based on the past or other, you can't change flip of a coin odds long term and every second after you get in can increase or decrease odds of trade working out,
BUT depends if your education enough to know what to do or not. And when I have posted trades I gave stops so if anyone got after when trades went against original entry then would know where I start bailing, sometimes to just have to look out for the sheep.
Those who have stayed here the longest understand Price and generally understand what the price should do based on a ton of prior study, not learned in a weekend or even a year. They understand concepts in their own words than make sense to them. I am firm believer that no one can be taught how to trade, it is left to one learning to learn and then study till they believe in the back testing, then breath the rules of how they wrote their Trading Plan. Mentors can show direction of what works for them and don't show all the crap they have already tested that didn't work or didn't work well enough. I have always told "kids"-before you ask me a question also have a solution, even if it is wrong-they have started to think of possibilities. That's what forums were created to exchange ideas and very seldom now does this happen. Too much fluff.
Time for coffee.