[KPcurrency]

Back on topic.

Let's assume the big boys (and gals) don't use stops. The real question thus becomes what makes the big boys different from all us retail traders. Access? Information? Account Size?

yes.

So if they have some inherent advantages that allow them not to use, and or need stops; it only goes to emphasize the retail trader's need to USE them. Put another way, the big boys can do things we can't because they're big and we're not.

This is why following the C.O.T. report is flawed. The big boys enter before trends start and take positions counter to the trend. But they can handle more initail drawdown before the new trend starts. A retail trader is better off waiting for the new trend to start and then try to capture profit from it. I would sumbmit that the big boys don't know more in this case, they simply can wait longer.

so, always use stops.