re: STUPIDITY and the market punters .....
Turbo. I have to agree with the major point of your post. In my view there is simply NO SYSTEM WHATEVER that will guarantee no matter how diligent you are you will come out on top.
I'm not interested in those who post about their 'winnings' and regular 'successes' - how would anyone ever know?
After both trading and investing for more than 10 years, I consider myself lucky to still be in front by 15%. Most small time punters - especially traders - do their dough. The statistics confirm it. There are some who do OK, obviously, but that don't prove anything. The majority of punters are LOSERS.
The reason they are losers is that they only have second-hand information, are the last to know anything, and just don't have the funds to spread/hedge risk. We all know the 'market' is heavily skewed to insiders and institutions - where is the place for small punters? Nowhere obviously.
I'll say one thing though to all punters - both new and old - do not focus on how much you can win, focus instead on how best to preseve your capital. This means taking small hits(losses), and taking small wins. Trying to kick the sweep will almost always completely screw you.
