Retail investors (including me) can’t make money mainly because they suffer a major loss.

Because the final outcome of a trade is usually a small loss, a small profit, a big loss, or a big profit.

Small losses and small profits won’t make big money, and they won’t help you earn big money. But as long as you eliminate big losses, it’s hard to lose a lot of money. Even if you occasionally have big wins, you will ultimately end up making money.

To eliminate big losses, every trade needs a stop-loss, and you can’t “hold onto the position.” Newcomers get wiped out by holding onto losing positions, while experienced traders get wiped out because they’re too confident—thinking they know how things should go—yet they still end up holding onto losing positions.

So, holding onto losing positions equals liquidation.