So "mediocre performance on average" is acceptable to you. Over time, I'll bet the boss would disagree. Moreover, YOU KNOW what it takes to excel. "Bad days" and failures will and do occur no matter what your performance level. As for knowledge, you have described a holy grail. OCHLV+LastPrice is the public knowledge of the market, and one or more of those variables form the basis of ANY "what to do" in the market. If you can't find or develop a successful method you are comfortable and confident with using one or more of the public domain variables, all that's left is luck. Good luck to you.
One other thing that I don't think has been mentioned is the fundamental world and the price action world. More often than not (maybe depending on what you are trading) they don't seem to sync up instantly which is another pitfall for a day trader that needs to ask why is this happening or why did that happen. Which is another reason automating is such a godsend for so many. Where as with swing trading the fundamental world seems to have time to reflect itself in price. I guess efficient market theorists would disagree with this but I only know what I observe. So if you have the ability to not give a shit and just do what you're supposed to do over and over and over again without questioning the plan you might be able to day trade. When it starts to feel like a video game and you actually start to enjoy taking your controlled losses you're probably on the right path. I've gone through stretches where I can do this but then my damn human brain wants to step in and make things way harder then they need to be. Because of my lack of discipline I've been relegated to the world of options trading which is more complicated when it comes to planning for all the what ifs but I'm happy, not as happy as those days where I would see a setup take it boom 2k in my pocket and off to the golf course.
Time isnt the issue, markets move real slow these days. The problem with day trading has always been cost, and its especially apparent in a low volatility environment. Each trade yields less profits when there is low volatility but the cost per trade remains the same, you are almost guaranteed to lose in the long run.
there is bigger problem with day trading and it is called scalability. I find it funny that daytraders claim 70% win rate yet their bet size remains up to 10 contracts after many years.
I don't know of any swing traders supporting a family, but maybe I'm just in the wrong circles. Neither is easy, but based on my experiences over the past 15 years I would vote for daytrading if you intend it as a profession.
Whichever is easier much depends on personality traits. So I'd recommend trying both ways and see which is more comfortable for you.
Thank you for all your replies. I currently day trade the grains and swing trade stocks through options. At times I do better day trading and at other times I do better swing trading. I guess it all depends on the market contions.
I hate to bump an old thread but I couldn't pass this post without bringing attention to this passage because I think that it's the most important distinction between day trading and swing trading.