The overall "edge" is actually so simplistic, most of the failed traders here cannot possibly grasp how plainly simple the factors for "success" actually are. If laid out right in front of them as a trading plan, about all the failed traders would reply, "that's it? Nah... cannot be that simple. There must be more complexity to things than that." Double-barrel guarantee that's the overall herd response.
Cornix, you are right on all the above. The only time that day trading reigns over all else is the R:R that it provides...........and this one thing makes a huge difference in your PnL.
Actually, higher frequency of trading tends to wash most traders out (bar the most refined and experienced scalpers). I trade equities and only trade 5-8 times a day, but these setups are extremely high probability setups that I have back tested & forward tested over the years. Both the low number of trades and the probability advantage make a need for me to get in with volume. False. Look past the noise and you will be able to notice the small number of traders on here that make a decent living. The key word here is "small number". Most traders that are successful, tend to be busy tweaking and refining their skills and hence tend not to get tangled in a war of words. Observe the following trades and you will probably notice that TA is huge! A few examples include breakouts/breakdowns, support/resistance, TL touches/breaches etc. SOME successful traders will not reveal their edge for fear that if enough is traded with that edge, algos will pick on that and trade against it. I do not have an opinion on this as I am not sure if that is true; it is something that has just come up in discussion with other traders. Those that have a true edge are on their way to creating black-boxes mimicking their methods and they are on their way to only making more.
vendor talk. Don't listen to people trying to sell you courses/subscriptions/E-books etc. You need an edge: examples: .The very best technology in the world (e.g. working at GETCO with super low latency) .Seeing customer order flow (e.g. working at a big bank) .Market making a product with a wide bid/ask spread (e.g. options market making at SIG) .Having a deep understanding of a market with good connections to gain specialized information (e.g. distressed debt trading at DE Shaw)
The R:R you mention can also be assimilated (alternatively or in addition) with duration risk... time spent holding positions. Previously someone mentioned 10 contracts with a couple tics profit each for 20 tics profit as a daytrade vs 2 contracts for 10 tics profit each for (the same) 20 tics profit as a swing trade. Assuming appropriate money management in both cases, Beta on a daytrade would be "much better" than a swing trade if for no other reason the duration of the trade.
Trading IS a job. It will only become a job if you are consistent. "There's a great quote by Julius Irving that went, 'Being a professional is doing the things you love to do, on the days you don't feel like doing them."
The above example holds true, except that the time value has been ignored. Both will make +20 tick gain, but the day trader does it over a single day, the swing trader may do it over 10 days. If so, the swing trader makes a gain of +2 ticks a day. True. I have seen each do amazingly well within their own time frames. Day traders would choose to call this negation of risk over fear. The opposite would also hold true leading to substantial loss.