I give a hint. My transaction costs are NEGATIVE usually since I try to earn ECN rebates. I also try to buy the bid and sell the offer and make the spread. So the inherent negative expectancy of daytrading is actually my positive expectancy. Of course I usually don't get to buy the bid and sell the offer in sequence, but since I rarely pay the spread, and almost always add liquidity (except when I'm wrong and need to get the hell out!), I can sort of try to play "the house."
over the years, I've converted from an impulsive fader-minded scalper(50-200 trades per day) to an intraday trend follower(10-20 trades per day). It wasn't so easy. My volume dropped and I am much more selective now.
I think it's pretty clear which catergory I fall into... what made you make the change? To me it seems market are 85% chop, might as well just bank it slowly in that and give up a little and punch out when when it's trending and I can't catch it. I'd love to hear more about your experience with trend following, please do tell.
Why waste time on this subject. What's the difference between scalper, daytrader and intraday trader? Just because of volume? The most important is if the trader is making money or not.