Day Trading vs. Institutional Traders: Can Day Traders Win?

There is an adage among 'floor traders' about the infamous day traders. They may beat the 'big boys' (institutional traders) once, they may even beat them three times BUT the fourth time, the 'big boys' will GUT them for everything they made before plus twice that. In other words, they will NEVER beat the 'big boys'!!!!!!

This adage suggests that while day traders may have occasional successes and outperform institutional traders a few times, eventually the institutional traders will retaliate and take away all the profits the day traders have made, and even more. The adage implies that day traders can never consistently outsmart or outperform the institutional traders, who have more resources, experience, and market influence.