Welcome to gambling.
I am averaging about 16% YTY return for the last 20 years (and much better than that the last 5, obviously).
The trick... undervalued or momentum stocks that suddenly have big interest. Spot the trend and go with it (swimming in the big fishes wake).
It's OK to exit AFTER the movement breaks... never be greedy. Never cry about the profits you never got.
The best thing is just to go with indexes and spread buys over time (daily if you can) and sell only when you want money to spend, not because you're scared of the market.
No one beats the market... I just try to find the flow and go with it.