Riding the wild Dow Jones

Today was another crazy day on wall street... just watching it on computer...Dow moved 400+ points both direction throughout the day... It was another wild day of wide swings, heavy buying and selling, high volatility and high volume..In a such a sea-saw day, the lucky day traders must have made a killing. They say gambling is an addiction... what is playing in the stock market then? With complete understanding that its tough on economic front, global front, housing front...all those fronts.. billions were still bet and today was right bet.. I am not sure if the conventional wisdom, financial/ statistical analysis and all that bookish knowledge pays off more or just lil luck and ability to handle risk still brings in the fortunes? But all I know for sure is sitting on the sidelines is not an option. Period !