There are many factors involved and especially i will give weightage to luck because you never know which coins will be the winners and which will be dead. I am also mostly a longterm holder so i like to give projects good time to prove themselves and i have earned profit but sometimes it turns out to be the other way roumd.
indeed, thats mean not only patience but we must hold the right altcoins
because if hold the wrong alt, we can lose our money
so, beside patience, i think knowledge is important too