When the ES has low volatility, traders have a few options:

1. Trade around news events, crossing fingers that price will move in one’s favor
2. Hope for a trend to occur. However, the time at which one may occur is an unknown.
3. Try to scalp whipsaws – again, a lot of finger crossing.
4. Do not trade at all – wait days, weeks or months before volatility picks up.
5. Use an advanced, algorithmic trading tool like the Atlas Line to call time and direction to enter (Short or Long)

Trading is a gamble regardless of a trader’s choice. Our preference is #5 – using the Atlas Line. Although the recent trading results published by Day Trade to Win indicate strong performance for the last three months of 2011, the trend also indicates that volatility determines profit potential irrespective of your trading technique. As seen in the video below, the trader simply increases the amount of contracts to make up for the lack of volatility.

Not every trader can afford to trade 17 contracts. However, starting with a small account and slowly building the account by using and becoming familiar with a reliable strategy is an option. That’s why the Atlas Line has our full recommendation.