When the market action picks up, day traders like us see dollar signs everywhere. Stocks start to trade with more volume, ranges become larger, and moves become exaggerated.

Trading during these times can be wildly profitable, or catastrophic depending on how you read things and what decision you make ahead of time.

Today, I wanted to break down some of my top tips for surviving and thriving during volatile periods in the market that will help you crush it the next time around.

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1. Recognize The Expanded Ranges & Size Down

With extreme volatility, comes expanded ranges and larger moves. It doesn’t matter if you are trading large caps or small caps, when the action picks up ranges of all stocks tend to expand rapidly. More volume enters the market as more and more participants pile in trying to get a piece of the action.

Whenever you start to see the market give crazy parabolic runners for multiple points day after day, it is a good idea to size down a bit especially if you are a newer trader. It doesn’t take much size to make a considerable amount of money when stocks are moving well outside of their normal ranges, so sizing down will allow you to still reach strong profit goals yet remain safe and avoid devastating losses due to abnormal violent moves against you.

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2. Stay In Your Lane

Stick to your bread and butter. Just because a lot of new and unfamiliar action might be occurring all around you, doesn’t mean you need to deviate from your core principles and strategies. When the market volatility picks up, don’t try to get creative. Stay within

your boundaries. Stick to your normal risk parameters, play your same strategy repeatedly, and look for the same setups. Just be aware that things may be a little more volatile than usual, more volume may be pushing the moves, and the swings to the upside and downside you observe may be larger. That is it. Other than that, remain calm, and play the same set of profitable strategies with the same risk parameters that you would have when the market is light and dry.

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3. Nail n’ Bail

Trading is a game of probability. Just like casinos take your money the longer you stay there, the market will do the same. If you overstay your welcome, especially when volatility is high, there are many more chances you can get blindsided by an unexpected move you were not prepared for or did not manage properly. Hit 2-3 trades max and move onto the next day. Stay calculated, and once noon hits, walk away from the desk.

When you see your opportunity arise (and it will), strike with confidence and precision. Protecting your capital is the key during volatile environments. It is better to slow down and miss some moves than force bad setups.

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