At the Open, or ATO available for Ninja Trader and TradingView, and included with Accelerated Mentorship+, as it’s sometimes called, is a trading strategy created by DayTradeToWin.com. The strategy focuses on finding morning trading opportunities in the E-mini S&P and other markets. Typically, the E-mini and similar futures start to “take off” around 9:30 a.m. US/Eastern. For the first couple hours of the day, volatility is typically the best for trading. When volatility begins to increase at the market open time, there is often a breakout trading opportunity. This forms the basis of what the ATO is all about.
Buy the ATO 2 (At the Open 2)Price action is using the information directly on your chart to trade – no indicators. That’s the goal of DayTradeToWin’s trading courses. The ATO can be traded by using price action or the accompanying indicator software for NinjaTrader. Normally, after learning from the course and the live training, you manually look for trades as each candle plots on a 5-min chart. The software does the looking for you. When a valid ATO trade is found, a signal appears and an optional alert sound is played. In addition, a line is drawn that points to the entry candle. At that point, it’s up to you to place the trade according to the rules.
Like other courses in DayTradeToWin’s lineup, the ATO uses the ATR (Average True Range) for profit targets and stop losses. The philosophy is that the market can realistically only produce so much potential profit at one time based on its recent volatility. As such, a trader’s expectations should be inline with a measure of this potential. That’s where the ATR comes into play – it’s a measure of recent volatility. According to the ATO method, A simple mental formula is all it takes to decide what you’re profit target should be. The stop loss is also calculated using the ATR.
On average, a trader can hope for a couple of ATO trades per day. A written course fully discloses all elements of the strategy. The live trading further solidifies understanding. Email support is included. After purchase, you can expect email delivery within an hour or so. A training video is provided soon after. Some traders may be able to learn the strategy in a single day.
The ATO 2 software has been optimized for NinjaTrader 8. The indicator’s settings look great on both dark and light skins. Performance seems to be faster compared to the previous NinjaTrader 7 version. Overall, it’s easy to see why the ATO has returned to the forefront of DayTradeToWin.com’s lineup.
Click here to purchase the ATO 2
The ATO (At the Open) was DayTradeToWin.com’s first publicly released trading strategy. As a flagship product, the course became very popular. It paved the way for additional signal software such as the Atlas Line and Trade Scalper. Eventually, the ATO was made exclusive to Accelerated Mentorship+. Very recently, the ATO 2 was released for NinjaTrader 8 and TradingView with considerable improvements.
Read on to get an idea of ATO 2 basics seen in this video and how it can improve your trading. Four days of trading are reviewed. Remember, each tick of the E-mini is worth $12.50. One point is defined as four ticks, so $12.50 * 4 = $50. Yes, 1 E-mini point is worth $50. Using this information, consider that the number of contracts you trade with work as a multiplier for any profit or loss. Also, factor in round-turn commission rates to get an idea of what the profit may be on a winning trade. Remember, trading is risky, so only trade with money you can afford to lose.
Traditionally, markets have greater volatility at various periods of the day. In the United States, for quite a long time, trading markets opened at 9:30 a.m. US/Eastern. Although markets are electronically traded these days, companies and trading systems continue the 9:30 a.m. tradition for markets like the E-mini S&P. If you open an E-mini S&P chart, you will generally see slower activity prior to 9:30 a.m. US/Eastern, followed by a substantial increase for the next hour, at least. During this first hour or so, conditions are often ideal for trading. This is where the ATO 2 steps in.
What is the ATO 2?
The ATO 2 is a pattern of price activity that you’re taught how to identify. By looking at a chart’s price activity, you will be able to see specific candle formations that constitute a trading opportunity, also called a “setup.” The ATO 2 can be classified as a breakout strategy. That means you are waiting for price to break out of a specific range. Once this occurs, you can place a trade. The ATO 2 package includes an indicator programmed for NinjaTrader 8. This indicator plots a signal letting you know when to place a trade. This signal also indicates the expected market direction. Instead of manually looking for the trades yourself, the software automatically finds trades and tells you when to enter (place the trade).
Exiting the trade must be manually done by the trader. You are taught the profit target and stop loss strategy. In short, you will place the profit target relative to current market conditions. If the market is more volatile, then it’s able to potentially produce more profit, so that means a larger profit target. Similarly, a more volatile market may fluctuate more, so that means the stop loss is also increased to prevent premature exiting. The included live training and training video covers everything you need to know.
ATO 2 (At the Open 2)
Opening Range Breakout Price Action Strategy
ATO (At the Open) — available for NinjaTrader 8 and TradingView and included with Accelerated Mentorship+ — is a flagship trading strategy created by DayTradeToWin.com. The method is designed to identify high-probability morning trading opportunities in the E-mini S&P and other actively traded futures markets.
Historically, the U.S. equity markets experience their most reliable volatility shortly after the 9:30 a.m. US/Eastern open. During this period, institutional order flow increases, overnight positions are resolved, and price often commits to a directional move. ATO 2 is specifically designed to capitalize on this behavior.
The Foundation: Opening Range Breakout (ORB)
The ATO 2 is built around a proven Opening Range Breakout (ORB) concept. Instead of trading all day or reacting late, ORB focuses on:
- Defining a clear price range near the open
- Waiting for price to break out with intent
- Entering only when the market shows commitment
This approach avoids chop, reduces overtrading, and aligns traders with the most active part of the trading session.
When volatility expands after the open, breakouts often occur. The ATO 2 framework provides a rules-based way to identify and trade those breakouts using price action, not prediction.
Once-and-Done Trading Philosophy
A major advantage of ATO 2 is its once-and-done trading mindset.
Instead of:
- Staring at charts all day
- Overtrading low-quality setups
- Emotionally reacting to every move
ATO 2 teaches traders to:
- Focus on one primary window of opportunity
- Take one or two high-quality trades
- Be done for the day
This approach dramatically improves discipline, consistency, and mental clarity, especially for traders who want structure and balance.
Price Action First — Indicators Optional
At its core, ATO 2 is a price action strategy.
Price action means:
- Reading the information directly from the chart
- Understanding how price behaves around key levels
- Letting market structure guide decisions
The goal of DayTradeToWin’s courses is to teach traders how to read price, not rely blindly on indicators.
That said, ATO 2 includes optional indicator software for NinjaTrader 8 (and TradingView) that:
- Automatically identifies valid ATO setups
- Plots a clear entry signal
- Optionally plays an alert sound
- Draws a visual marker pointing to the entry candle
You still place the trade manually according to the rules — the software simply does the scanning for you, removing guesswork and hesitation.
Volatility-Based Targets Using ATR
Like other DayTradeToWin strategies, ATO 2 uses ATR (Average True Range) to determine:
- Profit targets
- Stop losses
ATR measures recent market volatility, helping traders set realistic expectations. The philosophy is simple:
The market can only reasonably produce a certain amount of movement based on current volatility.
If volatility is higher:
- Profit targets can be larger
- Stops are widened appropriately
If volatility is lower:
- Targets and stops are smaller
This keeps risk and reward aligned with actual market conditions, rather than arbitrary point values.
What to Expect as a Trader
- Typically one to two ATO setups per day
- A written course that fully explains the method
- Live training sessions to reinforce understanding
- Training video included
- Email support
- Fast delivery after purchase
Many traders are able to understand the core ATO 2 framework within a single day, then continue refining execution through live training.
Platform Optimization & Evolution
ATO was the first publicly released strategy from DayTradeToWin.com and quickly became a flagship product. It paved the way for later tools such as Atlas Line® and Trade Scalper®.
The ATO 2 represents a major evolution:
- Optimized for NinjaTrader 8
- Now available on TradingView
- Faster performance than the NinjaTrader 7 version
- Clean visuals on both dark and light chart themes
Because of its importance, ATO was later made exclusive to Accelerated Mentorship+, and only recently re-released as ATO 2 with significant improvements.
Why Traders Choose ATO 2
✔ Focuses on the best time of day to trade
✔ Built on pure price action principles
✔ Encourages discipline and consistency
✔ Reduces overtrading with a once-and-done approach
✔ Backed by education, live training, and support