Every single complaint in this thread about trading ER2 represents an opportunity for an experienced trader.
I have switched from scalping ER2 to Crude recently but now that there is a lot of action and tension in the market I am back in ER2.
See my thread under energy trading: Comments on scalping Crude and comparing it to ER2.
Since the above conversation is revolving mainly around YM and ER2 I'll stay with that.
YM is based on the average of only 30 stocks and the ER2 on 2000 stocks. Guess which one can be manipulated easier? A dramatic streak in just one Dow component can make YM streak. So while ER2 seems wilder it is actually truer to the nature of the overall market.
While their ranges can be similar (ER2's is usually larger) they move differently because of the difference in the nature of the underlying instruments and contract size.
When there is a hint of possible price change the ER2 will quickly dart $30-70 while the YM hardly moves.
When it finally moves YM moves in streaks while ER2 is oscillating around an imaginary line (supposedly the value) when it is advancing or declining.
Basically one can trade ER2 up and down all day fading the market.
I fade almost every breakout because ER2 will retrace. If it does not retrace the bid ask will usually tighten (so there can be a noticeable variation of the bid ask range in ER2-which does not exist in ES for example) and lets me know to take it back because the market will run.
Normally I am trading for $30 $40 but at times these little oscillations are as much as $100 like last week and I widen my target, which is great considering that the RT commission for a frequent trader is less then $4.
Those $200 $300 gyrations around opening time are a gift to very short term traders if one is not afraid to place orders on both sides.
When the market is busy like that - a couple of times a day - I can't type fast enough to keep up with the frequent trades.
Contrary to popular belief the wilder the market is the less likely that it will go anywhere.

My enemy (other then myself) is not a wildly fluctuating market but a market that is moving up or down steadily but slowly.
While the conditions in ER2 may be a nuisance to the trader who trades several markets and is not particularly tuned in to this market it is certainly the
best trading vehicle among the indices for the scalper or very short term trader.