ICT Decoded · Dealing Ranges and Average Daily Range (ADR)
What Is an ICT Dealing Range, and How Do You Use Average Daily Range (ADR)?
By Steve H — reads every firm’s official rulebook, checks prices and codes daily, and maintains the Enigma Score · Methodology · Editorial policy · Last updated November 1, 2026
ICT concepts were created and are taught by Michael J. Huddleston, The Inner Circle Trader (X · YouTube). This lesson is FundedEnigma’s own summary, not affiliated with or endorsed by ICT.
In short: An ICT dealing range is the leg price is working inside, from a swing low to a swing high or the reverse. Its 50% is equilibrium, splitting premium from discount, and a trade beyond either end ends it. Average daily range (ADR) is the mean high-to-low range of the last 20 sessions: a yardstick for a normal day.
ICT Dealing Range and Average Daily Range (ADR) Explained: Why ADR Is Not a Ceiling (Real NQ Data) · 8:00 · published November 1, 2026 · part of the ICT Concepts Decoded playlist
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The full video is embedded above this article: ICT Dealing Range and Average Daily Range (ADR) Explained: Why ADR Is Not a Ceiling (Real NQ Data). This page is the written version, with every chart walked through step by step. Jump to any part of the video:
Key facts: dealing ranges and ADR at a glance
| Term | What it is | How it is used |
|---|---|---|
| Dealing range | The most recent 15-minute swing high and swing low not traded through since, at least two average 15-minute candle ranges apart | The leg you measure everything against |
| Equilibrium | The 50% of the dealing range | Splits premium (above) from discount (below) |
| Far end / near end | The end the leg ran to / the end it started from | A trade beyond either end ends the range |
| Right half | Discount of an up leg, premium of a down leg | Where to look, not a reason on its own |
| Chop | Swings closer than two average 15-minute candle ranges | No range, so no premium or discount |
| ADR | The mean range (high minus low) of the last 20 CME sessions, today left out | How far a normal day travels |
| Share used | Today's range so far divided by ADR | How much of a normal day is already spent |
Last verified 2026-11-01. All charts below are real historical CME NQ futures data, shown in New York time.
Here is the idea on a real chart. On July 29, 2026, by 10:25 AM Nasdaq futures had already covered about 600 points, almost their whole average day. That is when price took the previous day's low. You might think the day had already done its job. Instead, by the end of the session, the day's range stretched to about one and a half times its average.
What is a dealing range in ICT?
A dealing range is the leg price is working inside: from a swing low to a swing high, or a swing high to a swing low. It is the same range our premium and discount lesson measures.
- Equilibrium is its 50%. Above it is premium, below it is discount. ICT (Michael J. Huddleston) frames it simply: look for longs in discount and shorts in premium.
- Each end has a job. On an up leg, the swing high is the far end, the end the leg ran to. The swing low is the near end, where the leg started. A trade beyond either end ends that range, and you mark a new one.
How do you find the dealing range?
In this lesson we define it on the 15-minute chart, so it can be tested on real data.
- Take the most recent swing high and swing low that price has not traded through since.
- A swing high is a candle with no higher high in the two candles on each side; a swing low is the mirror.
- The two must be at least two average 15-minute candle ranges apart. Anything smaller is chop, and chop has no range.
- If the swing low came first, it is an up leg; if the swing high came first, a down leg. That tells you the right half: discount for an up leg, premium for a down leg. The deepest part of that half is the optimal trade entry band.
What is average daily range (ADR), and how do you calculate it?
ADR is how far a normal day travels from its high to its low. We measure each session from 6 PM to 5 PM New York time, take the range of each of the last 20, and average them. Today is left out, because it is not finished. ADR is a standard volatility measure, not an ICT invention. For NQ futures, the ADR coming into July 29, 2026 was about 631 points; it changes with volatility, so it is recalculated every day.
Then, at any point in the day, compare today's range so far with that average: halfway through it, most of the way, or past it. That is the share of a normal day already used.
How do you use the dealing range and ADR together?
The dealing range tells you where price is inside the leg. ADR tells you how much movement a normal day has, and how much of it is already spent. Neither one is a signal. Together, they are context: which half of the range you are in, and whether the day has been quiet or has already done a lot.
What do dealing ranges and ADR look like on real charts?
Example 1: a bullish range that reaches its far end, August 31, 2026
- On the 15-minute chart, the swing low is 29,333.75 at 12:33 AM.
- The swing high is 29,516.75 at 9:31 AM. Low first, then high: an up leg. Equilibrium is 29,425.25.
- Price pulls back, and the 10:15 AM candle closes at 29,376.25: in discount, inside the optimal trade entry band.
- The swing low is never traded. The lowest price after that is 29,362.50 at 12:06 PM, and at 3:50 PM price trades above the swing high: the far end. That range is done too, from the other side.
- It was a quiet day. The ADR was about 448 points, and the whole session moved only about six tenths of that.
Example 2: a bearish range that ends, June 4, 2026
- The swing high is 30,364.50 at 9:37 AM, and the swing low is 30,151.00 at 10:07 AM.
- High first, then low: a down leg, so premium is the right half. The 10:30 AM candle closes at 30,301.50: in premium, inside the optimal trade entry band.
- By then the day had used about 83% of its ADR of about 473 points.
- At 11:00 AM price trades above the swing high. That range is done. The 11:00 AM candle closes at 30,450.50, and price reaches 30,603.25 at 3:30 PM.
- The location was right by the rule, and the range still ended. That is the job of the near end: it tells you when to stop using a range and mark the next one.
Example 3: past the average day, July 29, 2026
- The ADR coming into the day was about 631 points.
- The session's high came the evening before, at 28,178.25. At 10:25 AM price traded below the previous day's low, with about 96% of the average already used.
- It did not stop there. Price swung back up more than 500 points by around 3 PM, then dropped to 27,201.50 at 4:04 PM, about 400 points past the old low. The day's range ended at about one and a half times its average.
- ADR tells you what a normal day looks like. It is not a ceiling.
What does the data say about dealing ranges and ADR?
Both are context; neither forecasts. For ADR we measured 4,175 Nasdaq futures sessions, from July 2010 to September 2026. For dealing ranges we took the first 15-minute candle in the right half of an active range on 473 New York mornings, from June 2024 to September 2026, leaving out days with a contract roll nearby.
- About four days in ten went past their ADR, and about one in seven went past one and a half times it. Nearly four days in five landed between half and one and a half times the average.
- When the previous day's high or low was taken with less than half the ADR used, price went at least another quarter of an ADR beyond it about six times in ten. With 80% or more used, a bit more than half the time. So the share already used made only a small difference.
- Once a day had used its whole ADR, it added at least another quarter about half the time.
- From the right half of a 15-minute dealing range, the near end traded first about seven times in ten, and the far end about one time in five. Part of that is distance: the near end is the closer one, usually about a third of the range away. Even allowing for that, location on its own showed no edge, and inside the optimal trade entry band was no better.
How do you use dealing ranges and ADR in your own charting?
Use the dealing range to say where price is inside the leg, and the ADR to say how big the day has been so far.
- Say which range. Name the swing high, the swing low and the timeframe.
- Let the ends do their job. A trade beyond either end ends the range; mark the new one instead of stretching the old one.
- Read ADR as a yardstick. Days often go past their average, so the share used is context, not a stop sign.
- Pair them with daily bias and draw on liquidity: the range and the ADR describe the day; the bias and the draw say which side to watch.
More concepts in the series are on the ICT Concepts Decoded hub. If you trade futures with a prop firm, you can look up a firm's rules on the challenges page or set two firms side by side on the compare page.
Frequently asked questions
Does price stop at the ADR?
No. On our NQ data about four days in ten went past their ADR and about one in seven went past one and a half times it. ADR describes a normal day; it is not a ceiling.
What ends a dealing range?
A trade beyond either end. Beyond the far end, the leg has run on; beyond the near end, the leg has failed. Either way, mark the next range instead of keeping the old one.
How many days should ADR use?
We use the last 20 sessions, with today left out. Shorter windows react faster to a change in volatility; longer ones are smoother. Whatever you use, say the window.
Is buying in discount of a dealing range a signal?
No. From the right half of a 15-minute range, the near end traded first about seven times in ten on our data, partly because it is closer. Location alone showed no edge; it is where to look, not a reason on its own.
Is ADR an ICT concept?
ADR is a standard volatility measure used by many traders; it is not an ICT invention. The dealing range and the premium and discount framing are ICT's.
Sources
- Concept: the dealing range and premium and discount, as taught by ICT (The Inner Circle Trader, Michael J. Huddleston), who originated them. Average daily range is a standard volatility measure. The rules, examples and charts on this page are our own.
- Data: every chart and count are real historical CME Nasdaq-100 E-mini (NQ) futures data, shown in New York time.
- Video: ICT Dealing Range and Average Daily Range (ADR) Explained: Why ADR Is Not a Ceiling (Real NQ Data), FundedEnigma.
Last verified: 2026-11-01. Written by Steve H.
Disclaimer: This page is for education only and is not financial advice. Trading futures involves substantial risk of loss. Past price behaviour does not guarantee future results.
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