Fri AM Briefing: Pre-Market Strategy for ES Futures Traders in Our Live Room

In Friday’s AM briefing, MicroTrader emphasized the reliability and precision of trading the ES futures contract over NQ, citing consistent performance and compatibility with the firm’s system. Ahead of the non-farm payroll release, the educator advised traders to exercise caution and avoid high-risk setups, reinforcing rule-based discipline. A 10-point micro trade executed based on the prior day’s battle plan was reviewed in detail, along with a missed entry due to adherence to session-open restrictions. Updates to the Strong Levels indicator, including a new bull/bear scorecard, were also discussed as part of the session’s strategic tools.

📚 RESOURCES

▶️ Free "Futures Foundations Course"

▶️ Become A Member: ES MES Futures Trading Room

▶️ YouTube Community Updates

📄 TRANSCRIPT

Opening Remarks

Good morning, everybody. Welcome to the AM briefing brought to you by microtrader.com, where together we trade better. We are an ES/MES futures trading room. Happy Friday — NFP Friday — and welcome to episode number 445.

“A thief comes only to steal and to destroy; I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.”

Tip of the Day

Today’s tip comes from Eric, a prospective member who commented on yesterday's video. We had a good chat, and it reminded me of an important article that used to be on the front page of my site. I've brought it back front and center. If you go to microtrader.com, you’ll see a link titled “Why ES or MES: Why the S&P Futures Contract Over NQ.” You can also find it in our free Foundations Course — just register and look for it in the curriculum.

Why Trade ES Over NQ

Why trade the ES futures contract instead of NQ? For me, the answer is simple. I’ve traded them all, and ES performs with precision. The bounce accuracy is remarkable. NQ tends to color outside the lines too often, while ES often bounces right to the tick.

Our system is specifically designed around the ES contract, providing two to twelve high-quality setups per day. While some members do trade NQ, I prefer not to hear about it! That said, they use my ES-based Zoom analysis to generate results on NQ due to the strong correlation.

Frankly, if oil or gold bounced better, we might trade those, but ES has proven to be the most enjoyable and reliable instrument. That's why ES/MES is our instrument of choice.

The day before NFP, I strongly encourage people not to trade Thursday and Friday.

Pre-NFP Caution and Free Trial Clarification

Today is NFP Friday. I always recommend avoiding trades on the Thursday and Friday around NFP. Of course, it’s your choice — if you follow your rules, you won’t blow up your account.

Next week, CPI is on deck, and we’ll be live for that candle — just like we are today for NFP. Probably live two or three more times as well. So like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell to get alerts when I go live.

As for a free trial, Eric asked about it, and I told him: the free trial is my YouTube channel. These AM briefings, the levels I give — put them on your chart. I stream live several times a week and share many key levels. So if you’re watching, you’re in the trial.

Reviewing Wednesday and Thursday

To review Thursday, we need to go back to Wednesday after the close. Each night in my group, I post a battle plan showing what trades I’m most interested in. Wednesday night’s plan mapped out a long in green. If price dropped below a key level, I anticipated it heading further down.

During the Thursday session, I followed through on that plan. I took a 10-point trade on one micro contract — one micro because it was the day before NFP. We were targeting overnight liquidity.

We discussed this live on Zoom. The bears weren’t getting it done, and we were looking for a long. I’d love to say I caught the entire move, but I didn’t. After the first trade, I was only willing to risk four points to protect my green day. President Z started speaking, and I exited for a 3-point gain, ending the day with six net points after commissions. Fine by me on a pre-NFP day.

Afternoon Insights and Battle Plan

In the afternoon, we weren’t on YouTube, but I posted updates in our Discord. I told my traders, “This is trap-the-trader galore” — meaning expect reversals and don’t chase price.

One principle in our system is that we don’t play breakouts. ES tends to trap traders, usually with a northern bias.

I warned, “Don’t let price get over 75,” and sure enough, it got over 75 and ran. We jumped back on Zoom and mapped out the trade. I advised, “Take profit at 10 points. If you traded multiple contracts, leave a runner.” The runner is your insurance.

That night, I posted the overnight battle plan. I said, “Any of this ‘lading’ is a trade.” That played out well.

I tried to take an entry, but it missed me by one tick. That was the only trade I attempted. I waited for a greedier entry that never came. The best entry was on the Asia session’s opening candle, but I don’t take entries on session opens — so I passed.

Glossary of Key Terms

Runner: A remaining contract held after partial profit-taking, designed to capture additional gains if price continues in your favor.
Trap the trader: A market behavior in which breakouts fail and reverse, catching breakout traders in losing positions.
Bull/Bear Line: A key level used to distinguish directional bias in the market.

Strong Levels Indicator Update

We have six minutes before NFP — a good time to talk about the 'Strong Levels' indicator. This tool places my key levels directly on your chart.

I’ve added a bull/bear scorecard to it, which you can find in your settings. You can show it anywhere on your screen, change font size, and add custom levels — including new week opens, highs, lows, and 50% retracements.

Hovering over any icon explains the scoring: bulls get a point if we’re above a level; bears get one if we’re below. You can also activate a key values table to display relevant price metrics like the Sunday and midnight opens, today’s open, IBS, overnights, and yesterday’s levels.

At a glance, it’s a “Christmas tree” snapshot of market control — but the bull/bear scorecard remains the key insight.

Live Commentary into NFP Candle

Let’s get ready for the NFP move. Ideally, I’d like to see a rip down to support, then back up over the bull/bear line for a long.

Or a move above a key strong level to initiate a long there. But let’s be honest: since I just said that, it’ll probably shoot straight to 6020!

Put away the “magic eight ball,” as we say. On the 10-minute chart, I’d love a push into support and a rebound over the bull/bear line.

It does seem poised to launch upward, doesn’t it? Had I taken that trade earlier, I’d be exiting right now. We're too close to my entry to let it risk going negative. Just exit and say thank you. That was a nice 20-pointer.

Closing Remarks

Great overnight trade for those who caught it. One minute to go — refresh your coffee, close your DOM, and get ready to watch the NFP candle.

Personally, I wanted a push down, but we went up into chop. That gives me nothing.

Too bad — from that earlier entry, I wouldn’t have stayed in for the whole candle. It could’ve reversed just as easily. I would’ve taken profit and moved on.

That’s it for me. I’ll see my traders live at the top of the hour for mental training and trade mapping.

Wish you all the best. Stay green, my friends. To learn more, visit microtrader.com.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: Why does MicroTrader prefer ES over NQ for futures trading?
A: The ES contract offers more precision and consistent bounce behavior, aligning better with MicroTrader’s setup strategy.

Q: What is the purpose of the Strong Levels indicator?
A: It plots key market levels and includes a bull/bear scorecard that helps traders evaluate control dynamics at a glance.

Q: Why avoid trading on the day before and the day of NFP?
A: Price action during this time can be highly volatile and erratic, making it riskier to find high-probability setups.