Saturday Aug 9: Get Ready to Trade: Key S&P Futures Prep for Our AM Room
Saturday August 9, 2025
Micros Trader’s AM Briefing emphasizes the importance of discipline, patience, and objectivity in futures trading. Daily “Battle Plan” analyses outline preferred trade setups, strong price levels, and risk management tactics, with a focus on range awareness and market structure. Recent sessions have seen bullish control give way to mid-week consolidation, with traders awaiting CPI data as the next major volatility trigger. The guidance underscores protecting gains, adhering to core strategy, and using tools like VWAP and high time frame ranges for directional bias.Overarching Principles and Mindset for Traders
The "Two Masters" Principle
Micros Trader often references Luke 16:13:
"No household slave can be the slave of two masters since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can't be slaves to both God and money."
This is presented as a reminder to align personal priorities, implying that doing so can make trading easier.
Trading as a Masterpiece vs. a Sketch
Successful trading is likened to "painting a masterpiece"—a process requiring endless effort to refine the trade plan, remove bad habits, recommit to discipline, and embrace the struggle. This contrasts with "scribbling a quick sketch," which is rushed, reactive, and lacking in intention. Excellence is emphasized over convenience.
The Wisdom of Pain and Suffering
"There is wisdom in pain; without suffering, there is no improvement." Traders are encouraged to be trained by challenges, viewing setbacks as opportunities to refine their approach.
Objectivity and Mindfulness
Objectivity: Price action is indifferent to personal opinions. Micros Trader urges traders to step back and assess the chart objectively, asking, "Where are we, and what are we doing?" before acting.
Mindfulness/Journaling: Traders should become their own "trading floor boss," noting strengths, recurring mistakes, and early signs of trouble. Videoing trades and reviewing them is recommended to identify "money trades" versus "greatest temptation" trades.
The Importance of Waiting
"It's the waiting that makes you the most money—waiting for the setup and waiting until your lotto runner has been taken out. Trading is mostly waiting." Patience is presented as a core trading virtue.
Core Trading Strategies and Tools
The Battle Plan
The "Battle Plan" is a daily pre-market analysis outlining "tomorrow's entries tonight." Trades highlighted in green are the preferred opportunities. Plans include trade scenarios, target levels like single prints, and risk management tips (e.g., take partial profits and leave a runner).
Core Strategy and Strong Levels
The core strategy identifies intraday scalping entries. "Strong levels" (value area high, value area low, Point of Control) are updated nightly. PAC (Point of Control) is described as "home base," where price returns before continuing its move. Trading at PAC is less desirable for "edge traders" compared to trading near its boundaries.
Range Rules and Trade Location
The most important levels for the week are often the range bottom, top, and PAC. Being in the correct zone (e.g., shorting in the red zone, longing in the green zone) is essential.
Risk Management and Profit Taking
Friday Rules: Avoid giving back the week's gains. Suggested tactics include reducing daily loss limits, setting loss limits as a percentage of weekly profit, aiming for one trade, and protecting gains.
Running Contracts: Take partial profits and keep a runner for potential extended moves.
Trailing Stops: Move stops behind strong ranges or key lows to lock in gains, especially on prop accounts with intraday trailing drawdowns.
Objective Market Analysis Tools
VWAP: Used to determine overall market direction across multiple indices.
New Week Opening Gap: Watched as a key level that often comes into play.
High Time Frame Range: Larger ranges, such as those formed over months, help define long-term bias.
Current Market Observations and Outlook
Market Condition (Friday AM Briefing Ep 488)
The market is trading within the upper distribution of the prior day, forming a balanced zone. Limited volatility is expected until next Tuesday.
Impending News Drivers
CPI Release: Expected to be the main volatility catalyst in the near term.
Light News Weeks: Some days have minimal economic events, making the market quieter.
Recent Price Action and Sentiment
Long Bias Early Week: Strong upward moves captured from the battle plan.
Bullish Control: Bulls defended key levels and pushed to new highs.
Mid-Week Chop: Two-day range formed, less favorable for edge trading.
Desired Structure: Market consolidation is welcomed to set up clearer trade plans.
Practical Advice and Reminders for Live Trading
Daily Reminders: The Zoom room opens 15 minutes before the market opens for trade mapping.
Stay Flexible: If a plan doesn’t play out, avoid forcing trades and revert to core strategies.
Monitor Other Indices: Compare ES with NQ, Dow, and Russell to gauge sentiment.
Stay Informed: Battle plan trades are available at microtrader.com, with trial access and occasional public YouTube streams.
What is the core philosophy behind Microtrader.com's approach to trading?
Micros Trader emphasises disciplined, objective, and strategic trading, viewing it akin to "painting a masterpiece" rather than a "quick sketch." This philosophy prioritises patience, meticulous planning, and risk management over impulsive or reactive decisions. It stresses the importance of understanding market context, identifying "edges" for trades, and consistently adhering to a pre-defined trade plan. The platform also integrates spiritual and personal development principles, such as avoiding the "slavery" to money and embracing "wisdom and pain" for growth, suggesting a holistic approach to trading success.
How does Microtrader.com prepare traders for the trading day?
Micros Trader provides daily "AM Briefings" and a "Battle Plan" to prepare traders. The "Battle Plan," published the night before, outlines specific trade scenarios and preferred engagement points, often marked in green for high-conviction trades. During the AM Briefing, the team reviews overnight price action, discusses news drivers (like CPI), analyses market structure (e.g., value areas, PAC, strong levels, ranges), and updates their trade plan. They also offer "Monday reminders" covering live sessions, daily reminders, and lunch and learns, ensuring traders are well-informed and ready before the market opens.
What is the significance of "Friday Rules" in Microtrader.com's strategy?
"Friday Rules" are a crucial risk management strategy designed to protect a trader's weekly profits and mental/emotional equity. If a trader has had a good or even marginally positive week, the recommendation is to avoid giving back profits on Friday. This can involve setting a smaller daily loss limit (e.g., halving it), taking a percentage of weekly profit as a loss limit, or aiming for a "one trade and done" approach. The emphasis is on preserving gains and entering the weekend as a winner, especially when there are no significant news drivers.
What role does market context and "strong levels" play in identifying trades?
Understanding market context is paramount. Traders are encouraged to "look at the chart objectively" to determine "where we are and what we are doing." This involves analysing value areas, "Point of Control" (PAC) as a "home base" for price, and designated "strong levels" or "strong ranges." Trading is preferred "on the edge" of these areas, as opposed to "chopping around in the upper distribution" or "middle" of a range, where clear edges are absent. These strong levels, which are updated regularly, act as key support and resistance points, informing decisions on where to enter or manage trades.
How does Microtrader.com differentiate between "core strategy" trades and "battle plan" trades?
The "core strategy" helps identify entries for intraday scalping, offering a fundamental approach to finding trading opportunities. In contrast, the "battle plan" represents the trader's highest conviction trades, outlining where they "want to engage in price the most." These are pre-determined scenarios, often highlighted in green, that traders have mapped out based on their analysis. While core strategy trades are always available, battle plan trades are the preferred setups. If a battle plan trade doesn't materialise, traders might revert to only executing core strategy trades for the day.
What is the importance of journaling and mindfulness in Microtrader.com's training?
Journaling is a key tool for self-observation and improvement, viewed as capturing "every lesson every trade." The concept of "mindfulness" encourages traders to observe themselves as if they were a "trading floor boss." This involves critically assessing their strengths, weaknesses, common pitfalls, and early signs of being "tripped up." By understanding their own behaviour, traders can become more aware of their tendencies, improve discipline, and refine their trading approach. Video recording trading sessions for review is also suggested as a practical application of this mindfulness.
How does Microtrader.com address the challenge of market uncertainty and unexpected movements?
Micros Trader acknowledges that traders "don't know how far price is going to go" and that even "Gandalf doesn't know." The approach to uncertainty is to manage risk, take profits on initial contracts, and "keep a runner" (a portion of the trade) just in case the price continues to move favourably. The emphasis is on trading the "mapped out plan" rather than reacting impulsively. Unexpected events like "CPI or an unexpected tweet" are recognised as potential catalysts for market volatility. If a trade plan doesn't "exactly materialise," the advice is not to "jump on the train" but to stick to the pre-defined strategy or wait for a more suitable setup.
What is the underlying message regarding "God and money" in Microtrader.com's teachings?
A recurring scripture from Luke 16:13, "No household slave can be the slave of two masters since he either will hate one and love the other or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can't be slaves to both God and money," is presented in each AM Briefing. This serves as a moral and philosophical anchor, reminding traders to have their priorities in line. The implication is that an over-attachment or "slavery" to money can hinder rational decision-making and lead to detrimental trading habits, suggesting that aligning one's values can lead to a more effective and less stressful trading experience.
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