Wednesday Nov 26: Preparing ES Emini and MES Micros Traders To Trade In Our S&P Trading Room
TRADING THE ES EMINI CHART
Wednesday November 26, 2025
In the latest AM Briefing, Micros Trader underscores the importance of developing and adhering to a predetermined trading plan to guard against impulsive decisions driven by emotion, particularly FOMO. The session outlines a disciplined framework anchored in daily chart reviews, a focus on long-biased ES trading, and tactical management through multi-contract systems including the runner strategy. A clear preference is expressed for cash accounts over prop firm setups, citing greater flexibility and less restrictive risk management. Looking ahead, December will launch a 21-step Trade Plan Builder initiative to help traders formalize their convictions and prepare for strategic goal setting in January.
Opening Remarks
Micros Trader begins the AM Briefing by emphasizing a core philosophy: trading success depends on convictions that are settled before the market opens. These convictions must be established in a rational, unemotional state—ideally written down in a formal trade plan. Once the market opens and emotions begin to rise—especially FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)—it’s already too late to make rational decisions without a predetermined structure in place.
The Philosophy of Predetermined Convictions
The metaphor used is the biblical story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They faced a life-or-death situation but stood firm because they had already made their decision long before the furnace was ever lit. The takeaway for traders is clear: if you wait until the market heats up to decide whether to follow your rules, you've already lost. The market is the furnace—its fast movement and pressure will test you. Predetermined conviction is your only defense.
Micros Trader states, “They didn’t wait until they felt the furnace heat to decide what they believed. They already settled the matter long before the crisis arrived.”
The same applies to trading: if your convictions aren’t settled beforehand, the emotional heat of the market will burn through your discipline.
The Trading Plan as Documented Conviction
Micros Trader reinforces the idea that the trade plan is not optional; it is the container for your predetermined convictions. It’s where you make decisions ahead of time—decisions about risk, entries, exits, and strategy. The plan protects you when emotions flare. It acts like a trading software lockout, cutting off access before you can act irrationally.
“Your trade plan is your conviction documented in advance,” says Micros Trader. It becomes your final authority, not the emotion of the moment.
Combating Emotional Trading (FOMO)
The AM Briefing identifies emotional triggers that frequently derail traders: screenshots from others in chat rooms, fast market moves, and that internal voice saying, “You’re missing it.”
Micros Trader urges traders to recognize their personal emotional signals—like foot tapping or shallow breathing—and use them as alerts to step away. The solution? Remove yourself from the chart and become your own trading boss. Observe your behavior like a third party, and stop the impulsive trade before it happens.
Core Trading Principles and Strategy
Recommitting to the Basics
Micros Trader recommends using holidays like Thanksgiving to recommit to core habits.
Daily End-of-Day chart reviews are emphasized as the top fundamental. Posting them confirms the validity of the core strategy over and over. Two key questions: was there a liquidity grab, and was the level tested?
Another principle: only trade during your committed trading hours. The market demands full attention and energy. “If you don’t give it your all, it will hand your butt to you,” says Micros Trader.
ES Market Characteristics
The ES (E-mini S&P 500) is described as a long-biased instrument. Traders are advised to reflect this in their battle plans: aim for four or five longs for every one short. Micros Trader states, “I believe you could do really, really well with ES if you never, ever, ever shorted.”
Price action cues are discussed using the concept of "laddering." A 60-point down move was noted, but it lacked consistent laddering south. On the rebound, however, the market created two successive ladders north—a clear signal that shorts were no longer valid.
Tactical Execution and Trade Management
The “Runner” Strategy
Micros Trader heavily emphasizes the runner strategy: holding one contract after taking profit on others.
These runners are designed to capture large, often unexpected moves—100+ points. One core strategy long, if held with a runner, would have resulted in a 100+ point gain. Another "mental trade" example hit 285 points in an overnight rally.
Runners are best held in cash accounts with sufficient margin, especially during bullish conditions like a holiday-shortened week. Micros Trader recommends securing at least 50 points before considering an overnight hold.
The Three-Contract System
The standard structure is to enter with three contracts. If the trade moves 15 points in your favor, you close two and secure 30 points.
The third contract becomes the "lotto" or runner. If the trade retraces, you may get stopped out break-even. But since you've already booked profit, you can move the stop on the lotto to a logical structural level, risking just 1–5 points for the chance at a much larger move.
Prop Firm vs. Cash Accounts
Micros Trader strongly advises against prop firms with intraday trailing drawdowns. These accounts restrict strategy flexibility, especially holding runners.
Cash accounts (or static/end-of-day drawdown models) are preferred. They allow overnight holds and the full implementation of the strategy. The end goal is to transition to your own cash account—where you set the rules.
New December Initiative: Building the Trading Plan
The 21-Step Plan
December will introduce a new AM Briefing feature: a 21-step guide to building your trade plan. Each Tip of the Day will cover a piece of the process.
This addresses the trend seen in course analytics: traders often skip the last modules in the Core Strategy Academy—especially the trade plan section.
The “Trade Plan Builder” Software
Micros Trader introduces a new tool in development within the Trader Meditations software: the “Trade Plan Builder.”
In Phase 1, it will help traders walk through every component of a plan and generate a modifiable, living document.
Phase 2 will allow integration with journaling software. Traders will compare actual trades against the goals and benchmarks they documented in their plan.
January Goal Setting
Once the plans are built, January will focus on setting goals for the new year using these trade plans as the foundation.
An example goal: capture 10 trades in 2026 that each result in a 100-point move.
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