Be A Professional ES Trader | AM Briefing
Be A Professional ES Trader
Thursday December 11, 2025
In high-risk markets, professional traders operate with a level of discipline that defies conventional logic. Rather than reacting impulsively to volatility, they apply structured systems that include strict time filters, flowchart-based trading plans, and pre-scheduled time off during chaotic contract rollover periods. Their emphasis is not on prediction, but on preparation—using risk control and data analysis to mitigate emotional trading. This process-driven approach enables consistent decision-making even in "level 10" market conditions where most accounts unravel.📖 AM Briefing Overview & Key Points - Thursday, December 11th
Welcome to AM Briefing #672 for Thursday, December 11th. Today we're navigating the day after FOMC combined with Thursday-Friday contract rollover conditions - level 10 danger of level 10 conditions. We're stepping back to revisit crucial trade plan fundamentals: hours of operation and high risk days. Yesterday's battle plan gave us two profitable long opportunities with a double dip scenario, while overnight action tested multiple battle plan trades with mixed results.
- Trade Plan Builder Fundamentals: We're revisiting Section 5 and 6 on hours of operation and high risk days. You've got to decide when you're sober, not drunk with trading. FOMC day and the day after? Level 10 conditions. Thursday-Friday before contract rollover? Level 10 conditions. Stack them together and you've got the level 10 of level 10 conditions. There's a reason Apex is running a 90% sale this week - they know what's coming.
- Essentials Indicator Features: Your essentials indicator has built-in safeguards you should be using. Turn on "stop trading hours" for New York lunch - it'll shade red during your no-trade zone. Enable "final 30 minutes" warning. Use the micro ranges feature to block out time periods where you historically lose money. You can shade them 50% as a warning or 100% if you need to literally blind yourself from taking trades. Figure out YOUR profitable hours by downloading CSVs and using our trade analytics at Trader Meditations.
- Yesterday's Battle Plan Execution: We had two long opportunities in the lower distribution range that both worked for profitable trades. The first long at the initial dip was profitable, and when it double-dipped we got another entry. If you took the core strategy entry with two contracts off at 10 points each and moved to break-even minus five, you could have held through the entire move. That's the power of proper scaling and risk management.
- The Short That Wasn't (But Could Have Been): Joe in our group asked about shorting into weekly highs with Russell making new all-time highs. I don't like shorting ES in this kind of strength and short covering, but if you wanted to take that counter-trend trade, there was a clean setup with clear stops. You do you - just know you're counter-trend, dial down size, and keep stops tight (three points or less). That short would have nearly given you 100 points if you could hold overnight. But it's not my preferred setup.
- Overnight Battle Plan Review: Published five possible trades 40 minutes before market close. Battle Plan 1 (bounce bull-bear line, reclaim RTH halfback) - didn't develop. Battle Plan 2 (grab liquidity at double lows, reclaim bull-bear) - didn't develop. Battle Plan 3 (come down to strong range, reclaim and retest) - WORKED for a 30-pointer. Battle Plan 4 (the big one at the bottom rectangle drawn two days ago) - came within 4 points but didn't quite get there. That's how you work a battle plan: if Trade 1 doesn't develop, eyeballs move to Trade 2, then Trade 3, then Trade 4.
- Current Market Positioning: Two indexes in upper distribution, two in lower distribution. Two already grabbed RTH liquidity and laddered back up. NQ made it basically to my Battle Plan 4 level. ES came frustratingly close - just 4 points away from that rectangle I've been watching for days. Dow showing massive strength overnight with new all-time highs while ES and NQ took out yesterday's lows. Russell expanded dramatically with a new ATH. This is the kind of divergence you need to track.
- Contract Rollover Warning: Trading View switches contracts next Tuesday, December 17th. Between now and then, you're trading in level 10 conditions. Thursday-Friday-Monday-Tuesday around rollover tends to be the squirreliest price action. If you're new, PAY ATTENTION these next four days so you can document how you want to handle the next rollover (already marked: Tuesday, March 17th and before that, check your performance from Tuesday, September 16th). This should be IN YOUR TRADE PLAN. Maybe you take those four days off entirely - schedule it now.
- The Mantra for This Week: I will not chase. I will not chase. I will not chase. Battle Plan 4 is still where my eyeballs are focused - that bottom rectangle region. If we get there, I'll be interested. If we don't, that's okay. There's always another high probability trade around the corner. Know what environment you're in, trade your plan, and remember: you can't decide how to trade FOMC or contract rollover on the day it's happening. These decisions get made when you're sober, not drunk with trading.
- Professional Development Tip: Download your CSVs and analyze your performance around previous contract rollovers and FOMC days. Look at your journal entries - were you frustrated? Look at your P&L - were you profitable? Use this data to build your trade plan for the NEXT rollover. This is how you become the professional ES trader you want to be: learn when YOU trade best (hours of operation) and when the market conditions don't match your edge (high risk days).
- Get Tomorrow's Trades Tonight: Visit microstrader.com and click battle to access your battle plan.
Opening Remarks: The Allure of Chaos
Volatile markets have a magnetic pull. The sharp, fast moves promise quick profits, triggering a powerful fear of missing out. The impulse to jump in, to chase the chaos, is almost overwhelming for the average trader. It feels like the only way to catch the big one.
Professional traders, however, operate on a different frequency. They see volatility not as a license for impulsive action, but as a signal to tighten their discipline and rely on a set of counter-intuitive rules. Their approach is not about predicting the chaos, but about preparing for it. As one pro trader puts it, the critical decisions can’t be made in the heat of the moment: "You've got to decide that when you're sober, not drunk with trading."
This post distills five surprising but essential rules for navigating market volatility, based on insights from that professional's daily AM Briefing.
1. The Real Danger Isn't the Main Event, It's the Aftermath
Traders tend to focus their mental energy on big, scheduled events like an FOMC announcement, bracing for the immediate impact. But the professional’s focus is different. They understand that the amateur fixates on the single firework, while the pro manages the entire fireworks show—including the smoldering, unpredictable aftermath. The day after the main event is frequently just as, if not more, dangerous than the event itself.
Micros Trader calls these periods "level 10 conditions." Then, referring to the added chaos of the days before contract rollover, he repeats for emphasis, "level 10 conditions." And one more time to drive the point home: "Got the idea? Level 10 conditions." The message is clear: this is where discipline fades and accounts are broken.
So certain was this trader of the danger that in his own published trading plan, he explicitly repeated his primary rule for the day: "I will not chase. I will not chase. I will not chase."
This approach is a direct countermeasure to fading discipline. After the adrenaline of the main event, traders often exhaust their mental capital and let their guard down, making them vulnerable. The professional knows the test isn't just surviving the event, but maintaining rigor when the market is processing the new reality. This need for sustained discipline is why professionals refuse to rely on simple willpower, leading to the next rule.
2. Stop Trading During Your Losing Hours. Literally.
Most traders who struggle with over-trading try to solve the problem with willpower. They tell themselves they’ll stop, but in the heat of the moment, resolve crumbles. The professional approach replaces this flimsy willpower with an unbreakable, data-driven system designed to defeat the overconfidence bias that whispers, "this time will be different."
After analyzing thousands of his own transactions, Micros Trader discovered an undeniable pattern: his "morning trading hours" were "major profitable," while another time zone during the day was a "net, net loser." The data didn't lie. Instead of trying to "do better" during his losing hours, he decided to eliminate the possibility of trading them altogether.
He uses a software indicator to enforce this rule by drawing a shaded "no trade zone" directly on his chart. For times when the temptation is highest, he can make the shading so intense—"a hundred percent"—that he can't even see the price action. This isn't about self-control; it's about system-control. It’s an unemotional, pre-emptive decision made with a clear mind to remove the illusion that you can will your way to profitability.
3. A Trading Plan Isn't a Prediction, It's a Flowchart
For many, a trading plan is a single prediction: "I think the market will go up." If it doesn't, the plan fails, ego takes a hit, and emotional decisions follow. The professional’s "battle plan" is fundamentally different. It's not a single thesis but a flowchart of four or five distinct "if/then" scenarios—a direct antidote to ego-driven trading and the confirmation bias that comes from trying to prove one idea right.
This flowchart is precisely what allows a trader to remain objective during the dangerous "level 10 conditions" described in the first rule. The process is mechanical and unemotional. The trader’s eyes simply go down the page. "Battle plan one didn't work out," he explains. "I go down to battle plan two... battle plan two didn't work out, go down to battle plan three." He only considers a trade if the price action develops exactly as outlined in one of the scenarios.
This approach completely removes the pressure to be "right." Trading becomes a process of patient observation and disciplined reaction, not prediction and hope. As Micros Trader notes, detachment is key: "If you were up, you got it. If you're not, who cares? There's another high probability trade around the corner."
4. Treat Market Cycles Like Holidays: Plan Your Vacations Around Them
Professionals don't just avoid trading on certain high-risk days out of fear; they proactively build their lives around them. This is a profound mental shift from passive avoidance to active strategy. They treat historically chaotic market periods the same way most people treat public holidays—as scheduled time off to preserve capital and mental energy.
A prime example is the "contract rollover" period, which Micros Trader describes as a "no joke" time to trade. He identifies the days that are typically the "squirreliest"—the Thursday, Friday, Monday, and Tuesday around the contract switch—as periods that are best spent doing anything other than trading.
His advice is startlingly practical: Open your calendar right now and find the date of the next contract rollover. Micros Trader points to the next one, "Tuesday, March the 17th," and says to schedule the surrounding days as "off, off, off, off, off." This reframes "not trading" from a missed opportunity into a calculated business decision made by a CEO protecting their company's assets.
5. Any Trade is "Takable"—If You Control the Risk
This may be the most counter-intuitive rule of all. The professional trader separates his personal trading style from the universal principles of risk management. Even when he personally dislikes a trade setup—"I don't like shorting ES when it's in strength... That's me personally. You do you," he says—he acknowledges that any trade can be taken.
This mindset is the ultimate weapon against the Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO). The freedom to participate, however, comes with a non-negotiable caveat. Any trade is permissible under three critical conditions: you must know exactly where you are wrong, you must precisely define your risk, and you must adjust your position size accordingly. This is enforced through a rigorous internal monologue before every trade.
He models the exact questions a trader must ask: "Should I go full size or should I dial it down? Do I want to make sure that my stop loss is three points or less?" This reveals the true nature of professional freedom. It doesn't come from taking random, impulsive trades. It comes from the rigorous application of risk management to every single idea, allowing you to engage with the market while ensuring no single trade can cause significant damage.
Conclusion: The Professional's Edge is Preparation, Not Prediction
The common thread connecting these five rules is a relentless focus on preparation, discipline, and process. The amateur is drawn to the drama of the trading day, reacting to every move. The professional knows the real work is done before the market ever opens—by defining risks, codifying rules, analyzing personal data, and creating concrete plans for every likely scenario.
Their edge isn't a crystal ball; it's an unshakeable process.
As you reflect on your own trading, ask yourself this:
Essay Format Questions
- What is one rule you could build into your own process—not relying on willpower, but on a system—to protect you from your single biggest trading mistake?
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