10 Lessons for MES Futures Traders

Today's Review

OVERVIEW

10 Lessons

10 lessons for MES Micros futures traders as discussed in our live trade room.

Trader Lesson 1

Your trade plan must have a written rule for FOMC days. Do you trade the morning only? Sit it out completely? Watch without touching the keyboard? Decide before the day arrives — not in the middle of a Fed move. If your trade plan is silent on FOMC, that's the gap to close this week.

Trader Lesson 2

Shorts are microwave trades — they need to pay quickly. Counter-trend trades don't get the same patience as a trend-following long. Get in, get your profit, get out. Don't hold a short hoping for a trend change when bulls are in control.

Trader Lesson 3

Position within the range determines your probability before you ever place the order. Shorts belong at the top of the range. Longs belong at the bottom. Trading against that logic — shorting the lows or buying the highs — stacks the odds against you from the start.

Trader Lesson 4

Strong Levels gain conviction with every test — but they also get worn down. A level tested five times in one session is more validated and more vulnerable at the same time. Track the number of tests and let that inform whether continuation or a break is the higher-probability outcome.

Trader Lesson 5

The previous day opening is always on the chart — use it. It acts as a protection layer for your trade. When price bounces cleanly off it, you get a chance to survive. When it breaks decisively, that's your signal. It's not decoration.

Trader Lesson 6

Mixed indices means tread carefully. When NQ is holding strong and Dow is pushing down, nobody's on the same train. The easiest trades come when all the indices are moving together. When they're split, reduce your size and your expectations.

Trader Lesson 7

A good morning on FOMC day is a complete result. Lock your profits, close your platform, step away. That's not leaving money on the table — that's protecting what you earned against an afternoon you cannot predict. Green Over Greed.

Trader Lesson 8

You don't need to write a word to journal your trades. Mark up your entry, draw your stop, note your target — then screenshot it. Review it at the end of the week. Going through your own chart markup is the hard work that makes the difference over time.

Trader Lesson 9

Track your performance on special days. FOMC, OPEX, CPI, GDP, four-day weekends — if you don't know how you trade on those days, you have no business trading them. Your journal knows the truth. Let the data make the rule.

Trader Lesson 10

Macro commentary doesn't give you a trade. Paul Tudor Jones predicting a 35% S&P drop is interesting context — not a signal. Know the difference. Keep your eyes on your levels.