AM Briefing & Live MES Trading
MES MICROS TRADE PLAN
Three Battle Plans Paid — Now We Wait for Something New
Posted: Monday April 6, 2026
Three Battle Plans paid overnight and into Monday's RTH session — two longs off Battle Plan 2 and 3, and a short off the apex of Battle Plan 1. Total points captured: 50. Now the market is parked above the 30-minute high timeframe trend line with no fresh ES futures daily trade setups at the open, and the Iranian deadline looming large. This is a week that demands patience over impulse. With services PMI due today, CPI and FOMC minutes later in the week, and an Iran deadline hanging over everything, the market has every reason to be deliberate. We wait for something new.
Weekly News Drivers & Session Schedule
A loaded week is ahead. The Iranian deadline is the elephant in the room — not on any official economic calendar, but absolutely driving sentiment. Oil is also in play and worth watching closely. On the scheduled side:
| Date | Event | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Monday, Apr 6 | Services PMI | First major data point of the week; sets tone for risk appetite |
| Wednesday, Apr 8 | FOMC Minutes | Afternoon release; potential for volatility heading into the close |
| Later this week | CPI | Inflation data — major mover for ES futures key levels |
| This week | Iranian Deadline | Not on the calendar but critical — watch oil as the leading indicator |
One seasonal note: April tends to be a historically strong month for equities… notwithstanding news events like the ones above. Don't fight the calendar, but don't ignore the headlines either.
Live Session Schedule:
- Monday (today): YouTube AM Briefing opening — live now
- Tuesday: Full live trading session on Zoom and YouTube. Battle Plan unlocked tonight at MicrosTrader.com — come prepared.
- Daily: Full Zoom sessions available for members every morning
Battle Plan Trade Review — Three Paid, 50 Points Total
Last night was a clean demonstration of the MES micro futures trade plan doing exactly what it's designed to do. Three setups, three outcomes, all on target.
- Battle Plan 2 & 3 — Overnight Longs: Both levels activated overnight and offered long entries. Price responded well off the Bull Bear Strong Level in the Battle Plan 3 zone. Held the trade for five hours, moved the stop behind two Strong Levels once price extended, and captured 30 points on a single contract.
- Battle Plan 1 — RTH Short: Right after the YouTube stream ended, price climbed to the apex of Battle Plan 1 and offered a short. Took the trade twice — 10 points each time. The trade location was the key. Clean, crisp, high probability.
Once a setup has been activated and reached its target, it is no longer fresh. Those levels are spent. The discipline is knowing that and waiting for something new… rather than forcing a trade at a location that no longer offers edge.
New Feature: Drop Zone Boxes on the Battle Plan Indicator
A new setting is now live on the Battle Plan indicator — Drop Zone Boxes. These automatically draw the Battle Plan zones directly on your chart so you can visualize trade areas at a glance. Here's how to set it up:
- Open your Battle Plan indicator settings
- Scroll to the bottom of the settings panel
- Find "Show Drop Zone Boxes" and toggle it on
- You can enable each zone individually
- Adjust the candle depth — −200 candles is recommended for visibility
- Opacity is set to 50% by default — subtle, not in your face. Adjust to taste.
The manual practice of mapping out Battle Plan zones is still excellent discipline — but this gives you an automated visual reference right on the chart. There's a specific reason these zones were drawn the way they were. More on that as the week develops.
Technical Analysis — The Trend Line & Current Market Location
The 30-minute high timeframe trend line has been on the chart every day in the Battle Plan. Price has been poking at it, poking at it, poking at it… and last night it finally cleared it. Here's what that means — and what it doesn't.
- The breakout: Price cleared the HTF trend line and the vomit move lower stopped right at it on the retest. A meaningful data point for the bulls.
- Back tests: Four overnight sessions have back tested and bounced off that trend line. Overnight sessions carry less weight than green RTH New York sessions — but that price behavior is hard to ignore.
- Current location — Monday open: We are opening right above this trend line… hugging it. Hugging a trend line is not a high-probability location to be initiating new longs. Distance from the level matters.
- Battle Plan 3 — Bull Bear Strong Level: The overnight long was taken aggressively (in time, not size) because of the distance from the trend line. That distance allowed for a clean run back to target.
- 50% retracement: The Battle Plan 3 zone also represented the 50% level of the prior vomit move. Price held above it — bullish, but not a fresh entry now.
- Fair value gap: A fair value gap level was in play above — price worked back to that zone and tapped it multiple times before the RTH open.
At the RTH open, price is in the middle of the London range with big up-and-down candles going nowhere. NQ is above previous day high. The setup is not bearish — but it's not presenting a clean, clear, crisp entry for initiating new S&P 500 futures positions. The eye is on Battle Plan 1 above, if price can explore up there and give a ladder-back trade opportunity.
Risk Management, Psychology & Monday Post-Holiday Caution
A few reminders that apply especially on a Monday following a long holiday weekend — a day that is historically not a great trading day.
- 250 trading days a year. You don't need all the move or every move. Battle Plan 2 and 3 activated overnight in Eastern time. If you weren't watching — no big deal. We wait for something new.
- Platform discipline: If you are not at a high-probability trade location, there is no reason to have your platform open. Core tenant.
- Never add to losers. It is not a good scalping strategy. We add to winners.
- Cut losers without remorse. It either works out right away or we're right out. Very rarely sitting in a trade that isn't working immediately.
- The Three-Contract System: Core Strategy gives 2–12 setups per day. Battle Plan typically gives 2 setups per day. Know which system you're trading and size appropriately.
- Monday post-holiday caution: The day after a long weekend is historically not favorable. The Battle Plan proved profitable overnight — but in RTH, the market is serving up violent slop and chop inside the London range. Wait for high-probability setups.
The market may simply be waiting for the Iran deadline. It will take one of these highs or lows when it's ready. Until then — we wait for something new. Clean, clear, crisp. That's the standard.
"I want to be in the easy trades. This is not an easy trade location here."
COMMON QUESTIONS FOR ES FUTURES TRADERS
What is the Battle Plan and how did it perform this session?
A: The Battle Plan is MicrosTrader's daily ES/MES futures trade plan — pre-mapped setups with specific entry zones, direction bias, and targets published before each session. This session, three Battle Plans paid: Battle Plan 2 and 3 provided two long opportunities overnight capturing 30 points, and Battle Plan 1 provided a short off the apex during RTH, taken twice for 10 points each. Total: 50 points captured.
What is the Bull Bear Strong Level and how was it used today?
A: The Bull Bear Strong Level is the key dividing line between bullish and bearish bias on the chart. In today's session, Battle Plan 3 called for a possible long using the Bull Bear Strong Level as the entry zone. Price dropped into that zone, responded well, and ran to target. It is also the line that the Battle Plan 4 short setup required price to "slam beneath with a vengeance" before entry — a condition that was not cleanly met.
What are the new Drop Zone Boxes on the Battle Plan indicator?
A: Drop Zone Boxes are a new visual feature on the Battle Plan indicator that automatically draws the Battle Plan trade zones directly on your chart. To enable them, open the indicator settings, scroll to the bottom, and toggle on "Show Drop Zone Boxes." You can enable each zone individually, adjust how far back the boxes extend (−200 candles is recommended), and control opacity — the default is 50% so they don't overpower the chart.
Why is Monday after a holiday weekend considered a challenging trading day?
A: Historically, the first trading day after a long holiday weekend tends to see lower participation, choppy price action, and less directional follow-through. The market often produces violent slop and chop inside established overnight ranges as traders return and reorient. The Battle Plan may still produce overnight opportunities, but RTH entries require extra patience and higher-conviction setups.
What is the 30-minute high timeframe trend line and why does it matter right now?
A: The 30-minute high timeframe trend line is a major structural line that has been tracked on the Battle Plan chart for multiple sessions. Price had been repeatedly poking at it and finally cleared it overnight. The significance now is that we are opening right on top of it — hugging the line. That is not a high-probability location to initiate new longs because there is no distance between entry and the level. Ideal long entries are taken from distance, allowing a clean run back to the trend line as a target.
What does "wait for something new" mean after a Battle Plan level has been tapped?
A: Once a Battle Plan level has been activated and reached its target, it is considered spent — no longer a fresh opportunity. Attempting to re-trade a spent level often leads to poor results because the edge is gone. Waiting for something new means standing down, keeping the platform closed if needed, and only re-engaging when a fresh high-probability ES futures trade setup presents itself at a clean, clear, crisp level.
What is the Three-Contract System and how does it apply to runners?
A: The Three-Contract System is Micros Trader's core position sizing framework. On a three-contract entry, the plan is to take profit on one or two contracts at an initial target and let the remaining contract — the runner — continue toward a larger target. In today's overnight trade, only one contract was used, which is why the 30-point move was captured but no runner remained. With a three-contract system, the runner could have potentially extended much further if price had broken higher.
What economic events should ES futures traders watch this week?
A: Four major events are on the radar: Services PMI today (Monday), FOMC Minutes on Wednesday afternoon, and CPI later in the week. The Iranian deadline is also a significant wildcard — not on the official economic calendar but actively driving sentiment. Oil is the leading indicator to watch in relation to that situation.
What does "distance from the level" mean and why does it affect trade decisions?
A: Distance from the level refers to how far price is from a key support or resistance level when considering an entry. The further price is from the level in the right direction, the more room it has to run back toward that level — offering better risk-to-reward. When price is hugging a level, there is little distance and therefore less edge. The Battle Plan 3 overnight long was taken aggressively specifically because of its distance from the high timeframe trend line, giving the trade room to run.
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