AM Briefing #815: You Don't Have To Be In Every Trade
AM BRIEFING
ES CHART | KEY LEVELS | SETUPS
ES Technical Analysis — AM Briefing 815 Timeline
Tuesday July 21, 2026
| TIME | CHAPTER |
|---|---|
| 0:00 | Welcome ES MES Futures Traders |
| 1:06 | Scripture: Prudence & Knowledge The prudent man acts with knowledge while the fool lays open his folly. Being careful, thoughtful, and trading a realistic plan. |
| 1:24 | Tuesday: No News, Live All Session No news drivers today, but the full session is unlocked and live on YouTube. Link in the description to join. |
| 1:37 | Tip of the Day: Summer Blues Yesterday felt like fighting for scraps. Summer price action pays 5 and 10 points at a time. See money, take money. |
| 2:05 | Battle Plan Bootcamp Released New tool at microstrader.com. Orientation on mappings and Strong Levels, a full demo, plus a simulator and replay mode to trade a full week yourself. |
| 2:59 | New Core Strategy Academy Earn four badges by watching George mark levels, copying the marking, then doing it yourself on your own charts. Journal progress and refine your Trade Plan. |
| 3:35 | Ask George Question Feature On any page, screenshot and highlight the exact section you're stuck on, type your question, and it fires straight to the Discord trading floor and tags you both. |
| 4:59 | Fewer, Higher-Quality Trades The system philosophy: laser-tight entries, three contracts, and holding the lotto runner. Better traders take fewer, well thought out trades. |
| 5:52 | Trade Review: The Battle Plan In Action Sunday's long ran 10 points, Monday's BP3 was a 20-to-40 pointer, and the Thursday Fill the Gap short ran 50. Two more Battle Plans activated overnight. |
| 7:20 | Chart: Parked On POC Volume profile from the Asia session shows price sitting right on POC, dead center of the Strong Level, between Value Area Low and Value Area High. The muddy middle. |
| 8:04 | Read The Battle Plan Notes BP1 sits in the middle of the range. The note flags it as a place to ADD to a winning long from below, not an initial entry. Log the add-on as its own trade. |
| 8:52 | The Range & Bull Bear Line The Bull Bear Line is the bottom of the established range, barely explored. Look for deeper Battle Plan trades under the lows, or a trade back to the line if price ladders out. |
| 9:31 | Laddering Targets If price clears Value Area High it likely travels toward the Bull Bear Line. Roughly 15 points to the first target, about 30 on the full move. |
| 10:00 | Cross-Market Read: NQ vs Dow NQ is super strong testing highs while the Dow shows weakness and VWAP rolls over at its halfback. NQ losing its halfback could open a deeper rotation. |
| 10:58 | Trade It Live Together We map it and trade it live 15 minutes before the open on Zoom and YouTube. |
MES MICROS TRADE PLAN
You Don't Have To Be In Every Trade
Posted: Tuesday July 21, 2026
No news drivers on the calendar today… just summer blues price action and a market parked square in the middle of its range. This ES futures morning briefing is about knowing where you are on the chart before you touch the mouse. Price sits right on POC, dead center of a Strong Level, and the Battle Plan itself tells you that spot is a place to ADD to a winner… not to open a fresh trade. You won't catch every move, and yesterday you were fighting for scraps. That's the tape sometimes. See money, take money, and let the higher-quality setups come to you.
THE SUMMER BLUES: FIGHTING FOR SCRAPS
Yesterday felt like you were clawing for every point. That's the nature of the summer session. Sometimes the man is just not paying, and you make your money 5 and 10 points at a time. That's fine.
Today's scripture set the frame: as every prudent man acts with knowledge, the fool lays open his folly. PRUDENCE is the key word. Be careful. Be thoughtful. Trade a realistic plan.
- See money, take money: When the move is small, respect it. A 10-pointer is nothing to sneeze at on a scrappy day.
- You are not in every trade: There are times you're asleep. Sunday night's long went 10 points while many were in bed. That's okay.
- Green Over Greed: Take the quality points the tape offers instead of forcing size into chop.
Trader Lesson 1
You won't be in every trade… and that's fine. Sometimes you're asleep for the setup. Focus on the higher-quality trades you're awake and prepared for, and take the small money when small money is what the tape is paying.
THE TRADE REVIEW: HOW THE BATTLE PLAN PLAYED
Walking back the recent tape shows the Battle Plan doing its job even when price didn't tap every level perfectly. You don't need a flawless touch to be in a good trade.
- Sunday night: A clean long went 10 points. It didn't fill out the full mapping, but 10 points is real money.
- Monday early: Battle Plan 3️⃣ activated in the middle of the night for a 20-to-40-point runner.
- Thursday Fill the Gap short: Discussed live on Zoom and YouTube. Lose the opening, go short back to the Battle Plan… that short ran 50 points for the brave.
- Overnight: Two more Battle Plan trades activated. Price didn't touch the level perfectly, but the trade was still live and captured part of the move.
The point: laser-tight entries, three contracts, and holding that lotto runner to capture the big move. That's the Core Strategy.
WHERE WE ARE: PARKED IN THE MIDDLE
Pull up the volume profile from the Asia session, because that's when we made the little journey back. Here's the map of exactly where price sits right now.
- POC: Point of Control is right in the center of the Strong Level. We're sitting on it this exact moment.
- Value Area Low: Down in the lower portion of the Strong Level.
- Value Area High: Up in the middle of the Strong Level.
Anything between the top purple and the bottom purple means you are trading in the MIDDLE. That's the muddy middle… and it changes how you treat the Battle Plan levels sitting there.
Trader Lesson 2
Know where you are on the chart before you enter. Sitting on POC between Value Area Low and Value Area High is the muddy middle. That's a park, not an edge… wait for price to reach the boundaries where your risk is defined.
READ THE BATTLE PLAN NOTES
Bring up Battle Plan 1️⃣. It's sitting in the middle of the range, and the notes tell you exactly how to treat it. This is why you read the notes… not just the numbers.
The BP1 note says: if you're long from below, this is a great place to ADD to your winning trade. It was never posted as a place to open an initial entry. Why? Because an initial trade there is basically a park heading toward the Value Area High. If you were already long and got that good push, THAT'S where you add… and you journal the add-on as its own separate trade.
Trader Lesson 3
Read the Battle Plan notes, not just the level. BP1 in the middle of the range is flagged as an ADD to a winning long from below… never an initial entry. The note tells you the context. Trade the note, and log your add-on as its own separate trade.
THE RANGE AND THE BULL BEAR LINE
Turn on the ranges. The Bull Bear Line is the bottom of the established range, and we've only explored a little piece of it so far. That leaves room in both directions.
- If price comes back in: Get under those lows and the deeper Battle Plan trades come into play. Study all the mappings down below.
- If we pop out and start laddering: Watch for a trade back to the Bull Bear Line. If we clear Value Area High, price probably wants to travel down toward the Bull Bear Line.
- The targets: Roughly 15 points to the first objective, and about 30 points if the full move develops. On a summer day, that's a trade worth taking.
The cross-market read: NQ is still super strong, testing its highs. The Dow is showing weakness. VWAP is rolling over and sitting at its halfback. If NQ gets under its halfback and the Dow keeps sagging, that could open a rotation deeper into the range. We'll trade it live together.
Trader Lesson 4
Fewer, higher-quality, pre-planned trades beat scrambling. We can be better traders by taking fewer, well-thought-out entries built from the Battle Plan and held with the Three-Contract System… not by forcing size into the muddy middle.
BATTLE PLAN BOOTCAMP + CORE STRATEGY ACADEMY
Two new tools are live to help you build the process. Both are about training the same routine every day with perfect patience.
- Battle Plan Bootcamp: At microstrader.com. An orientation walks you through the mappings and Strong Levels, then a full demonstration. You can replay an entire week of Battle Plan trades in a simulator, or use replay mode to enter the trades yourself, candle by candle, long and short.
- Core Strategy Academy: Earn your four badges. Watch George mark levels, then copy the marking, then do it yourself on your own charts to earn more. Journal your progress, refine your Trade Plan, and scrutinize your behavioral patterns with the trigger tools.
- Ask George: On any page there's a "Got a question, ask George" button. Add a screenshot, highlight the exact section you're stuck on, type your question, and it fires straight to the trading floor on Discord and tags you both. A simple way to get answers while you train.
"We can be better traders if we take fewer, higher-quality, pre-planned, well thought out trades."
COMMON QUESTIONS FOR ES FUTURES TRADERS
What does it mean to be trading in the middle of the range?
A: Trading in the middle means price is sitting between Value Area Low and Value Area High, often right on the Point of Control (POC) inside a Strong Level. It's the muddy middle… low-conviction territory where moves chop rather than run. Higher-probability trades set up at the edges of the range, where your risk is defined, not in the center.
Why is Battle Plan 1 a place to add rather than an initial entry?
A: In today's map, BP1 sits in the middle of the range. The Battle Plan note flags it as a spot to ADD to a winning long you already hold from below… not a level to open a fresh trade. An initial entry there is basically a park heading toward the Value Area High, so the edge is smaller. Reading the note tells you the context the raw number can't.
What is the Bull Bear Line in the Battle Plan?
A: The Bull Bear Line is the key dividing level between bullish and bearish bias. Today it's the bottom of the established range. If price pops out and starts laddering higher, a trade back down to the Bull Bear Line becomes a strong candidate, especially if price first clears the Value Area High.
How do POC, VAH, and VAL help you read ES futures?
A: Point of Control (POC) is the highest-volume price node — where the most business got done. Value Area High and Value Area Low (VAH/VAL) bracket the zone where roughly 70% of volume traded. Together they tell you whether price is fairly valued in the middle or stretched to an edge, which shapes whether you wait or act.
What is a VWAP halfback and why does it matter?
A: The halfback is the midpoint of a prior move or range, and VWAP is the Volume Weighted Average Price. When VWAP is sitting at its halfback and starting to roll over, it signals momentum is softening. If a strong market like NQ loses its halfback while the Dow stays weak, it can open a rotation deeper into the range.
Do I have to be in every ES futures trade?
A: No. You will not catch every move, and sometimes the best setups print while you're asleep. The goal is fewer, higher-quality, pre-planned trades… not maximum activity. Missing a trade is harmless. Forcing a bad one in the muddy middle is what hurts your account.
How should I trade a scrappy summer session?
A: Respect small money. On slow summer days the market pays 5 and 10 points at a time, so see money and take money instead of holding out for a home run that isn't there. Stay prudent, act with knowledge, and let the Battle Plan levels do the deciding.
What is the Three-Contract System and the lotto runner?
A: The Three-Contract System is Micros Trader's core position-sizing framework: enter with laser-tight precision on three contracts, scale out to lock green, and hold the final piece as a lotto runner. The lotto runner is the speculative last contract you keep to capture the big extended move after your risk is already covered.
What is Battle Plan Bootcamp?
A: Battle Plan Bootcamp is a training tool at microstrader.com. It opens with an orientation on the mappings and Strong Levels, walks through a full demonstration, then lets you replay an entire week of Battle Plan trades in a simulator — or step into replay mode and enter the trades yourself, candle by candle, long and short.
📅 Upcoming This Week
Hit the bell — every AM Briefing and live trading session this week is already scheduled on YouTube:
- Wednesday, Wed Jul 22: AM Briefing · Live Stream
- Thursday, Thu Jul 23: AM Briefing · Live Stream
- Friday, Fri Jul 24: AM Briefing · Live Stream
Helping Futures Traders Via Our Core Strategy Academy Training Program and Futures Trading Group – The Best Emini Group IMHO.
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