Return The Shopping Cart — AM Briefing #816
AM BRIEFING
ES CHART | KEY LEVELS | SETUPS
ES Technical Analysis — AM Briefing 816 Timeline
Wednesday July 22, 2026
| TIME | CHAPTER |
|---|---|
| 0:00 | Welcome ES MES Futures Traders |
| 0:18 | Three Ways We Earn Points MicrosTrader is an ES/MES futures room earning points across the Battle Plan, Zoom, and the Core Strategy advanced scalping system. |
| 0:40 | The Prudent Man vs. The Fool Every prudent man acts with knowledge… the fool lays open his folly. Careful trading starts with a plan, education, technical analysis, risk, and psychology. |
| 1:14 | Folly: What Ruins Traders Over-leveraging, overconfidence, and doing what you said you wouldn't do exposes your folly and puts financial ruin within your grasp. |
| 1:25 | The Shopping Cart Test The Foundations Course Trader Test challenges you to return your cart to the inside of the store every time. Small discipline builds real evidence you do what you say. |
| 3:01 | Full Earnings Season Quiet on data, but Tesla and Alphabet report after the bell, with Alphabet the big one. Respect the overnight risk of full earnings season. |
| 3:19 | Trade Review: Sun & Mon Sunday's mapped short went 10 points, on the money. Monday offered an early long plus the exact Zoom short if price re-tapped the open and bottom of the strong range. |
| 4:18 | Monday Night & Tuesday Longs Battle Plan 1 got longs above the strong level. Tuesday mapped three longs; the afternoon trade via the Three-Contract System paid, plus a Core Strategy break that went 30. |
| 5:54 | Overnight: Battle Plan 3 Drop Zone Price didn't drop into the drop zone and reclaim, so no points for Battle Plan 3. But a bottom-of-range ladder long and a reclaim-tap both paid with small stops. |
| 7:12 | Battle Plan 4 & The 7532 Pendulum Battle Plan 4 eyes a short back into range. 7532 is a tricky pendulum serving both plans… if it fires with violence, Stand Down and stand out of the way. |
| 7:57 | No Picture-Perfect Entry Price dropped in without a tap back. Long-only traders were in no danger; short hunters had a Core Strategy short as price bounced off the strong level and dropped again. |
| 9:07 | Key Levels Make You Pick Important levels force a choice: longs on the reclaim above or shorts underneath. You can't play both, and you won't be in every trade… that's no big deal. |
| 9:43 | Ideal Profit: Next Strong Level The boot camp benchmark is a move to the next strong level. Push down, ladder back, and Battle Plan 3 becomes a spot to add to a runner. |
| 10:28 | Today's Aggressive Map An aggressive rotation map: get under the strong level and price could run to the bottom of the range. Target the Bull Bear Line, then play a deeper rebound and add at Battle Plan 3. |
| 11:50 | NQ Read & Wrap-Up NQ isn't healthy but is trying back into range… watch the upper distribution on the prior day range. Triggers go live 15 minutes before the open. |
MES MICROS TRADE PLAN
Return The Shopping Cart: Discipline Is The Edge
Posted: Wednesday July 22, 2026
Today's ES futures morning briefing opens on one word… discipline. Every prudent man acts with knowledge. The fool lays open his folly. George ties that straight to the tape… you build a plan, you apply your education, your technical analysis, your risk, your psychology… then you do exactly what you said you'd do. From the shopping cart in a 100-degree parking lot to closing your chart and walking for the day, the discipline is the same. The MES micro futures trade plan then walks Battle Plan 3 and Battle Plan 4 around a tricky pendulum level, and reminds you… you won't be in every trade, and that is fine.
THE PRUDENT MAN VS. THE FOOL
Every prudent man acts with knowledge… the fool lays open his folly. George breaks it down. The prudent trader is careful. But careful starts with a PLAN. You apply your education. You apply your technical analysis. You apply your risk… the leverage metrics inside the group. You apply the trading psychology you keep studying and improving.
The fool? Over-leveraging. Overconfidence. Lack of discipline. Continually doing what you said you're NOT going to do. That is folly exposed. And when you cannot act with discipline, financial ruin is within your grasp.
Trader Lesson 1
Prove your discipline OFF the chart so it holds ON the chart. Return the shopping cart every time… then when you say "I'm closing my chart and walking for the day," you actually do it.
THE SHOPPING CART TEST
Inside the group, under the Foundations Course, there's something called the Trader Test. One of the challenges… return your shopping cart to the INSIDE of the store. Every time. Not into a bin in the parking lot. The other day George went to the store, 100-something degrees out. Do I take it in? You take it in… because you said you would.
It's a symbolic exercise. But it builds evidence. George has evidence that he does what he says he'll do. That evidence is what lets you trust yourself when the money is live and the pressure is on.
FULL EARNINGS SEASON IS HERE
The economic calendar is quiet on data… but the tape is not. After the bell today we get Tesla and Alphabet, with Alphabet shaping up as the big one in George's opinion. We are in FULL earnings season now, so respect the overnight risk that big names can inject into ES and MES.
| Date | Event | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Wed Jul 22 (after bell) | Tesla & Alphabet earnings | Alphabet flagged as the big one… mega-cap moves can swing the overnight. |
THE MAPPING IS WORKING… ACROSS EVERY SESSION
George runs the tape back. Sunday night, a mapped short… only went 10 points, but 10 points is nothing to sneeze at, and the mapping was on the money. Monday morning offered an early long, plus the exact short George called on Zoom if price re-tapped back into the open and the bottom of the strong range. Monday night mapped longs… not a picture-perfect entry, but the right side of price action.
Tuesday's livestream mapped three longs. Nothing's easy in July as far as touching goes. But the afternoon trade, run through the Three-Contract System, gave you a very nice day even from a negative-position start… plus a beautiful Core Strategy break that went 30. Battle Plan trades, Zoom trades, Core Strategy trades… all of it presented itself.
Trader Lesson 2
The Battle Plan's job is to keep you on the RIGHT SIDE of price action. Entries won't always be picture-perfect… but a mapped long on the right side beats a clean short you had no business taking.
BATTLE PLAN 3: THE DROP ZONE & THE SLINGSHOT
Battle Plan 3 had price dropping into what George calls the DROP ZONE, ideally to reclaim the strong range and slingshot back up. Overnight… it didn't drop in and reclaim, so no points are awarded for Battle Plan 3. That's honest scoring. No fill, no fantasy.
But there was still opportunity for a trained eye. A long at the bottom of the range… where George expects the first ladder to sit… with a real timing stop underneath. And a reclaim-and-tap entry after that. Both paid, with small stops. Today, if price pushes down and ladders back, Battle Plan 3 becomes a spot to ADD to a runner you're already long from a deeper trade.
Trader Lesson 3
Trade LOCATION first. In the red zone you look for shorts… at the bottom of the range you look for the first ladder long with a tight timing stop. The map tells you which side you're allowed to press.
BATTLE PLAN 4: THE PENDULUM LEVEL AT 7532
Battle Plan 4 is a possible short to collapse back into yesterday's range. But 7532 is a tricky level… a pendulum that swings for BOTH Battle Plan 3 and Battle Plan 4. If price hits that short with violence, this is your warning.
When price first dropped into the zone, you didn't get a tap back… no picture-perfect entry. If you were long-only, you were in NO danger, because price never reclaimed to get you long up top. If you were hunting shorts, there was a Core Strategy short as price bounced off the strong level and came right back down.
Trader Lesson 4
Important levels make you PICK. Longs on the reclaim above… or shorts underneath. You can't have both. Choose your side, and if the level fires with violence you don't like, Stand Down.
AGGRESSIVE MAPPING… AND WHERE THE PROFITS SIT
Today's map is aggressive. Not a little bitty take-profit mapping… an aggressive one. Get under that strong level and price could rotate all the way back to the bottom of the range. If George is flat on Zoom and gets a clean move, he's probably taking the long once it targets the Bull Bear Line… and it would not be unusual to rotate to the bottom, play a deeper Battle Plan rebound, then add at Battle Plan 3.
If you've done the Battle Plan boot camp, you know the standing recommendation… look for a move to the NEXT strong level as your ideal profit. Meanwhile NQ isn't looking healthy but is trying to climb back into range… watch that upper distribution on the prior day range as a tell for adding to longs.
Trader Lesson 5
You will NOT be in every trade… and that is no big deal. Missing a clean setup costs you nothing. Forcing a bad-location trade costs you everything. Green Over Greed.
"When I walk that shopping cart back in, I tell myself… this translates to discipline in trading. Because you said you're going to do it."
COMMON QUESTIONS FOR ES FUTURES TRADERS
What is the shopping cart test in trading discipline?
A: It's a challenge inside the MicrosTrader Foundations Course Trader Test… return your shopping cart to the inside of the store every single time, never to a parking-lot bin. It's a small, symbolic exercise that builds real evidence you do what you say you'll do, which is the same muscle you need to close your chart and walk away when your trading plan says stop.
What does the Battle Plan actually do for an ES futures trader?
A: The Battle Plan maps tiered levels (BP1, BP3, BP4 and more) that keep you on the right side of price action. Its main job isn't to nail a picture-perfect entry every time… it's to make sure you're hunting longs where longs belong and shorts where shorts belong, so you never take a clean-looking trade in the wrong location.
What is the drop zone in the MES micro futures trade plan?
A: The drop zone is the area George maps for price to drop into and ideally reclaim the strong range, setting up a slingshot move back up. If price doesn't drop in and reclaim, no points are awarded for that Battle Plan… the setup simply didn't trigger, and you don't chase it.
Why is 7532 called a tricky pendulum level?
A: A pendulum level is a price that serves two Battle Plans at once… here, both Battle Plan 3 and Battle Plan 4. It can swing either direction, so if it fires as a short with violence, the correct play is to Stand Down and stand out of the way rather than force a position into the chop.
What does it mean to trade by location in ES futures?
A: Trading by location means your entry side is dictated by where price is on the map. In the red zone you look for shorts. At the bottom of the range you look for the first ladder long with a tight timing stop underneath. Location comes before any trigger… good location is what makes a setup high probability.
How do you decide between a long and a short at a key level?
A: At very important levels you often have to pick one side. Either you take longs on the reclaim above the level, or you take shorts underneath it… you can't play both. Choose your bias for that level in advance, and accept you won't be in every move that develops around it.
How does the Three-Contract System help manage a runner?
A: The Three-Contract System is MicrosTrader's core position-sizing framework. It lets you scale out of the trade while keeping a runner working toward the next strong level… which is how a session that started from a negative position can still finish as a very nice day.
Where should you aim to take profit on an ES micro futures trade?
A: The standing recommendation from the Battle Plan boot camp is to target a move to the NEXT strong level as your ideal profit objective. Aggressive mapping days can offer a full rotation from one side of the range to the other, but the next strong level is the disciplined benchmark.
Do mega-cap earnings affect how you trade ES and MES futures?
A: Yes. During full earnings season, big names reporting after the bell… like Tesla and Alphabet… can inject significant overnight risk into the S&P 500 futures. It doesn't change your levels, but it raises the odds of a violent overnight move, so respect the map and your risk.
📅 Upcoming This Week
Hit the bell — every AM Briefing and live trading session this week is already scheduled on YouTube:
- 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.
📍 Originally published on MicrosTrader.com
Follow MicrosTrader
▶ YouTubeFacebook𝕏 TwitterMediumSubstack🎧 Apple Podcasts🎧 Spotify🎧 Amazon MusicLinkedIn
Comments
Post a Comment