AM Briefing #833 — Don't Give Back Your Week On Friday
AM BRIEFING
ES CHART | KEY LEVELS | SETUPS
ES Technical Analysis — AM Briefing 833 Timeline
Friday August 14, 2026
| TIME | CHAPTER |
|---|---|
| 0:00 | Welcome ES MES Futures Traders |
| 0:22 | Friday Open, Retail Sales at 8:30 It is Friday August 14. Core retail sales print at the bottom of the hour, with the reaction landing about 30 minutes into the trade. |
| 1:01 | News Drivers For Next Week FOMC minutes, the Philly Manufacturing Index, and unemployment claims all land next week. Know the calendar in advance. |
| 1:09 | Don't Give Back Your Week On Friday A winner never gives back the week on Friday. Adjust your risk settings, hold to the leverage matrix, and name the number you are willing to risk. Protect yourself from yourself. |
| 2:00 | The Week In Review Battle Plan 1 ran 12 points after a little heat. Monday RTH gave a short then a long. Battle Plan 2 in the Asia session ran with almost no heat. |
| 2:35 | The Mapped 7730 Short A tough trade that asked you to sit for an hour and only went about three and a half points against. The 7730 target got within 7 points. Book just before the level. |
| 3:02 | Yesterday's Live Training On the live stream George took a short and the traders took the long. Great training in the room. |
| 3:17 | Chart: Upper Distribution, All-Time Highs The ES broke out of its range and trades above the previous all-time high. It broke, retested the top of the range, then continued. |
| 3:51 | Know Your Trade Locations We trade ranges well. Longs come off the lows and you hold a runner for the breakout. The worst place to short is a recapture back into the range. |
| 4:14 | Where Is Everybody Else NQ just took yesterday's high. The Dow and Russell sit in the lower distribution after Russell printed a fresh all-time high. Everybody is near their highs. |
| 4:37 | Bulls Control, The 7796 Line Not bearish yet. Above 7796 be careful shorting. Lose it and a rotation to the bottom, roughly 100 points, opens up. Shorts stay small if at all. |
| 5:21 | Membership: The Four Paths The never-ending free trial with the Foundations Course, SITREP email, Tuesday live stream, and AM Briefing. Plus the Battle Plan Bootcamp and Trader Games. |
| 6:16 | Battle Plan $7 and the Ultimate $57 Trial Grab the Battle Plan for the first 30 days and join on YouTube. Combine both for the Ultimate $57 trial. Full membership adds the Core Strategy Academy and the tools. |
| 7:04 | Wrap: See You Before The Open Check out the Foundations Course, join every Tuesday, and use the Bootcamp to learn the Battle Plan. Live 15 minutes before the market opens. |
MES MICROS TRADE PLAN
Don't Give Back Your Week On Friday
Posted: Friday August 14, 2026
It is Friday and the ES sits in the upper distribution of yesterday's range, above the previous all-time high, with bulls firmly in control. This ES futures morning briefing is built around one idea… protect the week you already earned. Core retail sales print at the bottom of the hour, so expect the real reaction about 30 minutes into the trade. Bulls control. Shorts are counter. Small, if at all. Above 7796 you can short, but you have to be perfect. Everything today points to discipline, position sizing, and knowing your trade locations before the open.
THE FRIDAY RULE: DON'T GIVE BACK YOUR WEEK
Friday rolls into the weekend. A winner never gives back the week on Friday. This is a capital preservation day, so the plan is simple… decide in advance what you are willing to risk, and stop when the market has already paid you.
- Name your number: Pick a percentage of your weekly profits that you are willing to put back on the table today. Say it out loud before the open so the number is fixed, not decided in the heat of a trade.
- Adjust your Friday risk settings: Tighten your stop limits and hold strict adherence to the leverage matrix. Size down for Friday.
- Read the calendar honestly: Today is not OPEX, not non-farm payroll, and not the Friday before a bank holiday. The context still says capital preservation into the weekend.
Trader Lesson 1
Never give back your week on Friday. Protect the profits you built Monday through Thursday… the weekend is where a winner banks the week.
Trader Lesson 2
Set your Friday risk before you trade. Tighten stops, hold to the leverage matrix, and name the exact number you will risk. That is how you protect yourself from yourself.
WHERE WE ARE: ALL-TIME HIGHS, BULLS CONTROL
The ES broke out of its range and is trading in the upper distribution of yesterday's move, above the previous all-time high. We are not bearish yet. Bulls control. Shorts are counter. Small, if at all. That does not mean you cannot short, it means you need to be perfect to do it.
- The line that matters: As long as we hold above 7796, be careful looking for shorts.
- The rotation risk: If price gets back underneath that level, a rotation toward the bottom of the range is on the table. That is roughly a 100 point move, which would be an incredible ask on a Friday when bulls control.
- The whole board is high: NQ just took yesterday's high. The Dow sits in the lower distribution, Russell is in the lower distribution after printing a fresh all-time high yesterday. Everybody is near their all-time highs.
Trader Lesson 3
Respect the side that controls. With price above 7796 and bulls in control, shorts stay counter and small. Perfect entries only, or stand aside.
KNOW YOUR TRADE LOCATIONS
We trade ranges well. You look for longs down at the lows of a clean range and you hold a longer runner in case the breakout goes your direction. That is exactly what happened here… the breakout fired, price came back and retested the top of the range, then continued the move.
This is why location is everything. The worst place in the world to look for a short is when price recaptures back into the old range. Map your ranges the night before and keep them on your chart, even if you are not a member yet. Location tells you where the trade actually lives.
Trader Lesson 4
Trade location before you trade direction. Buy the lows of a clean range, hold a runner for the breakout, and never hunt shorts into a recapture of the old range.
THE WEEK IN REVIEW
How did we trade this week? The Battle Plan mapped it. Every one of these was on the plan before the session opened.
- Battle Plan 1: Gave a little heat, then ran 12 points in our favor. Clean.
- Monday RTH: Took a short, then took a long off a different Strong Level. Both played out.
- Battle Plan 2 (Asia session): A midnight look for the international members. Almost no heat and a nice little win.
- The mapped short: A tough trade that asked you to sit for an hour and only went about three and a half points against you before it worked. The ultimate target was 7730 and price got within 7 points of it. You take profit just before the level, and the plan mapped exactly where.
- Yesterday, live: George took a short, the traders took the long, and it was great training in the live room.
Trader Lesson 5
Take profit just before your mapped target, not at it. The 7730 plan got within 7 points… the traders who banked ahead of the level got paid while the chasers waited.
NEWS DRIVERS: THIS FRIDAY AND NEXT WEEK
Know the calendar so the calendar does not surprise you. Today's driver is core retail sales at the bottom of the hour, with the reaction landing about 30 minutes into the trade. Looking ahead, next week stacks the heavy hitters.
| Date | Event | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Today | Core Retail Sales | Bottom of the hour print, expect the reaction about 30 minutes into the session. |
| Next week | FOMC Minutes | Volatility driver, adjust expectations into the release. |
| Next week | Philly Manufacturing Index | Regional read on activity that can move the tape. |
| Next week | Unemployment Claims | Labor read that keeps a lid on complacency. |
"I want you to protect yourself from yourself."
COMMON QUESTIONS FOR ES FUTURES TRADERS
Why should I not give back my week on Friday?
A: Friday rolls into the weekend and there is no session to recover a bad ending. A winner banks the week and protects it. Decide in advance what percentage of your weekly profits you are willing to risk, then stop trading once you hit that number. This is capital preservation, plain and simple.
What is the leverage matrix and how does it change my Friday risk?
A: The leverage matrix is the sizing framework that ties your contract count to your risk. On a Friday you hold strict adherence to it and tighten your stop limits, which means sizing down and trading fewer contracts so a late loss cannot swallow the week.
What does "bulls control, shorts are counter, small if at all" mean?
A: It is a bias statement. When bulls control the tape, longs are the primary trade and any short is a counter-trend trade. Counter-trend trades carry lower odds, so you keep their size small, or skip them entirely. You can still short, you just have to be perfect to justify it.
What is the 7796 level on the ES today?
A: 7796 is the line to watch. As long as price holds above it, be careful looking for shorts because bulls remain in control. If price loses that level and gets back underneath, a rotation toward the bottom of the range opens up, roughly a 100 point move.
What is a double distribution and why does it matter?
A: A double distribution is a session that builds two separate areas of accepted price with a gap between them. Today the ES trades in the upper distribution of yesterday's range. Knowing which distribution you are in tells you where value sits and where a move back into the lower area would take price.
Where is the worst place to look for a short?
A: The worst place is when price recaptures back into a range it just broke out of. A breakout that returns and reclaims the range often continues higher, so shorting into that recapture puts you on the wrong side of the location. Map your ranges first so you never fade a reclaim.
Why hold a runner when a range breaks out?
A: You buy the lows of a clean range for the base trade, then hold a longer runner in case the breakout fires in your direction. If it breaks and retests the top of the range before continuing, the runner captures the extended move you would otherwise miss by taking full profit too early.
Why take profit just before my mapped target instead of at it?
A: Price often stalls just ahead of a mapped level rather than tagging it exactly. This week the plan mapped 7730 and price came within 7 points before reversing. Traders who booked just before the level got paid, while anyone waiting for the exact print was left holding.
What membership paths does MicrosTrader offer?
A: There are four paths. The free path is a never-ending free trial with the Foundations Course, the weekly SITREP email, and the AM Briefing. The Battle Plan Bootcamp teaches how to trade the Battle Plan. You can watch the live Zoom simulcast on YouTube. And the Battle Plan runs a first-30-days offer, which combined with the YouTube join makes the Ultimate $57 trial. Full membership adds the Core Strategy Academy, the Chrome extensions, the day trading indicators, and Battle Plan Buddy.
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