AM Briefing #837 · Defending 87 At Battle Plan 3 The Day Before OPEX
AM BRIEFING
ES CHART | KEY LEVELS | SETUPS
ES Technical Analysis — AM Briefing 837 Timeline
Thursday August 20, 2026
| TIME | CHAPTER |
|---|---|
| 0:00 | Welcome ES MES Futures Traders |
| 0:27 | No AM Briefing… Trade The Chart Price action is too live for a briefing. ES sits at Battle Plan 3, a fresh Battle Plan location. Time to watch with intent. |
| 0:52 | Hold 87 Or Go Deeper George wants 87 to hold and price to climb back above the Strong Range. Below Battle Plan 2, be very careful with longs. |
| 1:37 | Day Before OPEX Is Dangerous Dow reaches its third drawn bounce level. It is the day before Option Expiration, so treat it like Friday. Dangerous price action. |
| 2:40 | Battle Plan 5 Is The Dream Long Battle Plan 5 lines up with a sixty point pullback. George is most interested in longs at Battle Plan 5 and 6, deeper for better reward. |
| 3:53 | Waiting For Laddering Back A positional long at 87 with a stop under the low is fine, but the real signal is snappy laddering back above the Strong Range. |
| 5:07 | Battle Stations On Snappy Ladder If laddering turns snappy, get to your battle stations. Until then, if you are waiting for laddering, you are still waiting. |
| 7:33 | Preparation Was Done Last Night New part of the chart, so trade the chart. The AM Briefing preps you. The open is where you actually execute. |
| 9:24 | All Longs Are Counter Here Longs must be treated as counter. Be perfect, do not let them run against you. This is where longs can really pay. |
| 11:16 | Two Minutes To News Jobless claims incoming. A dangerous time to trade. If long, try to stay long, but a monster candle may never come back. |
| 13:42 | Deeper Battle Plan, Bigger Reward New low made after the news. George plays it as a potential turnaround again. The deeper the Battle Plan, the better the reward. |
| 14:56 | Strong Range And Strong Level Explained The blue area is the Strong Range, the horizontal line the Strong Level. These are the most important levels of the week. |
| 16:41 | First Bounce Off A New Low A new low then a first bounce. Possible first ladder. George still prefers Battle Plan 5 and needs clear evidence of laddering. |
| 19:00 | Laddering Down Continues No reversal pattern yet. Battle Plan 5 is still about thirty points away. George stays patient for something he can journal. |
| 20:50 | Be Small, Be Perfect Another new low. You do not have to be first long. Take the loss like a professional. You do not have to be big to do well. |
| 22:54 | The 82 First Ladder Pays The aggressive first ladder near 82 is looking good. Up five points and George will not let it go back against him. |
| 25:06 | Dow And NQ Bounce Together Dow and NQ bounce off George's drawn levels. Confluence with Battle Plan 3. Could this be the start of the turnaround. |
| 30:02 | George Goes Long From 86.25 George is long from 86.25, not the 82. He wanted more confirmation that the critical 87 level was defending. |
| 32:00 | Cheaper Price Or More Confirmation The 82 ladder had a tight, obvious stop. George's higher entry had more confirmation. You pick one, rarely both. |
| 34:28 | Ten Pointer And Adding To Winners The ten pointer is locked. Reclaim the level above and you get embedded profit to consider adding to a winning trade. |
| 35:52 | Take Profits, Hold A Runner Price could vomit straight back down. That is why you take profits and hold a runner. Longs paid off Battle Plan 3. |
| 36:46 | Calling The AM Briefing George wraps up. Congratulations to those who got long and got paid. Back live fifteen minutes before the open on Zoom and YouTube. |
MES MICROS TRADE PLAN
When The Chart Talks, You Skip The Briefing And Trade
Posted: Thursday August 20, 2026
No AM Briefing this morning. The price action was already too good to talk over. George went straight to the chart because ES had dropped into the Battle Plan 3 drop zone, a fresh Battle Plan location, and the whole session became one question… would 87 hold. It did. Longs off that level paid, first at 82 for the aggressive trader and again at 86.25 for George, and the runners rode a ten pointer and beyond. This was a masterclass in trading the level in front of you, staying small and counter on the day before OPEX, and letting the Battle Plan do the mapping while you do the executing.
WHY THERE WAS NO AM BRIEFING TODAY
Some mornings the map is done and the market is already moving on it. Price had traveled down to Battle Plan 3, a fresh Battle Plan location, and George called it plainly… no sense doing a briefing when we are sitting on a Battle Plan. The AM Briefing exists to get you prepared to trade well. The preparation was done last night. This was the time to actually trade.
He said it again mid session. We are in a new part of the chart, so it is better to just trade the chart. When you are standing on a fresh level with intent, the level is the briefing.
Trader Lesson 1
The AM Briefing prepares you the night before. The open is where you execute. When price is already sitting on a mapped level with intent, stop narrating and trade the chart.
THE 87 LEVEL AND THE BATTLE PLAN 3 DROP ZONE
The whole session pivoted on one number. George wanted to see price hold about 87 and start laddering back up above the Strong Range. Below Battle Plan 2, which sat higher up, he had already warned… be very careful with longs. Below that line, longs are counter. You have to be perfect.
Price came down, defended 87, came back to it, and defended it again. Three ticks below on one probe, no real damage. He called it the magic level we were hoping would hold. The Battle Plan 3 drop zone is where he was looking for price to arrive, and the apex of the mapping, right where the label sits, is where he believes the ideal entry lives.
- 87 area: The line in the sand. Hold above it and laddering back becomes the play. Lose it clean and the deeper Battle Plans come into view.
- Battle Plan 3 apex: Where the label sits is where George thinks the ideal entry is. Often a good place to be long… you just have to be perfect.
- Below Battle Plan 2: Longs are counter. Small, if at all.
Trader Lesson 2
Name your one critical level before the open and let the whole session revolve around it. Hold above and you have a plan. Lose it and you have a different plan. Either way you are never guessing.
THE DAY BEFORE OPEX IS DANGEROUS PRICE ACTION
This was the day before Option Expiration. George said to treat it like a Friday. It is dangerous price action and it is dangerous to trade. His words… people who do not respect the day before OPEX have not traded long enough.
That respect showed up in how he sized and how he waited. Longs were speculative and counter. Small, if at all. Be perfect. When a news event, weekly jobless claims, landed right in the middle of the setup, he treated the two minutes into the print as a dangerous time to actually be trading. The news can catapult your trade or hand you a monster candle that never comes back. Welcome to trading.
Trader Lesson 3
Respect the day before OPEX. Treat it like Friday, size down, and stay counter. The traders who ignore it are the ones who have not been around long enough to get hurt by it yet.
THE FIRST LADDER AT 82 AND WHY IT WORKED
Price made a new low, which George actually loved to see, then gave a first bounce. For the aggressive trader, that first ladder after a new low was the entry, called around 82. He took out the prior high, came back, and gave the idea of a second bounce around 83 or 84. From there it moved. A ten pointer sat right in front of anyone who took it.
The beauty of the first ladder is not just the entry. It is the stop. Your out is always right below that new low, which makes the risk a comfortable, obvious, defined distance. You know exactly where you are wrong and exactly where you get out.
Trader Lesson 4
A first ladder after a new low gives you a clean, obvious stop right under that low. Defined risk you can see is worth more than a prettier entry you cannot manage.
CHEAPER PRICE OR MORE CONFIRMATION… PICK ONE
George did not take the 82. He got long from 86.25, above the level he considered most important. His reasoning is a lesson every trader needs tattooed somewhere. The first ladder gives you a cheaper price and a tight stop. His entry was a little further from the low, but it came with more confirmation that 87 was defending.
Do you want a cheaper price, or do you want more confirmation? You typically do not get both. You get to pick. George chose confirmation. The aggressive trader chose price. Both were long, both were right, both had a plan for being wrong.
Trader Lesson 5
Cheaper price or more confirmation… you rarely get both. Decide which one fits you before the trade, then own the trade off that decision instead of second guessing it.
CONFLUENCE, RUNNERS, AND THE DEEPER BATTLE PLANS
The turn did not happen in a vacuum. Dow and NQ had traveled down to bounce levels George had drawn days earlier, and they bounced right where he needed them to. That confluence, ES on Battle Plan 3 while Dow and NQ hit their drawn bounce levels, is what gave the long its confidence.
Even winning, George kept his humility. His line… we could vomit straight back down, I do not know how far price is going to go. That is exactly why you take profits and you hold a runner. Peel into strength, bank the ten pointer if that is your day, and keep a runner on for the move you cannot predict.
He also kept the deeper map alive. Battle Plan 5 sat about thirty points lower and lined up with a beautiful sixty point pullback. That was the level he most wanted price to reach for a long, with Battle Plan 5 and 6 the zone he becomes very interested in. Deeper the Battle Plan goes, the better the reward.
Trader Lesson 6
Take profits and hold a runner. You do not know how far price travels, so bank the sure points and let a small runner ride the move you cannot forecast.
"I don't know where price is going to turn around. I know where we're looking for price to turn around. That's all I know."
COMMON QUESTIONS FOR ES FUTURES TRADERS
Why did MicrosTrader skip the AM Briefing this morning?
A: Price was already sitting on a fresh Battle Plan level with active price action, so there was no sense narrating a briefing. The AM Briefing exists to prepare you the night before. When the market is already moving on your mapped levels at the open, the smarter move is to stop talking and trade the chart in front of you.
What is the Battle Plan 3 drop zone?
A: In the MicrosTrader Battle Plan, levels are numbered from Battle Plan 1 down to deeper levels like 5 or 6. The drop zone for Battle Plan 3 is the price area where George is looking for price to arrive and defend. The apex of the mapping, right where the label sits on the chart, is where he believes the ideal entry lives.
Why was the 87 level so important today?
A: 87 was the line George wanted price to hold to keep longs alive and start laddering back up above the Strong Range. Price defended it, came back to it, and defended it again with only a three tick probe below. Holding that level is what turned a dangerous drop into a mapped long opportunity.
Why is the day before OPEX considered dangerous to trade?
A: OPEX is Option Expiration. The day before it behaves like a Friday, with squirrelly, unpredictable price action driven by positioning rather than clean structure. George says traders who do not respect that day have not traded long enough. The right response is to size down, stay counter, and demand a perfect entry.
What is a first ladder entry after a new low?
A: When price makes a fresh low and then gives its first bounce, that first bounce is the first ladder. Aggressive traders can enter there because the stop is clean and obvious… just below the new low. That defined, comfortable risk distance is the biggest advantage of a first ladder entry.
Should I take the cheaper price or wait for more confirmation?
A: You typically cannot have both. A first ladder gives you a cheaper price and a tight stop but less proof the level will hold. Waiting, as George did entering at 86.25, gives you more confirmation at a price further from the low. Pick the style that fits you before the trade, then commit to it fully.
What does confluence between ES, Dow, and NQ mean?
A: Confluence is when multiple markets line up at their key levels at the same time. Today ES sat on Battle Plan 3 while Dow and NQ bounced off bounce levels George had drawn days earlier. When the indexes turn together at pre drawn levels, the long carries far more confidence than any single chart alone.
Why take profits and still hold a runner?
A: Because you do not know how far a move will travel. George banked points into strength and kept a runner on, because price could reverse hard or extend for a much bigger move. Peeling profit protects the trade while the runner keeps you exposed to the upside you cannot predict.
What is Battle Plan 5 and why did George want price to reach it?
A: Battle Plan 5 was a deeper level about thirty points below, lined up with a roughly sixty point pullback. It was the level George most wanted price to reach for a high reward long, with Battle Plan 5 and 6 the zone he becomes very interested in. The deeper the Battle Plan, the better the reward on the bounce.
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