Do Your Weekend Reps | AM Briefing #844
AM BRIEFING
ES CHART | KEY LEVELS | SETUPS
ES Technical Analysis — AM Briefing 844 Timeline
Monday August 31, 2026
| TIME | CHAPTER |
|---|---|
| 0:00 | Welcome ES MES Futures Traders |
| 0:22 | This Week's Scripture: Psalm 100 George reads Psalm 100 with his wife each morning. Enter his gates with thanksgiving. |
| 0:48 | News Drivers: JOLTS, NFP Week JOLTS Tuesday, Facebook Wednesday, non-farm payroll Friday. Consider taking Friday off for a three-day weekend. |
| 1:15 | Tip: Did You Do Your Weekend Homework? Learning to trade is like sinking 100 putts or 20 free throws first. Put in your reps. |
| 1:45 | Battle Plan Basics Monday Review Zigzag lines mark long and short interest, Sunday Strong Levels, trade the location, peel and move stop to break even. |
| 2:45 | Overnight: Battle Plan 3 Activated BP3 dipped its toe into last week's slop and chop range before the breakout. George reads the trade notes. |
| 3:30 | The Apex Trade Explained Greediest price and smallest stop, but a knife catch. From the apex it ran about 20 points. |
| 4:30 | Ladder Back, New Low, Target Hit Price bounced off the top of the Strong Range, made a new low that reset the chart, then hit target for 25 points on low heat. |
| 5:45 | First Visit Back To A Broken Range The genesis of BP3. First trip back into a range you broke out of usually gets rejected, then rotates lower. |
| 6:40 | Where Is Everybody? A Trepidatious Long Two sessions in previous day range, two under. Price action lethargic after the apex. Careful into JOLTS. |
| 7:30 | No Shorts Mapped, Long Side Edge George expects a rotation lower but needs a real setup to short. The room makes most of its points on the long side. |
| 8:15 | Get Started and Join Us Live Foundations course, free Tuesday stream, Battle Plan Boot Camp. Live 15 minutes before the open. |
MES MICROS TRADE PLAN
Do Your Weekend Reps… The First Visit Back To A Broken Range
Posted: Monday August 31, 2026
Episode 844 opens a heavy news week and George frames it around one honest question… did you put in your reps this weekend? The tape overnight was not a gift. Battle Plan 3 activated as price dipped its toe back into last week's slop and chop range, the apex ran 20 points, then it fought back and forth before finally tagging target for 25. The big lesson today is structural: on the first visit back to a range you have already broken out of, expect a rejection on the first attempt to get inside. With JOLTS tomorrow and non-farm payroll Friday, this is an ES futures morning briefing about patience, preparation, and trading the right location.
DID YOU DO YOUR WEEKEND HOMEWORK?
Tip of the day, and it is a Monday staple. Learning to trade is like learning to play golf. George's golf pro made him sink 100 three-foot putts before he could do anything else. It is like sinking 20 free throws before you play basketball. The reps do you good.
If you skipped your weekend homework, you show up to the open reacting instead of prepared. The trader who has already studied the Battle Plan, walked the levels, and run the mental reps sees a mapped board when the bell rings. The one who did not is guessing.
Trader Lesson 1
Put in your reps before the bell. Sink the putts on the weekend so the open is execution, not discovery.
BATTLE PLAN BASICS… THE MONDAY REVIEW
Every Monday George resets on what the Battle Plan actually is. It is not a signal service. It is a map.
- The zigzag lines: They mark where the room is interested in going long and where it is interested in going short, with Battle Plan notes on exactly what George is looking for in each trade.
- Strong Levels: Every Sunday he draws the Strong Levels… the levels he believes matter most for the week, with notes attached.
- Trade the location: When price arrives at a mapped location, you take the trade. You peel before the next Strong Level and bring your stop to break even in case it runs your direction.
The honest part: this overnight trade did not run 100 points. It did not even reach its mapped destination. But were we looking for the right trade in the right trade location? You bet. That is the whole purpose of the plan.
Trader Lesson 2
Where George drops the label is his hypothesis of the ideal entry, mapped many hours before price gets there. Judge the plan by whether it put you in the right location, not by whether every target printed.
OVERNIGHT: BATTLE PLAN 3 AND THE APEX TRADE
Battle Plan 3 activated overnight. Its notes told the story in advance: this trade dips its toe back into last week's slop and chop range before the breakout, and George wanted to see snappy ladder back price action over the Strong Range and price exploring the deeper part of the mapping.
Here is how it played:
- The apex: The greediest part of the mapping. Smallest stop, best price… but a bit of a knife catch. If you took it, a very nice trade.
- The run: From the apex it laddered up roughly 20 points. Along the way you lock 10-10 and hold a lotto runner just in case. Max was about a 20 pointer at the top.
- The pullback: Price came back and bounced off the top of the Strong Range. After a 20 point run already laddering back against you, George tends to get greedy here… he wants a new low.
- The reset: A new low reset the chart and offered a second look. Take that entry and you sat through an hour of back and forth at the bottom of the Strong Range, but only took one and a half points of heat.
- Target: The follow through came and target hit for 25 points.
Trader Lesson 3
The apex is the greediest price with the smallest stop, but it is a knife catch. You do not have to take it… waiting for the ladder back is a legitimate, lower-heat way into the same trade.
Trader Lesson 4
A new low resets the chart. After a big run has already laddered against you, wait for that fresh low… it gives you a cleaner second look with far less heat.
THE FIRST VISIT BACK TO A BROKEN RANGE
This is the genesis of Battle Plan 3, and it came straight out of the weekend review. One of the lessons of the week: on the first visit to a range you have previously broken out of, expect a rejection on the first attempt to get back inside.
We had clearly broken out of this range. Overnight we came back and retested it. So the first time, you are probably going to get a rejection. If we drop back inside, George expects price to rotate back toward the bottom of that range, if not further, and then the room trades the additional Battle Plans as they present.
Trader Lesson 5
First trip back into a range you broke out of usually gets rejected. Plan for the rejection and the rotation toward the bottom of the range, not an easy re-entry.
WHERE IS EVERYBODY? A TREPIDATIOUS LONG
Read the board as objectively as possible. Two of the sessions are still in previous day range. Two are under. Is that looking really bullish to you? Long seems a little trepidatious this morning.
And the price action itself told on it. Did we get that snappy ladder back, strong price action we like? At the apex, yes. After that it has been pretty lethargic. It is Monday, tomorrow is JOLTS… be careful out there today.
George did not map any shorts here. Not because price cannot rotate down… he fully expects the revisit to rotate toward the bottom of the range. He simply is not ready to short without a really good setup. In the group, points come from both sides fairly evenly, but most of the room's points are made on the long side.
THE NEWS WEEK… MODERATE YOUR EXPECTATIONS
This is a stacked calendar. Manage size and expectations accordingly.
| Day | Event | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | JOLTS | Big number… job openings data that can move the tape. |
| Wednesday | A mega-cap event George is watching this week. | |
| Thursday | Day before NFP | Positioning day ahead of the jobs report. |
| Friday | Non-Farm Payroll | The big one. Consider taking Friday off for a three-day weekend. |
Consider taking Friday off and taking a three-day weekend. Saying no to a punishing, news-driven session is a real trade decision… it protects capital and mindset for the days that actually pay.
"Were we looking for the right trade, longs, and the right trade location? Yes, we were. That's the purpose of the Battle Plan."
COMMON QUESTIONS FOR ES FUTURES TRADERS
What is the Battle Plan in MicrosTrader's system?
A: The Battle Plan is George's nightly ES trade plan. It maps where the room is interested in going long and short using zigzag lines, attaches trade notes to each level, and draws the week's Strong Levels every Sunday. When price reaches a mapped location, you take the trade, peel into profit before the next Strong Level, and move your stop to break even.
What is the apex trade and should I take it?
A: The apex is the greediest part of a Battle Plan mapping… the best possible price with the smallest stop. The tradeoff is that it is a bit of a knife catch, since you are entering right at the extreme. You do not have to take it. Waiting for a ladder back into the same zone is a lower-heat alternative that still gets you the trade.
Why expect a rejection on the first visit back to a range?
A: When price breaks out of a range and then returns to it, the first attempt to get back inside is usually rejected. The break established that range as resistance or support, so the initial retest tends to bounce. Plan for the rejection and a rotation toward the bottom of the range rather than assuming an easy re-entry.
What does "a new low resets the chart" mean?
A: After a long run that has already laddered back against you, a fresh new low clears out the prior structure and offers a cleaner second look at the trade. Instead of chasing into a move that is fighting you, you wait for the new low, which often lets you enter with far less heat, as little as a point and a half in this overnight example.
What is laddering back into a trade?
A: Laddering back is entering a position in sequential pieces at improving prices rather than all at once. In this session George looked for snappy ladder back price action over the Strong Range, meaning crisp, stepwise entries as price worked toward his location. It lets you build the position while managing risk instead of committing everything at a single price.
What is a lotto runner?
A: A lotto runner is a small speculative piece you hold after locking in most of your profit, just in case the move extends further. On the overnight trade George locked 10-10 and held a lotto runner. The bulk of the trade is already banked, so the runner is playing with house money on a low-probability, high-reward continuation.
Should I be short if George expects a rotation lower?
A: Not automatically. George expected price to rotate back toward the bottom of the range but chose not to map any shorts, because he needs a genuinely good setup before taking one. An expected direction is not the same as a mapped, high-conviction trade. When there is no short on the plan, that absence is a deliberate decision, not an oversight.
Why consider taking Friday off during a news week?
A: With JOLTS on Tuesday, a mega-cap event Wednesday, and non-farm payroll on Friday, the edge shrinks and volatility spikes around the reports. Sitting out a punishing, news-driven session protects both your capital and your mindset for the days that actually pay. Declining a bad session is itself a trade decision, and it can set up a three-day weekend.
Why does George stress weekend homework?
A: Preparation is what separates execution from guessing. He compares it to sinking 100 three-foot putts or 20 free throws before you play… the reps build the skill. Traders who study the Battle Plan and walk the levels before the open see a mapped board when the bell rings instead of reacting live.
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