Should You Even Be Trading Today? | AM Briefing #829
AM BRIEFING
ES CHART | KEY LEVELS | SETUPS
ES Technical Analysis — AM Briefing 829 Timeline
Monday August 10, 2026
| TIME | CHAPTER |
|---|---|
| 0:00 | Welcome ES MES Futures Traders |
| 0:16 | The Week Ahead: CPI Wednesday CPI on Wednesday is the week's driver. Retail sales, consumer sentiment, and inflation expectations close out the week. Monday and Tuesday look quiet. |
| 1:19 | How the Battle Plan Works George drafts the Battle Plan daily, marking long and short areas plus Strong Levels. Wait for price to come to you, then take profit before the next Strong Level. |
| 2:27 | Trade Reviews: Nothing Overnight No trades to review. Nothing meaningful happened overnight. |
| 2:38 | Where We Stand: The Consolidation Price is parked in a multi-day consolidation after a monster move. The profile shows POC near 7767, Value Area Low near 7746, Value Area High near 7786. |
| 3:11 | Asia Session Bounce Trade Overnight, a bounce off a Strong Level gave international members a nice little trade up. It didn't run to all-time highs, and that's fine. |
| 3:52 | Today's Bull Bear Line The Value Area High and RTH high overlap near 7786 as today's Bull Bear Line. Hold above and bulls stay in control. Lose it and hope for a rotation lower. |
| 4:59 | Bulls Control, POC No-Trade Zone Bulls control, shorts are counter, small if at all. Anywhere near the POC is a poor entry. Let price rotate to a range edge before committing. |
| 5:34 | Should You Even Be Trading? Run the pre-flight checklist. Emotionally and physically ready, right setup, written plan, prepared for a max loss day, trading your system not your opinion. |
| 6:33 | Live Room and Tomorrow Zoom and YouTube membership rooms open 15 minutes before the bell. Back tomorrow for the AM Briefing and live stream on YouTube. |
MES MICROS TRADE PLAN
Should You Even Be Trading Today?
Posted: Monday August 10, 2026
It's a quiet Monday and the real driver doesn't land until Wednesday's CPI. Price sits up in a multi-day consolidation after a monster move, so the ES futures morning briefing today is less about chasing and more about waiting. George maps the key levels, names the Value Area High as today's Bull Bear Line, and flags the Point of Control as a no-trade zone. The biggest lesson is the pre-flight checklist… earning the right to open your platform before you risk a single tick. Bulls control. Shorts are counter. Small, if at all.
THE WEEK AHEAD: CPI IS THE ANCHOR
Know your driver before you plan your week. This week the market is waiting on one number… CPI on Wednesday, August 12th. The back half of the week brings retail sales, consumer sentiment, and inflation expectations.
Monday and Tuesday look quiet. George expects price to meander in its range like an aimless boat out on the ocean, without an anchor. When there is no driver, there is no fuel for a clean directional move.
| Date | Event | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Mon Aug 11 / Tue | Quiet, no major data | Range-bound meander expected, no anchor for direction |
| Wed Aug 12 | CPI | The week's driver… the number that sets the next leg |
| End of week | Retail sales, consumer sentiment, inflation expectations | Secondary volatility into the close of the week |
Trader Lesson 1
Know your driver. When the only catalyst is Wednesday's CPI, expect Monday and Tuesday to drift. Trade the range you're given, not the trend you wish for.
HOW THE BATTLE PLAN WORKS
New to the room? Here's the machine. Each day… Sunday through Thursday… George drafts the Battle Plan. He marks where we're interested in going long, where we're interested in going short, and adds Battle Plan notes to each area.
Then he draws the Strong Levels… the most important levels heading into the week… and layers in notes on the Bull Bear Line and expected ranges. Combine the two and you have your map for the session.
- Wait for price to come to you: You don't chase. You wait for price to drop into your pre-mapped long areas, then place your orders.
- Take profit before the next Strong Level: Those levels tend to bounce really well, so you bank before price gets there.
- Points a little at a time: It won't always be a 100-point runner. Sometimes you make your points 5 and 10 at a time, over and over.
Trader Lesson 2
You make money a little at a time, very often. Bank your 5 and 10 point wins before the next Strong Level instead of holding out for the rare monster runner.
WHERE WE STAND: THE CONSOLIDATION PROFILE
We've had a monster move since roughly 10 to 12 days ago, and now price is parked up here in a multi-day consolidation. Draw out the volume profile and you get a clean read on the ES futures key levels today.
- Point of Control (POC) ~7767: The highest-volume node. Keep it on your chart.
- Value Area Low ~7746: The bottom edge of the accepted range.
- Value Area High ~7786: The top edge, and the level that matters most today.
Overnight, price explored a little higher, came back into balance, explored again, and rotated back down. It's now trying to reclaim the previous day high. The whole picture is balance… acceptance inside a defined range with no strong hand yet.
TODAY'S BULL BEAR LINE
The Value Area High and the RTH high sit at essentially the same spot, right around 7786. George uses that shared level as the Bull Bear Line for the session. It's the line that divides the bullish read from the bearish one.
Hold above it and bulls stay in control. Lose it, and the hope is a rotation back down toward the bottom of the range, where a fresh long could set up. Bulls above, and George won't quite call shorts below… but a clean rotation down would be welcome.
If you do get short for whatever reason and price comes down to the POC, that's a good place to take profit. Hold a single runner in case price rotates all the way back to the bottom end of the range. We see that often with really good range triggers… you know exactly what you're looking for.
Trader Lesson 3
Trade the edges, not the middle. Near the Point of Control price is balanced and choppy. Your entries live at the range extremes, not in the muddy middle.
SHOULD YOU EVEN BE TRADING TODAY?
This is the question George says you should always ask before you open your platform. On a slow, pre-CPI Monday it matters even more. Run the pre-flight before you ever click a button.
- Are you emotionally ready to trade?
- Are you physically ready to trade?
- Are you in the right location with the right equipment?
- Do you have enough time?
- Have you reviewed the Battle Plan and done a thorough pre-flight?
- Have you checked the economic calendar?
- Do you have a written trade plan?
- Are you prepared for a max loss day?
- Will you trade your system and not your opinion?
Every day you need to be prepared for a max loss day. We take losses… that's the job. The goal is that a loss is never large, and never, ever larger than the max loss you defined in advance. Clear all of that, and you are cleared for takeoff.
Trader Lesson 4
Earn the right to trade. Run the pre-flight checklist every session. If you can't answer yes to emotionally ready, physically ready, and prepared for a max loss day, you are not cleared for takeoff.
Trader Lesson 5
Trade your system, not your opinion. Define your max loss before the open and hold it as a hard line. That single rule is what keeps a losing day small.
"Have you earned the right to even open up your trading platform?"
COMMON QUESTIONS FOR ES FUTURES TRADERS
What is the Bull Bear Line in ES futures?
A: The Bull Bear Line is the single level that divides a bullish read from a bearish one. Above it, bulls stay in control. Below it, the odds tilt toward a rotation lower. Today that line sits where the Value Area High and the RTH high overlap, around 7786.
Why is the Point of Control a bad place to enter a trade?
A: The Point of Control is the highest-volume price node, the center of balance. Near it, price chops in the muddy middle with no clear direction. High-probability entries live at the range extremes… the Value Area High and Value Area Low… not in the middle where price is balanced.
What are Value Area High and Value Area Low?
A: The Value Area is the price range where most of a session's volume traded. The Value Area High is the top edge and the Value Area Low is the bottom edge. Today those sit near 7786 and 7746, framing the consolidation.
Should I trade on a quiet day before CPI?
A: Maybe not. When the only real driver is Wednesday's CPI, Monday and Tuesday tend to meander with no anchor. If there's no fuel for a directional move, the smart play is smaller size, tighter targets, or standing down entirely.
How does the MicrosTrader Battle Plan work?
A: Each day George drafts the Battle Plan by marking where the group is interested in going long and short, adding notes to each area, and drawing the Strong Levels for the week. You wait for price to come into a mapped area, place your orders, and take profit before the next Strong Level.
Why take profit before the next Strong Level?
A: Strong Levels tend to bounce really well, so price often stalls or reverses as it approaches one. Banking your gains just before the level means you're not giving profit back if it turns you away.
What is the pre-flight checklist for trading?
A: It's a set of readiness questions you run before opening your platform: Are you emotionally and physically ready? Right location and equipment? Enough time? Battle Plan reviewed? Written trade plan? Prepared for a max loss day? Will you trade your system, not your opinion? Yes to all means you're cleared to trade.
How do I keep a losing day from getting big?
A: Define your max loss in advance and treat it as a hard line. Traders take losses… that's normal. The goal is that no single loss is large and no day ever exceeds the max loss you set before the open.
Do I need a 100-point runner to make money trading ES?
A: No. Most days you make your points 5 and 10 at a time, over and over. Consistent small wins banked before the next Strong Level add up… you don't need a monster move to have a profitable session.
LIVE
SESSIONS
📅 Upcoming This Week
Hit the bell — every AM Briefing and live trading session this week is already scheduled on YouTube:
- Tuesday, Tue Aug 11: AM Briefing · Live Stream
- Wednesday, Wed Aug 12: AM Briefing · Live Stream
- Thursday, Thu Aug 13: AM Briefing · Live Stream
- Friday, Fri Aug 14: AM Briefing · Live Stream
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