Build Your Pre-Trade Routine — AM Briefing #846
AM BRIEFING
ES CHART | KEY LEVELS | SETUPS
ES Technical Analysis — AM Briefing 846 Timeline
Wednesday September 2, 2026
| TIME | CHAPTER |
|---|---|
| 0:00 | Welcome ES MES Futures Traders |
| 0:37 | Psalm 100 and Gratitude George opens with Psalm 100, entering His gates with thanksgiving. |
| 0:57 | The Calendar: A D-Day Friday Employment read this morning, Beige Book this afternoon, and non-farm payroll Friday before a long weekend. Ask what your plan says about trading the number. |
| 1:23 | Tip of the Day: Pre-Trade Routine Analyze your morning prep. Grab a beverage, take a piece of paper, and write down every step before your first trade. |
| 1:52 | Battle Plan, Zoom, Core Strategy The three pieces that work together. Fewer higher quality trades, the live room, and the three-level scalping system. |
| 3:15 | Trade Review of the Week A 25 pointer to target, Monday chop between strong ranges, and nice movement off Battle Plan 4 in London. |
| 4:26 | Yesterday We Crushed It A clean Zoom long good for a 20 to 25 point partial, then a Core Strategy short that ran 50 points into Battle Plan 5. |
| 6:48 | Where We Are: Under the Range Price sits under the expected range near the Battle Plan 5 drop zone. This spot could set up a short or a long. |
| 7:31 | Strong Range Plan and the Runner George is not short and wants to see the reaction at the strong range. If short, take profit and hold a single runner. |
| 8:44 | How to Join and Close Full members trade Zoom 15 minutes before the open. Free stream every Tuesday, start with the Foundations course. |
MES MICROS TRADE PLAN
Build the Pre-Trade Routine You Run Before Every First Trade
Posted: Wednesday September 02, 2026
ES came in under the expected range overnight with no Battle Plan trades activated, sitting just above the Battle Plan 5 drop zone and watching a strong range. George is Stand Down on the short side here… he wants to see how price behaves at that strong range before committing. The heart of this ES futures morning briefing is the tip of the day, analyze your pre-trade routine. What do you actually do the night before and the morning of, before you take your first trade? Yesterday's session gave a clean example of the payoff, a Zoom long and a Core Strategy short that ran 50 points into Battle Plan 5.
TIP OF THE DAY: ANALYZE YOUR PRE-TRADE ROUTINE
We are sticking with the September theme. This is a great time to look hard at your morning prep. Grab your beverage, set up with a piece of paper, and answer one question… what do I need to do before I can take my first trade?
Write down the full sequence:
- Journal: Are you wrapping up your journal from the prior session?
- Battle Plan: Are you revealing the Battle Plan, or saving it for the open?
- Prep window: Think through your entire morning, from beverage to first trade, so nothing is left to chance.
A routine you can name is a routine you can repeat. That repetition is what keeps you calm and patient when the tape gets squirrelly.
Trader Lesson 1
Write your pre-trade routine on paper. List every step you take before your first trade… journal, Battle Plan, prep… so the routine runs you instead of you improvising it.
HOW THE GROUP TRADES: BATTLE PLAN, ZOOM, CORE STRATEGY
Three pieces work together each day. Know what each one is for.
- Battle Plan: A written daily trade plan marked on your TradingView chart, built around fewer, higher quality pre-planned entries at high probability reaction levels.
- Zoom: The live room. More than 1,000 sessions with a core group before it went public, and more than 1,000 since. We trade the Battle Plan, trade the Core Strategy, and in the hours between we hunt additional trades. The value is sometimes in the points earned… and sometimes in the points saved by keeping you on the right side of price action.
- Core Strategy: An advanced scalping system built on three drawn levels around balanced price. When price hits the line, it bounces, and we trade the bounces. Your lines match George's lines. No magic lines… black and white.
Small group, big focus. Think of the fighter pilots on an aircraft carrier. Tons of people aboard, but the pilots are the small group. That is who we are.
Trader Lesson 2
Fewer, higher quality trades beat a busy screen. A written Battle Plan at high probability reaction levels is how you find the right trade in the right location.
TRADE REVIEW: A SHINING EXAMPLE
A quick look back at how the map played out.
- Prior setup: A second look at the same Battle Plan level eventually reached target for a clean 25 pointer.
- Monday: Beautiful back and forth between the strong ranges, but no real trades. Aggressive traders could have taken a possible Battle Plan 2 entry.
- Tuesday night: Another look at that trade, a primary entry and a couple of secondaries, though it did not quite reach target. The London session gave nice movement off the apex of Battle Plan 4.
- Yesterday: We crushed it. A Zoom long that was a perfect place to take a 20 to 25 point partial on a single contract, then a Core Strategy short that ran 50 points, with the ideal take profit right as price came into Battle Plan 5.
George puts a lot of thought into where these trades want to go. The Battle Plan 5 apex hit exactly, price pushed up, came back in, and there was the entry… right where the label sits.
WHERE WE ARE NOW: UNDER RANGE, WATCHING THE STRONG RANGE
We are at a very interesting location. Price is under the expected range again, no Battle Plan trades activated overnight, and we are almost into the drop zone with Battle Plan 5. This spot could set up a short or a long.
The Battle Plan 5 note is specific. If we take out today's low, George would demand a snappy ladder back above that strong range before trusting a long. He is not short here. He wants to see what price does at the strong range, and he would welcome Battle Plan 7 if we get there.
Trader Lesson 3
At a strong range, peel your profit and hold a single runner. You bank the move you earned and stay in the trade for the extension without risking the whole position.
THE CALENDAR: A D-DAY FRIDAY AHEAD
This morning brought an ADP style employment read and this afternoon brings the Beige Book. Tomorrow is the day before non-farm payroll. Friday is a kind of D-Day… non-farm payroll, a Friday, and the Friday before a long weekend all stacked together.
So ask the question now. What does your trade plan say about trading non-farm payroll? It should say something, to be honest. Deciding your posture in advance keeps you out of reckless, news-driven price action when the report drops.
| Date | Event | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Wed (today) | Employment read + Beige Book | Afternoon Fed color can move the tape. |
| Thu | Day before non-farm payroll | Positioning ahead of the big number. |
| Fri | Non-farm payroll, pre-long-weekend | High volatility, thin holiday liquidity. |
Trader Lesson 4
Decide how you trade non-farm payroll before the day arrives. Your plan should already have an answer, so the report does not make the decision for you.
"Grab your beverage, set up with a piece of paper… what do I need to do before I can take my first trade?"
COMMON QUESTIONS FOR ES FUTURES TRADERS
What is a pre-trade routine and why does it matter?
A: A pre-trade routine is the fixed sequence of steps you complete before taking your first trade… wrapping up your journal, revealing your Battle Plan, and finishing your morning prep. Writing it on paper makes it repeatable, which keeps you calm and patient instead of reacting to whatever the screen does first.
What is the Battle Plan in Micros Trader?
A: The Battle Plan is a written daily ES trade plan, marked directly on your TradingView chart, built around fewer and higher quality pre-planned entries at high probability reaction levels. The levels are numbered, for example Battle Plan 2, 4, 5 and 7, and the count varies by day.
What is the Core Strategy?
A: Core Strategy is an advanced scalping system built on three drawn levels around balanced price. When price reaches a line it tends to bounce, and you trade the bounce. The lines are the same for every trader… there are no magic private levels.
What does it mean to hold a single runner?
A: After a trade reaches a strong level or strong range, you take profit on most of your position and keep one contract open, the runner, in case price continues in your direction. You lock in the gain you earned while staying in for a possible extension.
What is a strong range and why watch it?
A: A strong range is a high-conviction zone of clean structure where price often reacts. George watches it to decide whether a short should be peeled for profit or whether a reclaim sets up a long, rather than blindly pressing through it.
What does it mean that price is under the expected range?
A: The expected range is where price was projected to trade. When price sits below it with no Battle Plan trades activated, it signals softer conditions and a spot to wait for a mapped level to trigger rather than force a trade.
What is a snappy ladder back?
A: A ladder back is a sequential re-entry or scaling technique. A snappy ladder back means price quickly reclaims a level, in this case pushing back above the strong range after taking out today's low, which is the confirmation George would demand before trusting a long.
How should I trade around non-farm payroll?
A: Decide your posture before the report. Your trade plan should already say whether you stand aside, trade smaller, or wait for the dust to settle. Deciding in advance protects your capital and your mindset from reckless, news-driven price action.
How can I watch Micros Trader trade live?
A: Micros Trader live streams free on YouTube every Tuesday, and offers a YouTube membership to watch the live Zoom room. Full members trade the Zoom session with George 15 minutes before the market opens. Start with the free Futures Foundations Course at microstrader.com.
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SESSIONS
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- Friday, Fri Sep 4: AM Briefing · Live Stream
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