AM Briefing #872 · Play Perfect Chess And Hold The Runner
AM BRIEFING
ES CHART | KEY LEVELS | SETUPS
ES Technical Analysis — AM Briefing 872 Timeline
Friday October 9, 2026
| TIME | CHAPTER |
|---|---|
| 0:00 | Welcome ES MES Futures Traders |
| 0:22 | Scripture: Tribulations Build Character Tribulation produces perseverance and perseverance character. Embrace your character falls and keep carrying your journal down the narrow path. |
| 1:22 | Friday Rules and Next Week's Calendar Today is sentiment and expectations 30 minutes after the open. Next week brings CPI, Retail Sales, a Warsh speech and OPEX Friday. |
| 1:56 | The System In A Nutshell Fewer, higher quality Battle Plan trades. Risk first with the 3-Contract System, play perfect chess, hold the runner, journal everything. |
| 2:44 | Same Process Every Day We ran the same process through the dull summer tape and we run it now. Perfect patience, no changes with the bigger moves. |
| 3:04 | Seasonality And The Truth About Shorts End-of-year pullbacks are viable. Shorts are hard on ES and never required to make your week. Map them, but they stay counter-trend. |
| 3:48 | The Favorite Setup: The Slow Grind Printed twice this week. The fast trade is nearly impossible to catch, so trade the laddering grind that bounces off Strong Levels into the Battle Plan. |
| 5:06 | Daily Chart And Your Homework Parabolic daily trend line and new highs. Full members, draw the front side base and post it on the Trading Floor for feedback. |
| 6:33 | How We Traded The Week Battle Plan 2 gave a 60 pointer up to about 130 max. Wednesday long and Battle Plan short both paid, roughly 75 points on three contracts. |
| 7:59 | Thursday Battle Plan 1 And Perfect Chess Price survived a triple tap to target. Close three for 75 points or hold the runner, laddering your stop above each Strong Level for the 100 plus move. |
| 9:20 | Two Ways Into The Short On Zoom First attempt made five to seven points, the second paid 30 to 40. Targets below were the Strong Levels, the week's most important levels. |
| 11:17 | Close And Live Triggers Readiness and the right trades in the right locations. See the triggers live 15 minutes before the open on Zoom and YouTube. |
MES MICROS TRADE PLAN
Play Perfect Chess And Hold The Runner
Posted: Friday October 09, 2026
This is briefing number 872, and today is simple. Friday rules are in full effect, so the plan is sentiment and expectations until about 30 minutes after the open. The real meat is the week we just traded. The ES made new all-time highs into a parabolic daily trend line, the favorite setup printed twice, and every clean move paid off the Strong Levels. The ES futures morning briefing lesson is the same one George repeats until it sticks… take fewer, higher quality trades, play perfect chess, and hold the runner for the move that makes your whole week. Carry your journal while you walk that narrow path.
TRIBULATIONS BUILD THE TRADER
Today is the last day on this week's scripture, and it lands square on the trader. We glory in tribulations, knowing tribulation produces perseverance, and perseverance produces character.
Character falls are the things that hurt us. So how do you fix them? You embrace them. You know every adjustment is building perseverance. You are becoming the trader you are meant to be, and that path is narrow. When you walk it, you carry your journal.
Trader Lesson 1
Your character falls are not the end of you… they are the raw material. Embrace the correction, journal it, and let it build the perseverance that makes a trader.
THE WEEK AHEAD AND FRIDAY RULES
Today is light by design. Friday rules mean you watch sentiment and expectations and you let the first 30 minutes tell you something before you force anything. Next week carries real weight, so map it now.
| Event | Significance |
|---|---|
| CPI | Inflation read that moves the whole tape. Respect it. |
| Retail Sales | Consumer strength print, another event-driven swing. |
| Warsh speaking | A speech that can shift sentiment fast. |
| OPEX Friday | Options expiration, which makes Thursday the day before OPEX… plan for the behavior that comes with it. |
We are live every Tuesday. Full members get it on Zoom, and everyone else can watch it on YouTube. Come check it out.
THE SYSTEM IN A NUTSHELL
The whole system is designed to build a trader. It points you toward fewer, higher quality, pre-planned, well-thought-out trades. That is the Battle Plan.
- Risk first: laser-type entries using the 3-Contract System, so the risk is defined before the reward.
- Play perfect chess: the whole point is to hold that model runner and capture the big moves.
- Add to winners: we add to winning trades when the structure lets us. That is the Core Strategy.
- Journal everything: track your progress, refine your trade plan, analyze your behavior patterns, make corrections.
We traded the same process every day through the dull July and August price action. We did not change it then and we are not changing it in these bigger moves now. Same process every day, exhibiting perfect patience.
Trader Lesson 2
The process does not change with the volatility. Dull tape or new highs, you run the same Battle Plan with the same patience. Consistency is the edge.
SEASONALITY AND THE TRUTH ABOUT SHORTS
The seasonal chart tells you where you are. Towards the end of the year, nice pullbacks are viable in general. That shapes how you lean.
Here is the hard truth about shorts. On the ES chart, shorts are a difficult way to make money. You never ever have to short ES to make all the points you need to make your week. We do map shorts, and the shorts do pay, but do not think every day is a short. Make shorts your primary trade and good luck with that.
Trader Lesson 3
You never have to short ES to make your week. Map the shorts, take them when they set up, but never let a counter-trend trade become your primary game.
THE FAVORITE SETUP… THE SLOW GRIND
This favorite setup showed up twice this week, on Wednesday and on Thursday. Everybody wants to be in the fast trade because it pays quick, it is nice, it is fast. The problem is it is nearly impossible to actually be in that trade.
The easier trade is the slow grind. It is much easier to work, with nice laddering, and it drops you right into a Battle Plan trade. We get a really nice solid low, price bounces off the Strong Level, then reclaims the next Strong Level, and that is when the lotto runner goes. Bulls control the whole way up.
Trader Lesson 4
Stop chasing the fast move. The slow grind that ladders off one Strong Level to the next is the trade you can actually execute consistently.
THE DAILY CHART AND YOUR HOMEWORK
On the daily chart there is an obvious trend line. Price went straight up and now you can draw a parabolic daily trend line, and we made new highs this week. There is an alert set so price gets flagged the moment it processes that level.
Price bounced right off the front side. Here is the work for full members… draw the front side base on the daily chart. Mark it, post it in the Discord group on the Trading Floor, and you will get feedback on whether you marked that level correctly.
Trader Lesson 5
Mapping levels is a skill you have to practice. Mark your front side base, post it, and get it checked… that feedback loop is how your level-reading sharpens.
HOW WE TRADED THE WEEK
This part matters. Here is how the week paid, level by level.
- Battle Plan 2 down low: to take it you went to the London section, survived a double tap, and held. That gave you roughly a 60 pointer through the close, up to about 130 points max. George was in that short and talked it live in the Discord group.
- Wednesday long: we mapped out where to look for the long, and multiple traders took it and did nicely. George carried a Battle Plan short. Take profit was roughly 25 points per contract. On the 3-Contract System that is 75 points, and you are done… go enjoy your day.
- Thursday Battle Plan 1: price got down to the marked level, came back up, had to survive a triple tap, then made it down to target. Welcome to trading… they are not all touch-and-goes.
At target you had a choice. Close all three contracts for 75 points and be done, or play perfect chess and hold the runner. If you held, your stop started above a Strong Level and you laddered it up… each time price reclaimed and dropped under the next Strong Level, you boosted the stop just above it. None of those choices are wrong, just different based on your style. George pushes perfect chess because that is how you get the 100 plus point runner, and one of those a week makes your entire life.
Trader Lesson 6
Play perfect chess. Take your initial profit, then ladder your stop above each new Strong Level and let the runner work. One 100 plus point runner a week can make your whole month.
TWO WAYS INTO THE SHORT ON ZOOM
We were live on Zoom and walked two different methods to take the short, and both of them presented themselves yesterday. The first attempt only made you about five to seven points. The second one was the one that paid… 30 to 40 points.
Someone in the group, Rob, asked what the targets were below. The answer… the Strong Levels. Battle Plan 1 was marked in blue and price did not make it down that far, but it came into the Strong Levels. Those tend to perform really well with price. They are simply what George considers the most important levels for the week. When you are short and you reach the next Strong Level, that is a great place to take initial profit.
Trader Lesson 7
The Strong Levels are your map. Short into them, take initial profit at the next one down, and let the structure, not emotion, decide where you book.
"Play perfect chess as much as possible… that's how you get the 100 plus point runner, and one of those a week makes your entire life."
COMMON QUESTIONS FOR ES FUTURES TRADERS
What are Friday rules in an ES futures morning briefing?
A: Friday rules mean you treat the session with extra caution, watching sentiment and expectations and letting roughly the first 30 minutes after the open develop before you commit. The point is to avoid forcing trades on a day with lighter conviction, especially around option expiration behavior.
What is the 3-Contract System in ES futures?
A: The 3-Contract System is the Micros Trader position sizing framework where you trade three contracts so you can scale out. You take initial profit on part of the position and keep a runner working toward a much larger target. On a roughly 25-point-per-contract take, three contracts books about 75 points.
What does it mean to play perfect chess in trading?
A: Playing perfect chess means holding your runner and managing the stop methodically instead of grabbing a quick exit. As price reclaims and then drops under each Strong Level, you ladder your stop just above that level, protecting profit while giving the runner room to reach a 100 plus point move.
What is a lotto runner in the Micros Trader Core Strategy?
A: A lotto runner is the final contract you hold after taking initial profits, aimed at a low-probability but high-reward extended move. It costs you little because your other contracts already paid, and when it hits, one runner a week can define your results.
Why are Strong Levels so important on the ES chart?
A: Strong Levels are the levels George marks as the most important for the week, and price tends to react cleanly off them. They act as bounce points and profit targets, which is why you look to take initial profit at the next Strong Level when a move is working in your favor.
Should I short ES futures as my main strategy?
A: No. Shorts are a difficult way to make money on the ES chart, and you never have to short to make the points you need for your week. We map shorts and they do pay when they set up, but they stay a counter-trend trade, taken small, not your primary game.
What is the slow grind setup and why is it easier to trade?
A: The slow grind is a steady, laddering move that bounces off one Strong Level, reclaims the next, and climbs into a Battle Plan trade. It is easier than the fast trade because the fast trade is nearly impossible to time, while the grind gives you clean, repeatable entries.
How do I manage a runner with stops on ES futures?
A: Start your stop above the Strong Level you entered from, then as price advances in your favor and clears the next Strong Level, move the stop up just above that level. You keep ratcheting the stop with structure so you lock in gains and still leave the runner room to extend.
What economic events should ES traders watch next week?
A: CPI, Retail Sales, a Warsh speech, and OPEX Friday are all on the calendar. OPEX makes the Thursday before it a day to plan carefully, and event days can move the tape fast, so map your levels and respect the news.
LIVE
SESSIONS
Helping Futures Traders Via Our Core Strategy Academy Training Program and Futures Trading Group – The Best Emini Group IMHO.
📍 Originally published on MicrosTrader.com
Follow MicrosTrader
▶ YouTubeFacebook𝕏 TwitterMediumSubstack🎧 Apple Podcasts🎧 Spotify🎧 Amazon MusicLinkedIn
Comments
Post a Comment