ES & MES Futures Trade Plan #411
Battle Plan
Where To Go Long... Where To Go Short.
ES & MES FUTURES TRADE PLAN #411
TODAY'S REVIEW: ES FUTURES
My MES Short
I was lucky… I happened to be awake just after midnight and took a small positional short, with my stop just above the Strong Range.
I held that short into our live trading session on Zoom & YouTube, ultimately capturing 30 points in front of the group.
My target? A key Strong Level that also happened to be the ideal entry location for Battle Plan 1️⃣ Long… discussed below.
RTH Offered Very Little
A tiny opening range… plus… the bond market was closed.
Not exactly a recipe for exciting trading.
In our ES Live Trading Room, we watched for NQ to take Thursday's RTH low following Friday's tiny inside day.
Meanwhile, with YM showing strength and a potential nice bounce on NQ, we were interested in a long at Battle Plan 1️⃣.
But ES never delivered the setup we wanted during Zoom.
So… no trades.
We don't force.
We wait.
We stalk.
We watch… together.
At one point, I was so bored I started seeing animal shapes in the candlesticks. Is that a snake? Or a scared cat with its back arched?
And yes, it was THAT boring.
Heck, I had traders falling asleep and snoring like freight trains during our live trading session.
Battle Plan 1️⃣ Ideal Entry Location
What a beautiful defense of the Strong Level at our ideal entry location for Battle Plan 1️⃣ Long.
As I wrote in the Battle Plan notes, "If the bulls are real, they should defend here."
And they did.
That Strong Level held for most of the day.
Note: A level can work beautifully without giving us beautiful price action to trade.
If you took the first touch, you had a seven-pointer… but then came the double tap… followed by a triple tap… before ES finally delivered a decent move north.
Not exactly the kind of price action that gets me excited about taking a long.
As I posted in our Discord group, "No Thank You PA (price action)."
ES flirted with Battle Plan 1️⃣'s "drop zone" for hours upon hours.
And throughout that time, the bulls continued defending.
This was NOT the location to be hunting shorts.
Quite the opposite.
This was the location to be looking for longs.
And that is precisely why we map the Battle Plan each night… to identify the right trades at the right trade locations.
But identifying the right location is only half the battle.
Price action still has to earn our entry.
Today, the bulls defended exactly where we wanted them to defend. But the price action offered little reason to get involved.
That's okay.
We don't get paid for taking trades. We get paid for taking the right trades. (That is one to write down.)
Patience, Young Grasshopper.
What Are ES Key Levels?
In our futures trading group, we call them Strong Levels.
These are the key price levels on the ES chart that I believe could play an important role in price action throughout the week.
We use these Strong Levels to build our daily ES trading plan… AKA… the Battle Plan.
Look at how beautifully ES ping-ponged between our Strong Levels today.
That's why we map them. That's why we watch them. And that's why location matters.
Tip of the Day
Winners Never Become Losers:
A trade in solid profit never gets to become a loss.
Peel contracts, raise the stop, protect the green. Your emotional capital depends on it as much as your account does.
Tomorrow's Live Streams
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AM Briefing 
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YouTube Live Stream (Free on Tuesdays) 
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Scoreboard
Points Accumulated This Week:
Battle Plan: 0
🔥 Battle Plan 1️⃣ first bounce off the ideal trade location ran 5-7 points. Then triple tapped the level before running 15-points.
For most of the day... my long was sitting at 48... the front edge of the Drop Zone. Price missed me by a point or so. I removed my order and closed my platform and decided the best use of my time was writing today's Battle Plan review.
Anything was better than watching this price action.
Zoom: 0
NADA. ZILCH. NOTHING.
We survive to trade another day.
Core Strategy: 0 (For Full Members)
True level development on a three-minute chart was absolutely atrocious.
When we get the "Small Range Alert" on our Essentials Day Trading Indicator, it's worth paying attention to. The day is rarely worth trading when we get that warning.
A 1.7 ATR on a 3M chart this afternoon!
ECONOMIC CALENDAR
MONDAY
TUESDAY
TOMORROW’S ES KEY LEVELS AND TRADE IDEAS
Tonight’s Battle Plan maps the ES key levels for tomorrow’s session… the bounce zones and the trade ideas that go with them. Members read the full plan below.
View The Trade Setups
COMMON QUESTIONS FOR ES FUTURES TRADERS
What Are ES Key Levels?
A: In our futures trading group we call them Strong Levels. These are the key price levels on the ES chart that I believe could play an important role in price action throughout the week. We use them to build the daily ES trading plan... the Battle Plan. Watch how ES ping-pongs between those levels and you will understand why we map them every night. Location matters.
What is a Strong Level in ES futures trading?
A: A Strong Level is a mapped price area where I expect buyers or sellers to show up and defend. It gives you a reason to be at the chart and a reason to pass. If the bulls are real, they should defend there. And here is the part most traders miss... a level can work beautifully without giving you beautiful price action to trade.
What is the Battle Plan?
A: The Battle Plan is the nightly ES and MES trade map. It is built the night before the session, marking the Strong Levels and numbered trade locations where price may react. The whole point is to identify the right trades at the right trade locations before the open, so you act with intention instead of reacting to every tick.
Does a good trade location mean I should take the trade?
A: No. Identifying the right location is only half the battle. Price action still has to earn your entry. The bulls can defend exactly where you wanted them to defend and the price action can still offer you nothing worth touching... first touch, double tap, triple tap. That is a pass. We don't get paid for taking trades. We get paid for taking the right trades. Patience, Young Grasshopper.
What is the Strong Range and how do I use it?
A: The Strong Range is the zone around a Strong Level rather than one single print. I use it two ways. It helps place a stop just outside the zone, and it helps be picky on entry so the stop stays small. On the short I took just after midnight, my stop sat just above the Strong Range.
What does the Bull Bear Line mean on the Battle Plan?
A: The Bull Bear Line is the dividing line that tells you which side is in control of the day. A trade idea that challenges that line is also challenging the expected range, and those are the moves I welcome. When price pushes through, I will add to my winning trade at the Battle Plan trade locations above it.
Why should a winning trade never turn into a loser?
A: Winners never become losers. A trade in solid profit never gets to become a loss. Peel contracts, raise the stop, protect the green. Your emotional capital depends on it as much as your account does. Green Over Greed.
When is the right move to Stand Down and not trade at all?
A: When the market gives you nothing. A tiny opening range, a closed bond market, atrocious level development on the three-minute chart, a Small Range Alert on the Essentials Day Trading Indicator... that day is rarely worth trading. We don't force. We wait. We stalk. We watch... together. FLAT as a TRADE is a real position, and some sessions end with zero and that is a win. We survive to trade another day.
MICROS TRADER BASICS
Preparation is Power
The Battle Plan is built the night before... mapping strategies before the market opens, reducing emotional reactions. Trading with a plan helps you act with intention rather than react emotionally to price movements.
Every session begins with a plan already in place. That preparation is what keeps you on the right side of price action... and off the wrong side of it.
Full lesson: Be in the Preparation Business in the Trading Library
📍 Originally published on MicrosTrader.com
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