When to Short ES Futures: Rules for Counter-Trend Shorts

The short-side rulebook. Something must break first, never short a squeeze, and use shorts like cayenne… sparingly, and only where they pay.

From the free MicrosTrader Trading Library… 140 lessons mined from 1,042 live ES and MES futures sessions taught since 2018.

When should you short ES futures? Only after price breaks something. In an uptrend, a bounce off a level is not a short signal. You short the ES E-mini futures when a level fails, bulls get trapped, and price rips lower with conviction. Everything else is a squeeze waiting to burn you.

This page gathers everything George teaches about the short side across hundreds of hours of live ES and MES micro futures trading… why he leans long by default, the exact failure sequence a short requires, when he maps counter-trend shorts into the Battle Plan, and the one rally you must never fade.

“"You have to have your rules in place of when can I short an uptrend. Well, the first thing it's got to do, it's got to break something."”

— George, live session, Dec 23, 2024

ES futures Battle Plan chart from George’s published record

From George’s published record: ES & MES Futures Trade Plan #340 — a 50+-point move, mapped in advance.

You Never Have to Short the ES

Start with the bias. Pull up a weekly or monthly chart of ES E-mini futures and the lean is obvious. Up. Because the higher timeframes point north, George structurally trades long and waits for his locations. He does not need the short side to make his points.

Read that again. "You never have to short ES to make all your points in a given week" (June 2, 2026). That single line saves accounts. When the bulls run the market, countering them is a losing system, and George says so flatly.

“"Go to a weekly chart or monthly chart on ES and tell me which way you should lean. I certainly lean long and I wait for my trade locations. I don't have to ever short ES."”

— George, live session, Feb 26, 2026

George has taught this in 30+ recorded sessions… and every claim in the full lesson links to the recording it came from. The full lesson covers far more than fits here.

Read the full lesson free at MicrosTrader.com →

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📍 Originally published on MicrosTrader.com

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