ES EMINI AM BRIEFING #746

📖 This Week’s Scripture

This week George opens with Daniel 10:3 — a powerful passage about fasting and prayer walking hand in hand…

“I ate no pleasant food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were filled.” — Daniel 10:3

Last week’s quote was pray without ceasing. This week we’re amping it up. Coupling fasting with prayer is one of those things that, in George’s experience, can unlock a different level of access to the Lord. Your mileage may vary… but there’s a reason the most serious people of faith have done it for thousands of years.

📅 News Drivers This Week

Shortened trading week ahead — Good Friday means no session on Friday. Here’s what’s on the calendar and why it matters…

🖥️ Platform Updates — Weekend Improvements

Every Saturday George works on process improvements — indicators, website experience, training flow. This weekend had some solid additions worth knowing about…

• New Member Onboarding Panel: Gold members now see a quick-start checklist on the dashboard — how to get on Discord, grab indicators, set up journaling software. When you’re done, click “hide forever” and it disappears.
• Four Dashboard Panels: Today’s Battle Plan is the first thing you see. Joined by a live schedule panel (click tomorrow to see tomorrow’s lineup), Core Strategy Academy access, journaling, and additional coaching options.
• Random Quote Feature: Every time you hit the dashboard, a different quote loads at the top. “Journaling helps you spot recurring setups that work and recurring mistakes that don’t.” Good stuff.
• Battle Plan Page Update: George added a schedule panel directly on the battle plan page, plus a featured Discord share — community insights surfaced right alongside the trade plan. This week Scott got the spotlight.
• Revamped Foundations Course: Free course at microstrader.com has been updated. If you haven’t gone through it recently — or at all — go take a peek.

📊 Battle Plan Review — All Three Played Out

Going into this week, George mapped it clearly: we’re in a parabolic move south, bears in control… but looking for longs only. The first short of interest is way up there — a speculator special. Here’s how the trades materialized overnight and into the RTH open…

Battle Plan 3 — The Laddering Sequence

Price dropped into the BP3 zone and started laddering. Classic setup… except Trump was speaking, which threw a monkey wrench into everything. Here’s the key detail: price tested the same level six times before finally breaking out with conviction. Six attempts. Then a vengeance move. That’s what laddering looks like when it’s working — and it’s exactly what the battle plan was watching for. The breakout didn’t offer the clean pullback entry shown on the map, but the right trades in the right locations were all there.

Battle Plan 2 — The Overnight Long

This one is the standout of the morning. BP2 identified a reclaim of 64.11 as high-interest. George watched price fair-value-gap above that level overnight, placed a long with a six-point stop loss, and went back to bed with one MES contract. Woke up to a winner. That’s it. You don’t have to trade overnight — but you do have to admit that six tests into a fair value gap breakout is a signal worth acting on.

Battle Plan 1 — The Catch for Late Arrivals

For anyone who wasn’t up for BP3 or the overnight BP2 entry… BP1 was sitting right there at the open. Reclaim the level, retest, go long. Clean. This is the system working exactly as designed — multiple bite opportunities at the right trade locations, not just one chance.

The Speculator Special — Not Yet

The short level sits at 65.75–65.81. Price made a run toward that area but didn’t reach it. George’s take: still a significant distance away, still not interested in a short. The goal right now is to stay long. First short of real interest is nearly 200 points from where price was trading at the open… and George is perfectly fine waiting all day for it to get there.

🎯 The Live Trade — 30 Points Captured

Carrying the overnight BP2 long into the RTH session, George was sitting on a position that had run nearly 70 points at its peak. He set his exit target at 30 points — staying behind more than 50% of the total move — and that’s exactly where he took it. Got stopped out flat. Closed the platform. Done.

• Why 30 and not 70? Price was pressing into a trend line. Against a trend line in a bear market is a hard place to stay long. Taking a measured profit and stepping aside is the disciplined call.
• Adding to the winner: George noted a spot about 50 points into the move where he could have added to the long with zero risk. Would have done it… but was prepping for the AM briefing. That’s one of the core principles — identify where you can add to a winning trade risk-free, then do it when you can.
• Counter-trend awareness: In a bear-controlled market, you give longs some room — but you also have to capture a reasonable piece before the bears reassert. 30 points in a parabolic down move is not a small number.

🔭 What We’re Watching Now

Battle plan trades are done. George is flat and watching the 30-minute chart. Here’s the setup going forward…

• London Low Ladder Backs: First priority for a new entry. Price came down to the overnight/London low area and VWAP — a great location. Wait for a ladder back above and look for a core strategy entry.
• RTH Halfback — Tested: The halfback (bull-bear line for today’s session) has been tested in RTH. George dropped the opacity on it — it’s noted, it’s done, move on.
• The Trend Line Problem: Price is sandwiched near a downward trend line. Going long against a trend line in a bear-controlled market is a tough spot. Price could easily get rejected and make a new low. If it pushes further down to better levels, that’s the preferred location for a new long.
• RTH Gap — Still Untested: The RTH gap discussed in Sunday’s video has not been tested in the RTH session. That remains a level of interest to the upside.
• Overnight Low — Not Tested RTH: Also still on the map. Weekly low maintenance period active.
• Index Divergence: Three of the four major indexes are in the lower distribution and below VWAP. The Dow is notably still in the upper distribution. Worth watching — but the weight of the evidence is clearly south.

🧠 Psychology — Stick to Your Trade Plan

Last week was a rough one… and George wants to make sure you’re not changing your entire trade plan because of one monster week of 15-point candles. Stick to the plan. There are seasons in trading — and last week was its own wild season.

• Zero Core Strategy Points Last Week: Not a mistake. Not an oversight. The advanced scalping system calls for standing down when candles are moving 15 points in a single bar. Sometimes the trade is no trade. That’s a real position.
• Mental Rehearsal: Even on weeks when you can’t trade, you should be mentally rehearsing. High-performance athletes do it. The Blue Angels do it. A full mental walkthrough of your setup, entries, and exits is real practice.
• Two Massive Short Squeezes Expected: Even in a parabolic move south, George is calling for at least two big squeeze moves this week. The best rallies — the best short squeezes — happen when the bears are in control. That’s when the MicrosTrader system works its best.
• Counter-Trend Sizing: When trading against the dominant trend, size matters. One MES overnight is not the same as three full contracts at a keyboard. Know your exposure. Respect the context.
• The Monday Unlock: Every Monday, the full Battle Plan is unlocked for non-members — like a free Costco sample. If you haven’t signed up yet, at least use the unlock tonight and see what you’ve been missing.

COMMON QUESTIONS FOR ES FUTURES TRADERS

Why is George looking for longs when the market is in a parabolic move south?

A: Counter-trend longs during bear-controlled markets are where the MicrosTrader system generates its best results. Short squeezes in a downtrend can produce 10, 15, even 20+ point moves with clear, defined entry levels from the battle plan. The strategy isn’t to fight the trend blindly — it’s to identify specific high-probability locations where a bounce is most likely, enter with defined risk, and capture a piece of the move. The first serious short of interest is nearly 200 points away. Until then, we hunt longs.

What is the Speculator Special and what was the level this morning?

A: The Speculator Special is a high-conviction trade setup identified in the Battle Plan for a location significantly extended from current price — typically a major resistance or support level where George expects a larger-than-normal reaction. On March 30th, the Speculator Special was a short at the 65.75–65.81 area. Price pushed toward that zone but fell short of reaching it. The setup remains on the map — it just hasn’t triggered yet.

What does it mean to enter a trade with a six-point stop and go back to bed?

A: This is a defined-risk overnight position — one of the tools available when a battle plan trade level triggers during the overnight session. Instead of staying glued to the screen, George placed a limit order at the BP2 reclaim level (64.11), set a six-point stop loss, and let the trade work while he slept. The maximum loss was known before the trade was placed. This approach only works because the battle plan identifies the exact level in advance — it’s not a guess, it’s a pre-planned entry with controlled exposure using a single MES contract.

What is laddering and what does it look like in practice?

A: Laddering refers to repeated tests of a price level before a significant breakout move occurs. Each test of the level “builds the ladder” — price bounces, comes back, tests again, and the accumulation of those attempts signals that a breakout is likely when it finally clears. This morning in the BP3 zone, price tested the same level six times before breaking out with conviction. Six failed attempts followed by a vengeance move is a textbook laddering sequence.

Why were zero Core Strategy points awarded last week?

A: Last week featured 15-point candles — massive, fast-moving price action that falls outside the conditions where the advanced scalping system is designed to perform. The system includes a stand-down rule for extreme volatility: when candles are moving 15 points in a single bar, the correct position is no trade. George made the deliberate call not to award core strategy points because the conditions didn’t meet the setup criteria. Sometimes the best trade is no trade — and recognizing that is part of the system, not a failure of it.

What is the rule about adding to a winning trade risk-free?

A: One of the cornerstones of the MicrosTrader Three-Contract System is identifying locations where you can add to an already-winning position without taking on additional risk. Once a trade has moved in your favor enough to cover the cost of an additional contract with room to spare, adding at a key level becomes a zero-risk expansion of the position. George identified such a spot about 50 points into his overnight long this morning — he would have added there had he not been prepping the AM briefing. The principle: let winning trades grow, add at the right locations, and protect your basis.

What is the RTH halfback and why does it matter?

A: The RTH halfback is the midpoint of the Regular Trading Hours session range — essentially the bull-bear line for that day’s session. Price trading above the halfback favors bulls; below it favors bears. When price tests and rejects from the halfback, it signals the dominant side is defending that level. This morning the RTH halfback was tested and showed a rejection, which was consistent with the bear-controlled context. Once a level like this is tested and confirmed, George reduces its visual prominence on the chart (drops the opacity) to keep the chart clean while still noting the test.

What news events should ES futures traders watch this week?

A: Four key events: Powell speaking Monday morning (already creating volatility at the open), JOLTS data on Thursday, Non-Farm Payroll on Friday — but Friday is Good Friday and there is no RTH session. Nike reports earnings Tuesday after the close, the only earnings event worth tracking. Traders should also note this is a shortened four-day trading week, which can compress volatility and positioning into fewer sessions.