AM Briefing #835: Hold The Runner And Play Perfect Chess

AM BRIEFING

ES CHART | KEY LEVELS | SETUPS

THE POSITIONAL SHORT PAID… 7730 TAGGED OVERNIGHT

Last night’s Battle Plan called the short and said stay short, target 7730, stop above Friday’s close. It came in as a strong mapping and a Core Strategy entry with roughly a 6-point stop loss for a possible 70-point trade. That is the risk-reward George builds around.

• Jackie’s trade: two contracts, both exited at 30 points… a beautiful 60-point day and a textbook example of perfect chess.
• If you were forced out: prop rules or an end-of-day exit did not disqualify a re-entry. The job was to make it to target.
• No knife-catching: George mapped zero longs up high. The only longs lived below, tied to reclaiming and getting back above the range.

THE SYSTEM IN A NUTSHELL

The whole approach is designed around fewer, higher-quality, pre-planned, well-thought-out trades with laser-tight entries, run through the 3-Contract System. You peel contracts into strength, then send a runner back out to capture the big move.

▶ Watch this moment in the AM Briefing

• Hold the runner: you do not know how far a strong move goes… so you hold the line and let it run.
• Add to winners: when a mapped move really gets going, add to the trade per the notes.
• Journal and refine: scrutinize your trade performance, refine your setups, and run the same process every day.

TRADE YOUR RULES… PROCESS OVER OUTCOME

George walked his own talk yesterday. Two break-even trades, then he stood down for the rest of the day and said he had no interest in trading again until price reached the bottom of the range. He missed the afternoon trade… and that was fine.

His rule is simple: anytime he is out more than 3 points, he does not let it come back against him. He traded the rules that work for him, honored his process, and let the missed setup go. There is always another high-probability trade around the corner.

OPEN THE BATTLE PLAN… THE MAPPINGS ARE NOT THE WHOLE STORY

Long-time members get comfortable. The mappings arrive on your chart as an indicator, so actually opening the Battle Plan starts to feel like a chore. That is exactly when you start missing things.

Yesterday’s range was published inside the price map, and skipping the read meant skipping that context… plus the entire review section. Spend the few minutes. The Battle Plan review section is completely unlocked, so even non-members can read what happened and why.

WHERE WE ARE… BOTTOM OF THE RANGE

Price made it down to the bottom of the range overnight, right where the plan pointed. At the bottom of the range, George prefers to look for the long first and the short second. Two paths are mapped.

• Battle Plan 3 (long): reclaim the range and get back above it, then look for the move north. This one has been working… it nearly delivered a 10-pointer already.
• Battle Plan 4 (short): also a valid short and, for the aggressive, an add-on short if price loses the bottom. If you were short from above and up 70 points, patience let you wait for the bounce off the bottom before adding.
• Aggressive mapping below: if the range breaks, the next mapped level sits down near 7630.

The broader tape: bounce levels drawn yesterday did their job. The Dow is still inside yesterday’s range and pulling back to its halfback, while NQ and ES are on the same train, well below a downward-sloping VWAP. Short trades try to stay short… longs off Battle Plan 3 try to stay long.

BACK UP YOUR LEVELS BEFORE THEY VANISH

Could every drawing on your chart get deleted by accident? You bet it could. George showed a simple TradingView backup routine so a bad click never wipes your mapped levels.

▶ Watch this moment in the AM Briefing

1. In the object tree, select the folder holding your drawings and copy it (Command or Control + C).
2. Open a different instrument… the continuous contract works well.
3. Paste into that chart’s object tree, then group the drawings into a folder.
4. Rename it something clear, like “Back Up August 18.”

Now your levels live safely on a separate instrument. Do it more often than you think you need to.

NEW FEATURE PREVIEW… THE MICROSCOPE

A new tool called Microscope is coming to Chart Buddy, George’s TradingView automation software. Click a single 30-minute candle and it drops the 10-minute, 3-minute, and 1-minute candles inside that one candle… no time-frame switching required.

• Fully programmable: pick the anchor time, choose which time frames to reveal, and set how long they display.
• Zip back up: the view can snap closed automatically after a set time, or stay open.
• Clean backdrop: toggle it to clear the chart and show only the exploded candles, so you see the internal structure without clutter.

Drop to a 3-minute candle and see the 1-minute and 30-second candles inside it… including the clean levels hiding in there.

THE BATTLE PLAN ANATOMY

George walked through how the Battle Plan is built so you get the most out of it.

• Review section (unlocked): what happened, a recap, trade analysis, the tip of the day, trader homework, the scoreboard, and the economic calendar for the next two days.
• The Battle Plan (members): where we are, which trains we want, where to enter, exit, and add.
• Audio read: a 3 to 5 minute narrated version so you can absorb the plan on the go.

Backdrop for the week: all-time highs, a small expected range, summer trading with no real macro drivers, and Opex Friday ahead. Moderate your expectations in this environment… overtrading here will not lead to great results.

COMMON QUESTIONS FOR ES FUTURES TRADERS

What was the ES futures trade plan today?

A: Yesterday’s positional short targeted 7730 and tagged it overnight for an 80-point full move. At the bottom of the range, two paths are mapped… Battle Plan 3 is the long on a reclaim back above the range, and Battle Plan 4 is a short with an aggressive add-on if the range bottom breaks toward the mapped level near 7630.

Why is holding a runner so important in the 3-Contract System?

A: A runner is the contract you keep working after peeling profit into strength. Because you can never know exactly how far a strong move will travel, holding the runner is how you capture the big move. George calls learning to hold a runner the most profitable skill he can teach.

What is a positional short?

A: It is a higher-time-frame short taken from a mapped level with a defined target and a stop placed above a structural reference, in this case above Friday’s close. Yesterday’s version risked about 6 points for a possible 70-point move down to 7730.

Why does George look for a long before a short at the bottom of a range?

A: The bottom of a range is where price frequently bounces first before any further breakdown. Hunting the long there lets the mapping reveal itself… you wait for the bounce and reclaim rather than blindly shorting into support.

How do I back up my chart levels in TradingView?

A: Select the folder of drawings in the object tree and copy it, open a different instrument like the continuous contract, paste it into that chart’s object tree, group the drawings into a folder, and rename it with the date. Your levels are now saved safely on a separate instrument.

What is the Microscope feature coming to Chart Buddy?

A: Microscope is a new TradingView automation that lets you click a single candle and reveal the lower time-frame candles inside it. Click a 30-minute candle to see the 10-minute, 3-minute, and 1-minute structure without switching charts. It is programmable and can auto-close after a set time.

Why should I still read the Battle Plan if the levels already appear on my chart?

A: The mappings arrive as an indicator, but the written Battle Plan carries context the chart alone does not… like the day’s range, the reasoning behind each level, and the full review section. Skipping the read means missing information you should not be missing.

How should I trade a slow summer tape near all-time highs?

A: Moderate your expectations. With a small expected range, no major macro drivers, and Opex Friday ahead, overtrading tends to punish size. Take fewer, higher-quality, pre-planned trades and let the mapped setups come to you.

What is George’s rule for exiting a trade that moves against him?

A: Anytime he is more than 3 points out on a trade, he does not let it come back against him. It is a fixed process rule that protects capital and mindset, even when it occasionally costs him a trade that later would have worked.

📅 Upcoming This Week

Hit the bell — every AM Briefing and live trading session this week is already scheduled on YouTube:

• Wednesday, Wed Aug 19: AM Briefing · Live Stream
• Thursday, Thu Aug 20: AM Briefing · Live Stream
• Friday, Fri Aug 21: AM Briefing · Live Stream