AM Briefing #825: All-Time Highs Are The Hardest Place To Trade

AM BRIEFING

ES CHART | KEY LEVELS | SETUPS

TIP OF THE DAY: ALL-TIME HIGHS ARE THE HARDEST SEAT

Price is pinned at the biggest magnet on the chart… the all-time high. There is no more difficult place to trade. Above you sits blue sky with no prior structure to lean on, so the clean reactions thin out and the reads get squirrelly.

This is a MODERATE EXPECTATIONS environment. The Battle Plan got us here, the runner is paying, and the smart move now is to respect how thin the air is up here rather than force fresh size into it.

THE RECAP: RIDING THE RUNNER TO THE MAGNET

The chart finally tagged the unadjusted all-time high… the real all-time high. We went long off Battle Plan entries and let the move breathe. There was a moment where the choice was to bank a quick 20 points or hold for the 50-pointer, and holding is what paid. Price ran clean into Target on the 50-pointer and kept going toward the biggest magnet on the chart.

▶ Watch this moment in the AM Briefing

▶ Watch this moment in the AM Briefing

George is STILL long from the original Battle Plan entry. He laddered in… added to the trade, captured 10 points on one add, added again, then took a 130-pointer off the add-on. The lotto runner from the original entry down low is still open on over 300 points.

• Hold, don’t clip: Banking 20 points felt safe, but it would have cost the 50-pointer and the runner beyond it.
• Add to strength: Each add-on stacked on a trade already working, not a losing position.
• Runners are rare: A 300-pointer does not come often. We tend to get one or two trades a week that run 100+.

RECLAIM THE BULL BEAR LINE, STAY LONG

Once we reclaim the Bull Bear Line, the last thing you want to do is short this price action. George called it straight… longs are the right trade about 90% of the time on this chart. Fading strength up here is how bounce traders get run over.

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There was a Speculator Special short on the table that had bounced 8 points, and there is a possible Battle Plan short we will look at live. Those are the exception, not the plan. The bias stays long until the structure says otherwise.

THREE WAYS YOU EARN POINTS

Our system earns points three ways. Each one carries its own weight, and together they keep you on the right side of price action.

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1. The Battle Plan: Fewer, higher quality, pre-planned trades mapped on your TradingView chart. High-probability reactions with clear spots to go long and clear spots to go short.
2. Zoom Live Training: Thousands of cumulative hours training together. It hands you extra trades from the Core Strategy and the reps, and it keeps you calm and patient. The value of Zoom shows up in the points earned AND the points saved.
3. Core Strategy: You draw three basic bounce levels. Price hits the level, price bounces, you trade the bounce. These levels are black and white… either it is or it isn’t, so your levels will match George’s.

Finish the Core Strategy and you will swear you have x-ray vision on the chart. George also runs the four badge challenge… you submit four charts and he personally grades them to confirm you are marking your levels correctly. No one else offers that.

ANATOMY OF THE BATTLE PLAN

The Battle Plan has two halves, and one of them is free for everybody, every day.

▶ Watch this moment in the AM Briefing

• Review section (free, unlocked): The recap of what happened today. A wrap-up video, trade analysis, tip of the day, triggered homework, a scoreboard on how well we did, and the economic calendar.
• Battle Plan section (members): The mapped trade ideas and notes. Market context, an update on the ES price map, and the indicators that put the Strong Levels and the magnets on your chart for you. George usually includes a short audio, 3 to 5 minutes, that reads it to you.

Short and to the point by design. No long, drawn-out process… distilled for a trader who wants the map and not the lecture.

NEW FREE GIFT: TRADE PLAN BUILDER IN FOUNDATIONS

George just added the Trade Plan Builder and the Leverage Metrics training to the free Foundations Course. Free members and Battle Plan members now get the exact same Trade Plan Builder a full member gets, as a gift. It walks you through 22 sections of building a great trade plan.

That matters most on a day like today. When the tape is hard and the air is thin at all-time highs, the slow hours are training time. Go to microstrader.com, click Free Course, and put the reps in while the market is quiet.

COMMON QUESTIONS FOR ES FUTURES TRADERS

Why are all-time highs so hard to trade?

A: At all-time highs there is no prior structure overhead… price is in blue sky with no historical levels to react off. That thins out the clean setups and makes the reads unreliable, so you moderate your expectations and lean on your mapped plan instead of forcing fresh trades.

What is the all-time high magnet on the ES chart?

A: A magnet is a price level that tends to draw price toward it. The all-time high is the biggest magnet on the chart, which is why the Battle Plan runner was held all the way into it rather than closed early.

Why hold a runner instead of taking the quick 20 points?

A: Banking 20 points feels safe, and it also caps you out before the move finishes. Today holding delivered the 50-pointer and left the lotto runner open on over 300 points. Runners like that are rare, but one or two trades a week tend to run 100+ points, and you only catch them by holding.

What does it mean to add to a winning trade?

A: Adding to a winner means laddering more contracts into a position that is already working in your favor. George added at two spots, captured 10 points on one add and 130 points on the add-on, while keeping the original lotto runner open. You add to strength, never to a losing trade.

What is the Bull Bear Line and why does it keep me long?

A: The Bull Bear Line is the key level dividing bullish and bearish bias. Once price reclaims it, the chart favors longs, so fading it with shorts fights the dominant flow. On this chart longs are the right trade about 90% of the time.

What is a Speculator Special short?

A: It is a low-probability, counter-trend short taken by a speculator against the primary bias. One had bounced 8 points today, but the plan stayed focused on longs. These are the exception, kept small if taken at all.

How does the three-way points system work?

A: You earn points three ways. The Battle Plan gives you fewer, higher quality pre-mapped trades. Zoom live training gives you extra trades and keeps you calm and on the right side of price. The Core Strategy has you draw three bounce levels and trade the bounces. Together they earn points and save points.

What are the three Core Strategy bounce levels?

A: The Core Strategy uses three basic bounce levels you draw on the chart. Price hits the level, price bounces, and you trade the bounce. The rules are black and white, so your levels will match George’s, and the four badge challenge lets him personally grade four of your charts.

What is the free Trade Plan Builder in the Foundations Course?

A: The Trade Plan Builder is the same tool full members use, now given free inside the Foundations Course along with the Leverage Metrics training. It walks you through 22 sections of building a trade plan. Go to microstrader.com and click Free Course to access it.

📅 Upcoming This Week

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

• Wednesday, Wed Aug 5: AM Briefing · Live Stream
• Thursday, Thu Aug 6: AM Briefing · Live Stream
• Friday, Fri Aug 7: AM Briefing · Live Stream