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Battle Plan

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ES & MES FUTURES TRADE PLAN #376

SUNDAY/MONDAY RTHRTH (Regular Trading Hours)9:30 AM to 4:00 PM Eastern Time. This is when the big money is active. Higher volume, tighter spreads, more reliable price action. Full entry → SETUPS
📝 Posted: Friday, August 21, 2026

🎧 Read Aloud

1x

TODAY’S REVIEW: ES FUTURES

Fantastic Week

Price action gave us very little follow-through this week… but one Battle PlanBattle PlanA set of pre-mapped trade scenarios created the night before trading begins. This is your roadmap for the day. It outlines specific zones where you're interested in engaging price—long or short—if the market behaves according to plan. Full entry → trade idea delivered. Monday’s Short was “aggressively” mapped for a 70-point take profitTake ProfitYour target—where you take money off the table. Having a plan for profits is just as important as stops. Don't get greedy. Full entry →. Target hit. ES then ran 30 points beyond it. If you were aggressive and burning the midnight oil, a 100-pointer was on the table. We tend to get one or two of those a week.

Only once this week did a lotto runner pay… and it paid handsomely. 

TIP: Learning to hold a lotto runnerLotto RunnerA "risk-free" contract held after initial profits are locked in. Your stop is moved to break-even (or slightly profitable), allowing you to potentially capture a massive move—100+ points—with zero risk. Full entry → can change the trajectory of a trader’s career. We practice the concept every single session inside our ES Live Trading Room.

And then to round out the week… multiple 20 and 30-pointer Battle Plan trade ideas performed as well.

Keep looking for the right trades in the right trade locations and your odds of success skyrocket.

This Week on YouTube

Six videos hit the channel this week… two educational, four wrap-ups.

Give them a watch… and hook me up with a comment while you’re there. It helps more than you know.

Links are below. 

Battle Plan 3️⃣ Long | Best ES Long Setup

🔥 30-point Battle Plan 3️⃣ ES Long Setup

If you’re an international member or burnt the midnight oil, this was a beautiful trade.

Congratulations to Charles, who captured 25-points on this Battle Plan trade idea. He said he was packing for his week-long vacation. Now that’s a great way to start out a vacation. Have fun, Charles… and thanks for sharing your great trade with the group.

Right Trade in the Right Location ES Futures

Battle Plan 2️⃣ Add-on??

If you were long from the Battle Plan 3️⃣ long… could you have added to your winning trade at Battle Plan 2️⃣… Why yes!

In fact, Battle Plan 2️⃣ notes suggested it…  “Add-on long location.” 

See the chart below. 

Your add-on contract could have made an additional 10 points. Not too shabby!

🔥 As a core philosophy, we’re always looking to add to our winning trades. 

MES Micros Daily Trade Plan Recap

Battle Plan 2️⃣ ES Long Setup

Battle Plan 2️⃣ gave you a second look during the RTH session, targeting the value area highValue Area High (VAH)The upper boundary where 70% of the day's volume traded. Think of this as the "expensive zone." Price above VAH means we're in premium territory. Full entry → from Thursday. 

During the live trading room session on Zoom and YouTube… I made sure to point out the Value Area High and Value Area LowValue Area Low (VAL)The lower boundary of that same 70% volume zone. This is the "discount zone." Buyers typically step in here. When price dips to VAL, smart money is often accumulating. Full entry → from Thursday’s RTH session. I have included those levels for your reference in the ES chart below.

Note: The Value Area Low and Thursday’s RTH halfback aligned with the bottom of the Strong Range and Battle Plan 2️⃣ mapping. Talk about multiple confluences.

Of course, today was OPEXOPEX (Option Expiration)Occurs on Fridays and is typically associated with "whipsaw" price action, lack of trend, and price pinning. It's considered a dangerous day to chase trades. Full entry → Friday and no one has to trade on OPEX Friday.

ES Emini Battle Plan Price Map With Marked Levels

NES Nanos Futures Contract Starts Trading

The E-Nano contract is expected to begin trading next week.

Here is what I know so far.

E-Nano Futures Article

Expected Range for the ES Chart

A delightful 93 points… and I want to make every point of it!

PCED + Bessent speaks Monday + Walsh speaks on Friday. 

The Expected Range High and Expected Range Low are key levels for the ES chart.

ES Expected Range

Options-Implied Weekly Move · Week Ending Aug 28, 2026

Range Low

7,601.83

ES Price

7,695.25

Range High

7,788.67

  

Implied Move

±93.42 pts

Implied Move %

±1.21%

Implied move from SPX ATM straddle applied to ES front-month futures.
Not financial advice.

Tip of the Day

One Trade Can Make The Week:

A single well-located trade from the plan can define the whole week’s results.

That’s why you wait. You’re never waiting for A trade… you’re waiting for THE trade.

Trader’s Homework

ES Emini Battle Plan Price Map Mapped Trade Locations

Click Chart To Enlarge & Smash The Heart! [battleplan_like]

[trader_homework]

Tomorrow’s Live Streams

AM Briefing

AM Briefing

▶ Watch on YouTube🔔 Notify Me

YouTube Live Stream

YouTube Live Stream

▶ Watch on YouTube🔔 Notify Me

Scoreboard

Points Accumulated This Week:

Battle Plan: 210+

🔥 25-Points Battle Plan 3️⃣ long.

🔥 20-Points Battle Plan 2️⃣ long. 

Zoom: 75+

OPEX Friday. Nothing today but valuable group discussions. Especially on the NES Nano contract. 

Core Strategy: 25+ (For Full Members)

OPEX. A “no trade” day. 

The rules of Core Strategy are designed to keep you safe. 


ECONOMIC CALENDAR

MONDAY

8:30 AMChicago Fed National Activity Index

TUESDAY

8:15 AMADP Payrolls
9:00 AMHouse Price Index
10:00 AMCB Consumer Confidence
New Home Sales

Get Tomorrow’s Setups Tonight
LockView The Trade Setups

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COMMON QUESTIONS FOR ES FUTURES TRADERS

What is a Strong Level in the Battle Plan?

A: A Strong Level is a price on the ES chart where the market has proven it will react. Buyers or sellers have defended it before… so we expect a response when price returns. The Battle Plan maps these levels every session, sometimes as a single price and sometimes as a Strong Range between two prices. Trade ideas are built around them because the right trade in the right location is the whole game.

What is the Bull Bear Strong Level?

A: The Bull Bear Strong Level is the line on the chart that separates bullish control from bearish control. Above it, bulls run the session. Below it, bears take over. In this Battle Plan, the short idea comes from a rejectionRejectionRejection is the opposite of acceptance. It occurs when price is quickly pushed away from a level, often leaving tails or single prints behind. Full entry → at that line… the odds say price will not break into the established range on the very first try. That setup suits aggressive traders who like shorts.

What is Core Strategy?

A: Core Strategy is the rules-based trading system for Full Members. It defines exactly when to trade and when to sit out. On OPEX Friday it flagged a “no trade” day… and that is the point. The rules of Core Strategy are designed to keep you safe. Sitting flat on a squirrelly day protects your account so you can attack when conditions favor you.

What is the Expected Range and why does it matter?

A: The Expected Range is the options-implied move for ES over the coming week, calculated from the SPX at-the-money straddle. This week it projects a move of about 93 points… with a Range High near 7,788 and a Range Low near 7,601. The Expected Range High and Expected Range Low act as key levels for the ES chart. Price often slows or reverses when it reaches them.

What is a lotto runner?

A: A lotto runner is a small piece of a winning trade you leave on after taking profit on the rest. Most days it gets stopped out for little or nothing. But when the market runs, that one contract can ride a huge move… like the 70-point short this week that ran 100 points. Learning to hold a lotto runner can change the trajectory of a trader’s career, and we practice it every session in the live trading room.

MICROS TRADER BASICS

Humility in Execution

Humility in Execution is one of Micros Trader’s five core values. It means approaching markets with acceptanceAcceptanceAcceptance occurs when price spends time and volume at a level, signaling agreement between buyers and sellers. In Market Profile terms, acceptance means the auction is comfortable at that price and is not in a hurry to leave it. Full entry → that outcomes are never guaranteed… appreciating all results, from profitable trades to break-even outcomes.

The goal is a consistent process. Execute the plan. Respect the result. Show up the same way tomorrow. That is what builds a trading career.

Full lesson: Humility in Trading in the Trading Library

Learn more about Micros Trader →

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⚔️ Battle Plan Boot Camp

This Battle Plan you just read… there is a free simulator where you TRADE a real week of them. The actual published plans, the actual ES candles, George’s word-for-word notes… and Boot Camp Mode coaches you bar by bar. Runs in your browser.

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