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In this morning’s AM Briefing, I remarked that sometimes we open up, pull back in, and then the song and dance starts all over. That’s when we look for the deeper setups from the ES & MES Futures Battle Plan — coming into the overnight low, RTH halfback. I don’t think range is going to be a concern today.

As we came down into this final Battle Plan area — number four — the key was staying out of the way until it started to “ladder.” And sure enough, we made it all the way down there. Hard to believe. Now, let’s see if we can get back above this strong range and have the bulls defend price. No defense yet.

I don’t have anything below that level — the first potential ladders are here or here. We want to see the first bounce, then a second. If you took the first ladder, you can’t let it turn into a loser. Ideally, that fair value gap stays open, then we reclaim the strong level. Same with the second ladder: don’t let it hurt you.

That’s exactly what this trade was mapped out for, and so far it’s played out pretty nicely. But remember, anything can happen. We’re still under the bull/bear line, pressing down hard, and risk of short covering is high. Beautiful area for that to start — but we’ve got to get back over the strong level.

If you took either of those ladders, protect yourself. Below us are more lows: RTH low, overnight low, RTH halfback not tested. I’ve also got a strong level here and another strong range there. They didn’t reverse price, but they played their role.

Now, in real time: we’re using NQ and Dow to time our next trade against that strong level. Multi-index confluence is key, especially on potential turnaround short-covering rallies. NQ is approaching a daily ladder point, which is critical.

When ES is moving in a straight line like this, the best thing you can do is wait for the second ladder. First ladders are always riskier. NQ is almost there.

On the Essentials indicator, you’ll see two yellow markers: 20 points and 30 points from VWAP — basically VWAP bands. We’ve also got a volume imbalance and a new low. NQ is closing in on its daily ladder point — our next real area of interest.

If you took the first ladder, stay protective. I personally took 7350, with a one-tick stop. Small risk. The goal is to see it bounce and reclaim the strong range. If NQ hadn’t already tapped that ladder point, I’d have been more aggressive. Still, I trust my strong levels.

I added a contract and moved combined risk to breakeven. First chance for bulls to defend — but no real defense yet. Dow slipping under, NQ almost at its spot. We’ve been selling for an hour straight. These vomit moves usually last 1–3 hours.

Finally, NQ grabbed its level. We’re now testing the strong range. Will this be the catalyst for a bounce? Bulls have their first opportunity here. If we get above, it should be a relatively clean move.

When it’s a vomit day, typically the market runs four or five strong levels and gives you three to five ladders on a 3-minute chart. Today we’ve hit about that — four strong levels and five ladders — and we’re about 90 minutes into the selloff. That’s usually when it runs out of gas.

The ES & MES Futures Battle Plan is designed to anticipate exactly this type of structure. You can see how price bounced around the strong levels all day — reacting, battling, respecting. That’s why I wouldn’t want to trade without them.

This also highlights the power of keeping one MES contract alive as a runner. You don’t know which move will explode, and when it does, it’s beautiful.

Every week, my goal is to give you one trade idea that, if managed properly, can pay for your entire month’s membership. That’s the power of the ES & MES Futures Battle Plan — identifying where great bulls know the bears are, and where great bears know the bulls are.

So, as we head toward Power Hour, I’m just holding my runner. Next, I’ll outline tonight’s trades and publish the new Battle Plan. If you’d like to get that, go to Microstrader.com and click Battle Plan.

Hope you had a great day. I’ll see you tonight for the Battle Plan, or tomorrow morning for the AM Briefing.