Wednesday, February 18, 2026 - Tony's Pre-Market Playbook
Pivot Pressure — Decision Dayby Tony Rago Overnight we tested the weekly pivot and saw a slight rejection off the level — nothing dramatic, but enough to show it’s being respected. The weekly pivot often acts as a tone-setter for the entire week, and when price holds above it while defending the weekly open, it…
Tuesday, February 17, 2026 - Tony's Pre-Market Playbook
Lower Highs, Higher Stakesby Tony Rago Overnight weakness continues to print lower highs on the higher time frames — that’s a subtle but important shift in structure. When price keeps failing at lower levels, it tells you sellers are defending early and often. Bulls need to regain traction and push back above the weekly opens…
The Bracket That Betrayed Me
Hey trader, Friday morning, I took three back-to-back losses on micros before my Golden Setup session even started. Every direction call was correct. Price came down, hit my stop, and came right back to my entry each time. "The direction call was good on my part, but there was just too much vol." The ES…
Friday, February 13, 2026 - Tony's Pre-Market Playbook
CPI Bounce — But The Line Is Drawnby Tony Rago CPI sparked the bounce we were looking for, lifting ES back into 6,850 and NQ toward 24,812 after probing the overnight lows. That’s a meaningful response — but let’s be clear, the bulls are still wounded. Now it’s all about holding yesterday’s closing levels. Those…
Thursday, February 12, 2026 - Tony's Pre-Market Playbook
Massive Ranges, Clear Focusby Tony Rago We’re sitting in a pure consolidation tape, but don’t mistake that for small moves. Yesterday we pushed to a new weekly high on the jobs reaction, then saw full liquidation all the way down to 6,933 on ES — and now we’re right back pressing 6,988 into the 7,000…
Wednesday, February 11, 2026 - Tony's Pre-Market Playbook
Jobs Revision Shrugged Off — Bulls Still in Controlby Tony Rago The revised jobs number hit and ES pushed right back to 6,988 while NQ tagged 25,333 — and the market barely flinched. No dramatic repricing, no emotional unwind. That tells you something. When data drops and price holds firm, it’s usually a sign of…
Tuesday, February 10, 2026 - Tony's Pre - Market Playbook
Holding the Line — Eyes on 7Kby Tony Rago Bulls showed up yesterday and did what they needed to do, holding the line and closing back above both the weekly open and the weekly pivot on ES and NQ. That’s meaningful context — reclaiming those levels often signals stabilization rather than continuation lower. That said,…
Monday, February 9, 2026 - Tony's Pre-Market Playbook
Back Into the Range — Leadership Checkby Tony Rago Friday’s rally pushed us right back into the heart of the big sideways zone we’ve been chopping around in for what feels like months. That context matters — range environments reward patience and punish chasing. Coming into the new week, bulls need to show they can…
How to Handle Volatility Daytrading
Hey trader, Monday's session hammered this home from a different angle. The S&P 500 had just printed a 152-handle daily bar, the NQ looked identical, and both were bleeding into the afternoon. Context forced another adaptation. I told the room: "A lot of times I like to buy things that are tested from above. On…
Friday, February 6, 2026 - Tony's Pre-Market Playbook
Bounce Earned — Or Borrowed?by Tony Rago Nice bounce overnight, and the first question is always whether the move already did the work without us. NQ is up roughly 500 handles off the lows, while ES has rebounded about 100 — solid relief after the pressure we saw earlier. Now it’s on the bulls to…