Skip to content
Steady Turtle Steady Turtle Trading Futures · NinjaTrader 8 · Est. 2021
Get the Bundle →
4.8/5 1,200+ futures traders
§ Knowledge Free Library ES & NQ Futures

Read first. Trade second.

✓ Free, permanently ✓ No sign-up wall ✓ Written by a trader

The long-form half of Steady Turtle, the writing the indicators were built around. Three multi-part series and a handful of standalone playbooks covering the primitives, the setups, and the mental work of trading futures. All free, all here, nothing gated behind an email.

Browse the series ↓ Jump to the playbooks ↓
New here? Start with Getting Started.
What's inside 3 series · 5 playbooks
§ The Series Structured, chapter by chapter

Three arcs. Read in order or dip in.

Each series is a complete track on one topic, not a reading list. Chapter one is the primer; the last chapter is the part most people won't skip to.

I
Series · Price Action · 5 parts

Mastering Fair Value Gaps

The three-candle imbalance pattern is one of the highest-leverage primitives in futures: when it forms, when it fails, how to trade the retest, and how to sit on your hands when it doesn't print. Five chapters.

Start the series →
  1. 01 Understanding Fair Value Gaps 12 min
  2. 02 Identifying Fair Value Gaps 7 min
  3. 03 Trading Fair Value Gaps 8 min
  4. 04 Fair Value Gap Psychology 8 min
  5. 05 Advanced Fair Value Gap Techniques 6 min
II
Series · Psychology · 4 parts

Mastering Trading Psychology

Every working setup eventually meets a trader who can't follow it. Four chapters on the interior work: spotting your own triggers, building routines that hold under P&L pressure, getting back on the horse after a loss, and showing up at your best day after day.

Start the series →
  1. 01 Identifying & Managing Emotional Triggers 7 min
  2. 02 Discipline Foundations for Traders 7 min
  3. 03 Effective Strategies for Handling Losses 7 min
  4. 04 Achieving Peak Performance in Trading 7 min
III
Series · Beginner · 5 parts

Getting Started with Futures Trading

A five-part primer for traders moving into futures from equities, FX, or nowhere at all: the contract mechanics, the NinjaTrader 8 surface, why indicators earn their chart space, and what a practical first year actually looks like.

Start the series →
  1. 01 Decoding Futures Trading 15 min
  2. 02 Introducing NinjaTrader 8 20 min
  3. 03 The Power of Trading Indicators 10 min
  4. 04 Practical Application of Indicators 11 min
  5. 05 Your Futures Trading Journey 7 min
§ The Playbooks Standalone · one sitting each

Five guides. One sitting each.

Longer than a newsletter, shorter than a book. Each one is a complete treatment of a strategy or a reference, entry rules, invalidation, the indicators that make it visible.

Reference 11 min

CME Single Stock Futures

A day trader's guide to the July 2026 launch

CME launches Single Stock Futures on July 27, 2026: cash-settled futures on NVDA, TSLA, AAPL and 50+ top US names, trading on Globex right next to ES and NQ. Contract specs, margin, hours, and the day-trading strategies that transfer.

  • · Contract specs, sizes & launch details
  • · Why the future beats the stock: no PDT, easy shorts
  • · The NinjaTrader strategies that transfer
  • · The liquidity and leverage risks to respect
Read the guide →
Reference 15 min

Best NinjaTrader 8 Indicators

A 2026 reference for ES & NQ day traders

Which NinjaTrader 8 indicators actually earn their chart space: organized by trading need (structure, volume, context), with the reasoning for picking one over another. Twelve tools, reviewed.

  • · Finding key levels & session structure
  • · Reading volume and order flow
  • · Context indicators that filter the noise
  • · Twelve indicators, reviewed in one sitting
Read the guide →
Playbook 12 min

Day Trading Strategies

Six proven setups for ES & NQ futures

Six specific intraday setups: entry rules, invalidation, target logic, and the indicators that make the setup visible. Not a watchlist of patterns, a small playbook you can run.

  • · Daily level sweep & reversal
  • · VWAP bounce play
  • · Triple-confluence setup
  • · Risk and execution notes per setup
Read the guide →
Strategy 15 min

Initial Balance Trading Strategy

The first hour of cash, and what to do with it

A complete framework for the Initial Balance: breakouts out of range, fades inside range, and the 1×, 2×, 3× extensions that work as profit targets. Plus confluence with VWAP, pivots, and overnight structure.

  • · IB breakout, direction, and continuation
  • · IB fade & mean-reversion setups
  • · Extension targets at 1.5×, 2×, 3×
  • · Confluence with VWAP and key levels
Read the guide →
Strategy 18 min

Opening Range Breakout Strategy

The first five minutes, drawn live

The five-minute Opening Range as the earliest directional tell of the session: how to trade the classic breakout, the failure-of-breakout fade, and the confluence setup with Initial Balance and overnight session extremes.

  • · Classic ORB breakout rules
  • · Failure-of-breakout fade setup
  • · ORB + Initial Balance confluence
  • · Integration with overnight session levels
Read the guide →

The writing ends here. The tools begin.

The library is what the tools are built around. The indicator catalog is where you turn the concepts into something the chart draws.

Setup guides → See every indicator →