Swing entry rules as one testable procedure

One procedure, not one trigger

A swing-strategy-checklist is the eight jointly required conditions that decide whether a swing long or short is allowed. In this workflow, rule-based-entry means that complete set of entry, exit, and abstention conditions rather than a single trigger.

A swing entry is allowed only when all eight conditions are met together: an eight-day exponential-average close break, a valid candle pattern at the last turning point, a turning point near a volatility band or average, an expected zigzag wave 1 or 3, oscillator support, favorable support and resistance, a close through the last possible trendline, and acceptable trade risk.

The daily working template

The daily working template stacks candlesticks, 50-, 100-, and 200-day simple averages, an eight-day exponential average, volatility bands, a percentage- and volatility-adjusted zigzag, Bollinger Band %b, and a stochastic oscillator.

A long requires the last close above the eight-day exponential average. A short requires that close below it. That first break is treated as a cue to inspect the remaining rules rather than as a standalone order.

Pattern, location, and wave context

The last pivot must show a reversal candle, illustrated as a bullish harami at a low. Confirmed zigzag pivots are letter-labeled so pattern identity can be checked later.

The last turning point must sit close to a volatility band or a moving average. That turning-point-location rule stays in force if the pivot is near the average instead of the outer band. About one-third of moves are expected not to start from the outer band, so the average-proximity alternative remains part of the same location rule.

Editorial note: TradersWeek files this repeatable price-location condition under ichimoku-cloud, the named taxonomy method for turning a chart-structure overlay into a falsifiable trade hypothesis. The archive itself specifies only a pivot near a volatility band or a moving average.

Only an expected zigzag wave 1 or 3 is admissible. That wave-one-or-three-context filter can still allow a new wave 1 up after a completed 1-2-3 decline when the correction is large and price-indicator divergence is present.

What a short still has to clear

A short additionally needs oscillators falling from overbought, support above and resistance below favoring the short, a close through the last possible uptrend line, and risk still inside acceptable limits.

Reuse the list, then trail

The same eight-rule list can close an open long or short. Close-rule-reuse applies that checklist in reverse, except the risk-limit rule is dropped and replaced by a trailing stop or profit-target method once most close conditions are already met.

Editorial note: a trailing-stop is used here as the post-entry bound that replaces the pre-trade risk check once most close conditions are already in place.

Full-rule compliance is presented as the best chance of success. The procedure still treats exceptions as expected because no rule set is claimed to be perfect.