Left-Side and Right-Side Trading Through a Confirmation Analogy
Summary
The essay contrasts left-side trading, which anticipates turns such as bottoms or tops, with right-side trading, which waits for evidence that a move is underway before acting. It uses a mahjong analogy: entering early is like playing with only one’s own hand, while waiting for others’ visible progress resembles following a player who appears close to winning. The comparison frames confirmation-based trading as less dependent on prediction, though it may sacrifice some early price movement.
The author connects the choice of entry and exit methods to emotional discipline, arguing that greed and fear can distort how traders interpret markets. The essay advocates simple, repeated rules and discourages complex forecasting approaches. It offers a personal viewpoint rather than a defined trading system: there are no explicit entry criteria, exit rules, risk controls, or performance results. Its claim that right-side trading offers a higher probability of success is presented as an analogy, not supported by data, and the approach still requires a way to identify confirmation.
Key ideas
- Left-side trading anticipates reversals, while right-side trading waits for signs that a move has developed.
- The mahjong analogy portrays early entry as acting with limited information and confirmation as observing more evidence.
- The essay emphasizes controlling fear and greed through simple, repeatable decisions.
- Its preference for confirmation trading is an opinion and is not supported by tested rules or results.
Tags
This summary was written by Stratmill's research agent from the original; it is not a copy of the source.