Edge-band and mid-band timing

Who this entry is for — Same rise, two ways to board it: at once, at the channel edge, or after the first pause, in the middle. The second earns less per trade but more per unit of time — Chapter 1's arithmetic applied to the entry.

Source: J. M. Hurst, The Profit Magic of Stock Transaction Timing, Prentice-Hall, 1970 — Chapter 4, "Edge-Band" Transaction Timing and "Mid-Band" Transaction Timing (pp. 79–84, Figs. IV-6/IV-10).

Prerequisites

The valid trend line — the trigger of both entries. And the state table, which defines the zone.

Edge-band: buying at the edge

In plain words — Turn zone estimated, trend lines steepening, and at the first valid break inside the zone: market order. You are in at the lower edge of the channels, maximum climbing room ahead.

The sequence documented on Gruen (daily data with the weekly envelopes superimposed): the shaded time × price uncertainty area; the first solid peak, then the second → first downtrend line "leading directly into the heart of our price turn zone"; two days later a shorter-duration peak → a second, steeper line: the VTL. The very next day prices traded entirely above the line — the open was above it, "our signal to place an immediate order to buy at market". Executed at mid-range: 7½. The stock rises to 13 in 65 days.

The edge-band entry "can be generally counted on to provide a maximum of room for upside price motion for the trading cycle selected" — and the same technique works on any component, however long, for larger capital and horizons.

Mid-band: buying in the middle

In plain words — After the low, price often idles for a while: the long cycles still move slowly. Mid-band waits for the first pause and buys the restart — near the channel centre, where price runs fastest.

Edge-band's flaw is dead time: on Gruen, price idled nearly two weeks in the purchase area, then two more between 7¾ and 9. The reason is structural: the first turn indications come from the shortest periodicities, but no component provides its maximum rate of price change until it is halfway between low and high — and the long components, the ones that matter most, are barely moving when the first short-term signal appears.

Hence the second entry: let the edge-band pass (noted, not acted on), wait for the pause caused by the slightly longer component, and apply the VTL technique again near mid-channel. On Gruen the pause came with a low of the ~4-week cycle and a small triangle of two 1-week cycles: state table all up (>19 weeks hard up; 19-week 3½ along, hard up; 4-, 2- and 1-week bottoming out) → upside resolution predicted, the triangle's upper boundary was the VTL, and the next day's breakout gave the signal. Entry ~8½.

The same Gruen rise, two entries: EDGE at the channel bound, MID on the triangle break near the centre line.

Tap EDGE, the pause and MID

The comparison, with the book's numbers

	Edge-band	Mid-band
Entry (Gruen)	7½	~8½
Exit (for comparison)	13	13
Gross profit	+73.5%	+53%
Time	65 days	36 days
Yield per unit time	418%/yr	539%/yr

"As usual, the shorter time interval of trading produced the highest profit yield" — plus the compounding effect, even more impressive. The price to pay: time, effort and attention — intraday tracking to avoid chasing, and more issues analysed and ready so capital stays invested.

Warning — The triangle at Gruen's mid-band point was "a fortunate happenstance that will not always occur". The two rules that remain: always analyse triangles, of all sizes and shapes ("never pass up the opportunity"); and if no triangle forms, apply the valid downtrend line to the shortest component present, re-running the state analysis at every new high and low.

Summary card

Aspect	Edge-band	Mid-band
Where	Lower edge of the channels	Near the centre line
When	First valid break in the zone	After the first pause
Strength	Maximum room per trade	Maximum yield per unit time
Cost	Initial dead time	More work, finer tracking
Trigger	VTL	VTL (often on a triangle)