diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index f0df4a8..b28fd84 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -59,15 +59,19 @@ Two fixes brought it back, in this order:
 - **Alert suppression** keyed on cluster identity, so a level drifting in or out of a
   group counted as a new zone. It now suppresses by *proximity*: two zones within one
   ATR are the same zone. 54 → 40.
+- **Suppression also matched on side**, and side is positional — a level sitting at
+  price flips between support and resistance every time price ticks across it. Each
+  flip read as a new zone. Found by putting a real line at the live price and getting
+  four pushes in two minutes. 40 → 26.
 
 Only then does the cooldown do anything useful. At threshold `28` the sweep reads:
 
 | cooldown | total | max/session |
 |---|---|---|
-| 900s | 40 | 30 |
-| 3600s | 29 | 20 |
-| 7200s | 22 | 14 |
-| **14400s (selected)** | **17** | **9** |
+| 900s | 26 | 19 |
+| 3600s | 18 | 12 |
+| 7200s | 12 | 7 |
+| **14400s (selected)** | **10** | **5** |
 
 Note the threshold itself is a blunt control: scores are sums of 12s (moving averages,
 VWAP) and 16s (prior-day levels), so `20`, `24` and `28` behave identically and `32`
diff --git a/app/analysis/alerts.py b/app/analysis/alerts.py
index dc4dc4c..3004301 100644
--- a/app/analysis/alerts.py
+++ b/app/analysis/alerts.py
@@ -12,7 +12,6 @@ class Alert:
 
 @dataclass(slots=True)
 class _Fired:
-    side: str
     center: float
     at: int
 
@@ -70,13 +69,16 @@ class AlertEngine:
                 continue
             if abs(cluster.center - current_price) > tolerance:
                 continue
+            # Deliberately not matched on side. A level sitting at price flips
+            # between support and resistance every time price ticks across it,
+            # because the side is positional. Matching on it meant a zone price
+            # was oscillating on re-alerted on every crossing — which is exactly
+            # when a level is least newsworthy, not most.
             if any(
-                entry.side == cluster.side.value
-                and abs(entry.center - cluster.center) <= merge_distance
-                for entry in self._fired
+                abs(entry.center - cluster.center) <= merge_distance for entry in self._fired
             ):
                 continue
-            self._fired.append(_Fired(cluster.side.value, cluster.center, now))
+            self._fired.append(_Fired(cluster.center, now))
             direction = "BEARISH" if cluster.side.value == "resistance" else "BULLISH"
             timeframes = ", ".join(dict.fromkeys(member.tf.value for member in cluster.members))
             # Naming the line matters: "your line" is actionable in a way that
diff --git a/tests/test_alerts.py b/tests/test_alerts.py
index 8c74640..2f61fd4 100644
--- a/tests/test_alerts.py
+++ b/tests/test_alerts.py
@@ -75,6 +75,21 @@ def test_drawn_line_clustering_with_levels_reports_as_a_zone():
     assert "swing high" in alerts[0].message  # the line is still named
 
 
+def test_price_crossing_a_level_does_not_re_alert_on_the_side_flip():
+    # Side is positional, so a level sitting at price flips between support and
+    # resistance on every tick across it. This produced a fresh alert per
+    # crossing — four in two minutes when first tried against a live line.
+    engine = AlertEngine(min_score=6, cooldown_seconds=900)
+    line = [drawn_line("ml_1", 100, weight=8)]
+
+    below = cluster_levels(line, 100, 99.9, 1)  # level above price -> resistance
+    assert len(engine.evaluate(below, 99.9, 1, 0, "/ES")) == 1
+
+    above = cluster_levels(line, 100, 100.1, 1)  # price crossed -> now support
+    assert above and above[0].side is not below[0].side, "the flip must actually occur"
+    assert engine.evaluate(above, 100.1, 1, 30, "/ES") == []
+
+
 def test_a_genuinely_separate_zone_still_alerts_during_cooldown():
     # The cooldown is per zone, not global: a level far away is new information.
     engine = AlertEngine(min_score=6, cooldown_seconds=900)