03/16/2026
Stop calling it an Impulse Wave until you check these 3 deal-breakers. ๐
Most traders label any 5-wave move as an Impulse. But real Impulses (5-3-5-3-5 structure) have non-negotiable rules. If you ignore these, your entire Elliott Wave count is wrong.
Here are the hard rules straight from the cheat sheet:
๐ซ Rule 1: Wave 2 cannot retrace past the start of Wave 1. If it does, your count is invalid.
๐ซ Rule 2: Wave 3 can never be the shortest impulse wave. Itโs usually the strongest, but it must be longer than both Wave 1 and Wave 5 in price.
๐ซ Rule 3: Wave 4 cannot enter the price territory of Wave 1 (no overlap).
The "Secret" Sauce (Guidelines):
๐ฅ Wave 3: Often explodes to 161.8% or 227.2% of Wave 1.
๐ฏ Wave 5: Often equals Wave 1 or hits an inverse 161.8% retracement of Wave 4.
Where do you find these?
They aren't just in the 1st, 3rd, or 5th wave positions. Impulse waves form the A and C legs of Zigzags (ZZ Family) and the C wave of Flats.
Check your charts. Are you trading a true Impulse, or just a correction pretending to be one?