Tips on Counting Waves: Keep It Simple

🔍 The Foundation: Motive vs. Corrective Waves

Every price move can be classified into one of two types:
Motive waves (which move in the direction of the trend)
Corrective waves (which move against it)

From there, we break it down into five core patterns:

Impulse
Ending Diagonal
Zigzag
Flat
Triangle

Each has its own rules and guidelines—but don't get overwhelmed. You don’t need to memorize everything before getting started.

🛠️ Chart Labeling Tips for Beginners

When you're looking at a new price chart (especially a forex chart), here are some practical steps to follow:

Start from an extreme — either a major high or low. That gives you the cleanest structure.

Look for clarity — big, strong moves are usually motive waves. Choppy sideways moves are usually corrections.

Use higher timeframes — if you’re planning to hold long-term, weekly or monthly charts in log scale are most helpful.

Avoid complexity at first — don’t start by labeling patterns like expanding diagonals or triple zigzags. Stick with the basics: 5’s and 3’s.

Remember wave tendencies — Wave 3 is usually the strongest and longest wave in a motive structure. In commodities, though, Wave 5 is more commonly extended.

Look for Wave 3 as a clue — One of the biggest clues when trying to figure out where you are in the Elliott Wave structure is to find Wave 3. It typically has a strong, impulsive character and stands out clearly on the chart. Once you’ve spotted Wave 3, it becomes much easier to build the rest of the count around it.

⚠️ Don’t Force the Count

If the structure isn't clear, don’t try to label it anyway just for the sake of having a count. Trading when the chart is unclear is like driving 100 km/h in heavy fog.

💡 If you can’t count it, don’t trade it.

When you do spot a clean 5-wave move, it often implies that a correction will follow—usually into the area of the previous 4th wave. That’s a high-probability area to watch for setups.

Here’s an example of a clean 5-wave move up. You can clearly see:

Wave 1: Initial surge
Wave 2: Pullback
Wave 3: Strongest move (often extended)
Wave 4: Sideways correction
Wave 5: Final push

🤯 Avoid the “Alice in Wonderland” Trap
Don’t fall down the rabbit hole of switching between timeframes endlessly:

Weekly → Daily → 1H → 15m → 5m → 1m... and still confused.
Take a step back. Zoom out. Look at the shape, the rhythm. The story becomes clearer.

🧩 Patterns Are Probabilities, Not Predictions
Just because a pattern could be something complex doesn’t mean it should be labeled that way. Always ask:

Is it probable, or just possible?

Occam’s Razor applies here: the simplest explanation is usually the best one.

🔺 Reminder About Triangles
If you see sideways, contracting price action near the end of a move, chances are it’s a triangle.

Triangles precede the final wave in a sequence.

Don’t try to get clever and label skewed or complex variations unless you have strong confirmation.

🧠 Final Takeaways
Keep it simple: start with 5s and 3s.

Focus on clear impulse and correction structures.

Don’t trade what you can’t confidently label.

Wave 3 is your guidepost—if you can spot it, the rest often falls into place.

Complexity comes with experience—but you don’t need it to trade effectively.