Bulkowski’s Expanded Flat Elliott Wave

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Written by and copyright © 2008 by Thomas N. Bulkowski. All rights reserved.

This page describes the expanded flat corrective wave of the Elliott wave principle, how price moves not in a straight line but in a series of rises and retracements.

 

The expanded flat wave correction in a bull market. Flats come in three varieties, regular, expanded, and running. This page concerns itself with the expanded flat. An expanded flat is more common than a regular flat. Elliott called an expanded flat an irregular flat. The chart to the right shows the basic configuration of an expanded flat in a bull market. Notice how wave B extends beyond the start of wave A, and wave C extends beyond the end of wave A.

The extended flat wave correction with subwaves in a bull market. The chart to the right has the same general shape as the preceding chart but with more detail. It shows the subwaves within the extended flat 3-3-5 correction. The red numbers 1-5 describe the line segments or subwaves within the ABC correction. Wave A is composed of 3 subwaves as is wave B, but wave C has 5 subwaves. That’s where the flat 3-3-5 term comes from. A flat is a term used for any ABC correction that has 3-3-5 subwaves.

The expanded flat wave with subwaves in a bear market. This chart shows the same expanded flat 3-3-5 corrective wave but in a bear market (also called an inverted expanded flat). Waves A and B are 3s and wave C is a 5. Wave B ends beyond where wave A starts, and wave C ends well beyond where wave A ends.

Rules

The three wave corrective phase has rules that govern its shape. They are listed here.

  • Corrective waves can head up or down.
  • The corrective phase aligns against the trend of one higher degree (a counter trend move).
  • Wave B terminates beyond the start of wave A.
  • Wave C terminates beyond the end of wave A.

Copyright © 2008 by Thomas N. Bulkowski. All rights reserved. There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary and those who don’t.