Corrective Patterns · Lesson 2 of 6

The Flat.

The flat is the sideways correction. Three sub-waves down, three sub-waves up, five sub-waves down again. Slower and less directional than a zigzag. Most commonly appears as Wave 4 of an impulse, alternating with the sharper Wave 2 zigzag. This lesson covers the regular, expanded, and running variants and the typical locations where flats appear.

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Figure II
Three down, three up, five down
Wave Personality
Wave 1
The First Move
Skeptical

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Rule violated: Wave 4 cannot enter Wave 1's territory
Price Time Start of A level A-low level Regular flat: B retraces to start of A, C ends near A-low. Sideways shape. B above start (1.236xA) C below A-low (1.382xA) Expanded flat: B overshoots start, C extends below A-low. The most common flat in real markets. B above start (1.236xA) C fails to reach A-low Running flat: B overshoots, C fails to reach A-low. Extremely rare. Strong trend-continuation signal. Flats typically appear as W4 of an impulse (alternating with a sharp W2 zigzag), as the B wave of a larger ABC, or inside complex WXY corrections (a) (b) (c) (a) (b) (c) (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) A B C
Step 1 of 8

The Pattern Begins

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