How to spot Elliott waves

Elliott wave theory can be a very practical market forecasting tool. But its application is as much an art as a science. John C Burford explains how to use Elliot waves when spread betting.

When I first started trading, I was aware of Elliott wave theory. But at the time, the rules and guidelines had not been developed very fully, and I found it exceedingly difficult to use in real market conditions.

Maybe it was just me. But needless to say, I lost interest in using it in my trading. It seemed so arbitrary. I'm sure many budding spread-betters feel the same way as I did.

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John is is a British-born lapsed PhD physicist, who previously worked for Nasa on the Mars exploration team. He is a former commodity trading advisor with the US Commodities Futures Trading Commission, and worked in a boutique futures house in California in the 1980s.

 

He was a partner in one of the first futures newsletter advisory services, based in Washington DC, specialising in pork bellies and currencies. John is primarily a chart-reading trader, having cut his trading teeth in the days before PCs.

 

As well as his work in the financial world, he has launched, run and sold several 'real' businesses producing 'real' products.