Elliott & Triangles

charts courtesy of stockcharts.com

I read in quite a few places that market is breaking out of triangle formation. They show a chart like this
Well, why not do it like this?

Can we just pick any point we want to draw a triangle? That’s one of the areas where Elliott Wave has different ideas about a pattern than tradition technical analysis.

First off, a triangle is a 5 point formation a-b-c-d-e. Secondly it starts forming after a wave is completed. You can't just pick a point on a prior wave and make it part of the triangle. Thirdly, end point of the prior wave does not need to be on the triangle. Fourthly, there is no requirement for a triangle to be symmetric or contracting.

Also, I don’t think triangles are as common as people think, not under OEW any ways.

From an Elliott Wave point of view, a triangle is a correctional pattern. Correctional patterns are hard to predict. Best not start calling them early. We can muse the possibility of them. But when I see people say a triangle breakout has happened, and I see charts like above, I know they do not talk about triangles as I know them.

In the chart above, we do not have enough to make any triangle. Any line connecting points at this time is at beast a trend line, or a fan line. Also what I have marked as a can be part of a larger a wave of a bigger triangle.

Since Elliot Wave regards a triangle as a correction to the previous wave, and since previous wave was down, and since a correction is a pause before resumption of the main trend, we cannot have a triangle breakout to the upside in here, even if we had a triangle.