ANSWER:

This question was sent in by Victror Zorrero (location unknown). Its a very important question regarding a concept few orthodox EW analysts address and is a key reason most orthodox EW wave counts and forecasts eventually prove to be wrong.

The simple answer is YES, the “Rule of Similarity and Balance” (which describes the 1/3 or 3x’s relationship required between same degree waves) is an essential technique for differentiating smaller from larger degree wave patterns. You can read more about this NEoWave Rule on page 4-3 of Mastering Elliott Wave. Any wave count that breaks the “Rule of Similarity and Balance” is destine to fail.