Candlestick patterns
Each candle is a record of a fight: who pushed the price, who gave up, and where it closed. These are the patterns worth knowing - drawn shape by shape, explained in plain English, with no promises.
Quick index
Tap a card to jump to the full explanation below.
Hammer
Inverted Hammer
Bullish Engulfing
Bullish Harami
Bullish Harami Cross
Piercing Line
Morning Star
Morning Doji Star
Three White Soldiers
Three Inside Up
Three Outside Up
Dragonfly Doji
Bullish Abandoned Baby
Bullish Belt Hold
Bullish Kicking
Bullish Counterattack
Bullish Doji Star
Bullish Breakaway
Ladder Bottom
Matching Low
Homing Pigeon
Stick Sandwich
Bullish Tristar
Three Stars in the South
Concealing Baby Swallow
Takuri
Unique Three River
Bullish Hikkake
Bullish Modified Hikkake
Kicking by Length
Tweezer Bottom
Shooting Star
Hanging Man
Bearish Engulfing
Bearish Harami
Bearish Harami Cross
Dark Cloud Cover
Evening Star
Evening Doji Star
Three Black Crows
Three Inside Down
Three Outside Down
Gravestone Doji
Bearish Abandoned Baby
Bearish Belt Hold
Bearish Kicking
Bearish Counterattack
Bearish Doji Star
Bearish Breakaway
Bearish Tristar
Advance Block
Stalled Pattern
Two Crows
Upside Gap Two Crows
Identical Three Crows
Bearish Hikkake
Bearish Modified Hikkake
Tweezer Top
The patterns
A pattern is never a signal by itself. It matters where it forms, what came before it, and what the next candle does.
Sellers push the price lower, but buyers regain ground before the close.
Look for a small body near the top, a long lower wick and little or no upper wick. The pattern becomes meaningful when it appears after a downtrend.
The next candle and nearby support help assess the signal: the pattern alone doesn't guarantee a reversal.
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The price has been falling, then one candle tells a different story: sellers push lower, but buyers step in with force and lift the price almost back to the top. The body stays small, the upper wick is long.
Two things make it recognisable: a small body near the bottom and an upper wick much longer than the body. Context is everything — it matters after a decline, not in the middle of nowhere.
Wait for the next candle: a close above the pattern's body adds confidence. No pattern on its own promises a reversal.
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Buyers push the price higher, but sellers take back control and drive it down before the close.
Look for a small body near the bottom, an upper wick about three times the body and almost no lower wick. It matters after an uptrend, when a rally gets rejected.
Wait for the next candle: a close below the pattern's body adds confidence. No pattern on its own promises a reversal.
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During an advance, sellers manage to push the price far below the open — but buyers pull it back up before the close.
The shape is a small body near the top with a long lower wick and little or no upper wick: identical to a Hammer, and judged only by where it appears. After an uptrend it is read as a warning that buyers are losing their grip.
It needs confirmation: a lower close on the next candle, or a break below the pattern's low, is what turns the warning into information.
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A small red candle ends a decline; the next candle opens lower still, then buyers take over and close above where the previous candle opened.
The second body completely engulfs the first one and closes green. It is meaningful after a downtrend, because it shows the sellers being overwhelmed inside a single period.
The wider the engulfing body and the closer it closes to its high, the more weight it carries — but the next candle still decides.
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A small green candle tops an advance; the next candle opens higher, then sellers take over and close below where the previous candle opened.
The second body completely engulfs the first one and closes red. It is meaningful after an uptrend: the buyers who pushed the price up were overwhelmed inside a single period.
A close near the low of the engulfing candle, and a following lower candle, add weight. The pattern alone is not a sell signal.
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A long red candle ends a decline; the next candle stays inside its range, as if the fall had suddenly paused.
The second body sits completely inside the first body, usually smaller and of the opposite colour. After a downtrend it says the selling is running out of force — not that the trend has already turned.
A close above the first candle's body, or a higher high on the next candle, is the confirmation traders wait for.
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A long green candle ends an advance; the next candle stays inside its range, as if the rise had suddenly paused.
The second body sits completely inside the first body, usually smaller and of the opposite colour. After an uptrend it shows the buying pressure fading.
A close below the first candle's body, or a lower low on the next candle, is the confirmation.
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A long red candle ends a decline; the next candle opens and closes at almost the same price, fully inside the first body.
The second candle is a doji trapped inside the previous body: the same idea as a Harami, with the indecision made explicit. It is read after a downtrend, at a moment when neither side is in control.
A doji by itself decides nothing: it needs the next candle, and a close above the first candle's body is the cleaner signal.
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A long green candle ends an advance; the next candle opens and closes at almost the same price, fully inside the first body.
The second candle is a doji trapped inside the previous body, read after an uptrend as the moment momentum stalls.
Indecision at a high only becomes information with the candle that follows: a close below the first body is the clearer sign.
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A long red candle continues a decline; the next candle opens at a new low, then buyers push it back up and close above the middle of the previous body.
Two details matter: the open below the previous low and the close past the midpoint of the red body. It appears after a downtrend and shows buyers absorbing the sellers' push.
A close that stays below the midpoint is a weaker version of the same idea. The following candle confirms — or cancels — the reading.
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A long green candle continues an advance; the next candle opens at a new high, then sellers take over and close below the middle of the previous body.
Look for an open above the previous high and a close past the midpoint of the green body. It appears after an uptrend: the price reached higher and was rejected.
The deeper the close into the previous body, the stronger the reading — but the next candle decides whether the rejection holds.
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A long red candle ends a decline, then a small candle opens lower still: the fall pauses. The third candle closes back up, erasing most of the first.
Three candles: the first long and red, the second small and detached (with a gap down where the market allows it), the third long and green closing above the midpoint of the first. It needs a preceding downtrend to mean anything.
The pattern only works if the third candle closes well inside the first body: a weak third candle is just a pause in the fall.
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A long green candle ends an advance, then a small candle opens higher still: the rise pauses. The third candle closes back down, erasing most of the first.
Three candles: the first long and green, the second small and detached (with a gap up where the market allows it), the third long and red closing below the midpoint of the first. It needs a preceding uptrend.
A third candle that closes only slightly lower leaves the door open: the deeper it closes into the first body, the clearer the message.
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A long red candle ends a decline, then a doji opens lower and closes where it opened. The third candle closes back up, erasing most of the first.
It is a Morning Star whose middle candle is a doji: complete indecision after a fall. Look for the third candle closing above the midpoint of the first, after a downtrend.
The doji marks the pause; only the third candle supplies the direction. Without that close, nothing is confirmed.
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A long green candle ends an advance, then a doji opens higher and closes where it opened. The third candle closes back down, erasing most of the first.
An Evening Star whose middle candle is a doji: the rally stops dead. The third candle closes below the midpoint of the first, after an uptrend.
Indecision at the top is not a reversal by itself; the third candle and the following price action are what confirm it.
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Three green candles in a row, each opening inside the previous body and closing near its high: buyers are in control from start to finish.
The pattern is three consecutive long green bodies, each opening inside the previous body and closing near its high. It carries weight after a decline or at a breakout, and it points to a trend starting or accelerating rather than a single pause.
Three long candles also mean the move is already extended: many traders prefer to wait for a pullback instead of buying the third close.
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Three red candles in a row, each opening inside the previous body and closing near its low: sellers are in control from start to finish.
Three consecutive long red bodies, each opening inside the previous body and closing near its low. It carries weight after an advance, as the mirror image of Three White Soldiers.
After three long candles the move is already extended, and a bounce is common: the pattern is information, not an entry by itself.
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A long red candle ends a decline, a small green candle forms inside its body, and a third green candle closes above where the first one opened.
It is a Bullish Harami plus a confirmation candle: the small body shows the selling stalling, and the third candle closes above the first candle's open. It is read after a downtrend.
The pattern is only complete with the third candle. A close back below the first candle's low invalidates it.
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A long green candle ends an advance, a small red candle forms inside its body, and a third red candle closes below where the first one opened.
A Bearish Harami plus a confirmation candle: the small body shows buying stalling, and the third candle closes below the first candle's open. It is read after an uptrend.
Without the third candle it is just a pause. A close back above the first candle's high cancels the signal.
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A small red candle ends a decline, the next candle engulfs it completely and closes green, and a third green candle closes even higher.
A Bullish Engulfing followed by a confirming green candle: the second body completely engulfs the first, and the third extends the move. It is read after a downtrend.
The engulfing candle already carries the message; the third candle is what turns it into a sequence rather than a single reaction.
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A small green candle ends an advance, the next candle engulfs it completely and closes red, and a third red candle closes even lower.
A Bearish Engulfing followed by a confirming red candle: the second body completely engulfs the first and the third extends the move. It is read after an uptrend.
The third candle confirms the shift; a close back above the engulfing body's high would call it into question.
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The price moves above and below the opening level during the period, then closes at, or very near, where it opened.
The candle looks like a cross: open and close at the same level, with shadows that can be long or short. A doji is pure indecision — a fight with no winner — and its meaning comes entirely from what surrounds it.
A doji on its own is not a signal. The trend it appears in and the candle that follows are what give it direction.
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During the period the price is pushed sharply lower, then all of it is recovered: the close comes back to the high, where the candle opened.
A doji with no upper shadow and a long lower shadow, with open and close at the top of its range. It appears at the end of a decline, where the recovered drop shows buyers defending a level.
The long lower shadow marks a level that was rejected, not a guaranteed bottom: the next candle has to hold above it.
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The price is pushed sharply higher, then gives everything back: the close comes back to the low, where the candle opened.
A doji with no lower shadow and a long upper shadow, with open and close at the bottom of its range. It appears at the end of an advance, where the failed rally shows sellers taking over.
It marks a level that was rejected, not a certain top: confirmation is a lower close on the next candle.
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A wide range in both directions, and the price ends where it started: neither side kept the ground it took.
A doji with long shadows above and below, so the body sits in the middle of the range. It is the clearest picture of a tug-of-war, and it shows up when volatility rises without direction.
Range, not direction. The break of the doji's high or low is usually what traders wait for before acting.
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Both sides push, neither keeps the ground: the body stays small while the shadows stretch well beyond it.
A small body with shadows longer than the body on both sides. It shows momentum fading rather than a reversal, and it matters most after a long run.
One spinning top rarely changes anything; a cluster of them, or one that follows a strong trend, is what deserves attention.
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The candle opens at its low and closes at its high: buyers never gave up the initiative for the whole period.
A long green body with no, or almost no, shadows. It is a candle of conviction rather than a signal on its own, and it is read in the direction of the trend it appears in.
Conviction in one candle is pressure, not a forecast: the next candle decides whether it was the start or the end of a move.
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The candle opens at its high and closes at its low: sellers never gave up the initiative for the whole period.
A long red body with no, or almost no, shadows. Conviction, not a signal by itself, and it is read with the trend it appears in.
A full body is information about pressure, not a forecast: the next candle decides whether the move continues.
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A long green candle, three small candles that stay inside its range, then another long green candle closing at a new high.
The three small candles sit inside the range of the first, often drifting gently against it, and the fifth closes above the first candle's high. It is a pause inside an uptrend, so it needs a trend to continue in the first place.
The pattern is confirmed by the fifth candle. A fifth candle that fails to make a new high turns the pause into a possible top.
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A long red candle, three small candles that stay inside its range, then another long red candle closing at a new low.
The three small candles sit inside the range of the first, often drifting gently against it, and the fifth closes below the first candle's low. It is a pause inside a downtrend.
The fifth candle is what completes the pattern: if it fails to make a new low, the pause becomes a possible bottom instead.
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A long red candle ends a decline. The next candle is a doji that opens and trades entirely below it, and the third candle gaps back up, closing well inside the first body.
The defining detail is the doji isolated by gaps on both sides: its whole range, shadows included, sits below the first candle. It is rare, and it is read after a downtrend.
Because it needs gaps, it is uncommon on markets that trade around the clock; the third candle closing well inside the first body is the confirmation.
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A long green candle ends an advance. The next candle is a doji that opens and trades entirely above it, and the third candle gaps back down, closing well inside the first body.
The defining detail is the doji isolated by gaps on both sides: its whole range, shadows included, sits above the first candle. It is rare, and it is read after an uptrend.
On markets that trade around the clock the gaps are uncommon; the third candle closing well inside the first body is the confirmation.
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After a decline, the candle opens right at its lowest price and climbs all session: buyers were in charge from the first minute.
A long green body that opens at, or very near, its low, with no lower shadow. It is read after a downtrend, and of the single-candle reversals it is one of the better-behaved in independent testing.
The candle records who controlled that period, not what comes next: a higher close on the following candle is what confirms it.
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After an advance, the candle opens right at its highest price and falls all session: sellers were in charge from the first minute.
A long red body that opens at, or very near, its high, with no upper shadow. It is the mirror of the Bullish Belt Hold and it is read after an uptrend.
One long candle is pressure, not proof: it is the next close that decides whether the sellers kept the initiative.
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A red candle with no shadows is followed by a green candle with no shadows that opens above it: buyers took over at a higher price, without a fight.
Two opposite marubozu separated by a gap. The direction is set by the second candle's colour. It is one of the rarest shapes there is, and independent testing found it reverses only slightly better than chance.
Because it is so rare and so weak in testing, it is read as information: the gap and the next close decide.
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A green candle with no shadows is followed by a red candle with no shadows that opens below it: sellers took over at a lower price, without a fight.
Two opposite marubozu separated by a gap, with the direction set by the second candle. Rare, and in testing only marginally better than a coin flip.
The pattern describes a sudden change of hands: what matters next is whether the price stays beyond the gap.
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A long red candle pushes the price down, then a long green candle opens much lower and climbs back to close at exactly the same level.
Two long bodies of opposite colour that finish at the same price (also called Meeting Lines). It is read after a downtrend: the sellers' move was fully matched by the buyers.
Only two candles are missing from a full reversal: the next close, above the meeting price, is the confirmation traders look for.
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A long green candle pushes the price up, then a long red candle opens much higher and falls back to close at exactly the same level.
Two long bodies of opposite colour that finish at the same price. It is read after an uptrend: everything the buyers gained was given back inside one candle.
The meeting price becomes the line to watch: a close below it is what turns the pattern into information.
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A long red candle ends a decline, then a doji appears below it: the fall stops and the two sides finish level.
A long body followed by a doji whose body gaps away from it (down, after a red candle). The gap is part of the definition — where the market allows it. It is read after a downtrend.
The doji is only a pause: direction arrives with the next candle. Without it, nothing is confirmed.
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A long green candle ends an advance, then a doji appears above it: the rise stops and the two sides finish level.
A long body followed by a doji whose body gaps away from it (up, after a green candle). It is read after an uptrend.
A doji at a high is a question, not an answer: the following candle supplies the direction.
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The price travels a long way up and a long way down inside the same period, and finishes almost where it started.
A short body with a very long shadow on both sides. It is the loudest picture of indecision: a wide range and no result. Colour alone means nothing here.
Perfect indecision is still information: it says both sides are strong. The break of either extreme is what traders wait for.
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A long green candle closes at its highest price of the period: the buyers kept pushing right to the end.
A long green body with no upper shadow (a small lower shadow is allowed, unlike a full Marubozu). It is a candle of conviction, read with the trend rather than as a signal by itself.
Closing at the high tells you who finished in control — not what the next period will do.
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A long red candle closes at its lowest price of the period: the sellers kept pushing right to the end.
A long red body with no lower shadow. Conviction, read with the trend, not a reversal signal by itself.
The close is the message: pressure, not a forecast. The next candle decides.
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One candle covers a large distance from open to close, with barely any shadow: the buyers won clearly and kept the ground.
A long green body with short shadows on both ends. It is a candle of conviction in the direction of its colour, not a reversal or continuation signal on its own.
A long line shows strength, not destination: it is read with the trend and with what follows.
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One candle covers a large distance from open to close, with barely any shadow: the sellers won clearly and kept the ground.
A long red body with short shadows on both ends. Conviction in the direction of its colour, read with the trend.
Strength in one period is not a promise for the next: the following candle decides.
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A very small candle: the price opens, moves a little and closes. Nobody fought hard for anything.
A short body with short shadows: a narrow range, the opposite of conviction. It usually marks a pause or a quiet period, and colours carry no meaning here.
Quiet periods end: the interesting part is which extreme gets broken first.
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Two green candles with a gap between them, then a red candle that opens inside the second body and closes down into the gap — without closing it.
The point is the gap left unfilled: the pullback reaches the empty area and stops there. It is a continuation shape, so it needs an uptrend to continue in the first place.
The gap is the level that matters: a full close inside it would change the reading completely.
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Two red candles with a gap between them, then a green candle that opens inside the second body and closes up into the gap — without closing it.
The gap left unfilled is the signal: the bounce reaches the empty area and stops. It is a continuation shape. Note that in testing the downside version has often behaved as a bullish reversal instead.
What matters is the gap: a full close above it would flip the reading.
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A red candle is followed by a long green candle that opens at exactly the same price and closes strong: the two periods started level and ended far apart.
Two candles of opposite colour opening at the same price, the second being a long belt hold. It is a continuation signal: the market is separating from a level it had been stuck at.
Same opening price, different outcome: the second candle's close is what gives the reading its direction.
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A green candle is followed by a long red candle that opens at exactly the same price and closes weak: the two periods started level and ended far apart.
Two candles of opposite colour opening at the same price, the second a long belt hold. A continuation signal, read with the trend.
The shared opening price is the reference: the second close decides which way the market separated.
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A long green candle, then a small red candle opens above it. Two more small red candles drift back down inside the first candle's body, and a final green candle clears everything.
It looks like Rising Three Methods but starts with a gap up: the pullback has to hold inside the first candle's body, and the last candle closes above the reaction highs. A continuation shape, and a rare one.
The last candle completes the pattern; if the pullback breaks the first body, it stops being a Mat Hold.
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Three green candles climb one inside the other, then a single long red candle opens above the third close and erases all three in one move.
Classically a continuation shape: the strike is supposed to be a shakeout before the uptrend resumes. ⚠️ Independent testing (Bulkowski) found it behaving as a reversal far more often, so the direction is genuinely contested — this is the honest state of the evidence.
Because the two readings disagree, the only thing worth doing is waiting: the next close decides, not the badge.
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Three red candles fall one inside the other, then a single long green candle opens below the third close and erases all three in one move.
Classically a continuation shape, and like its bullish twin it is contested: independent testing found these patterns reversing more often than continuing. Treat the direction as open.
The wipe-out candle is dramatic, but drama is not direction: the following close is what settles it.
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A long red candle, then a second red one gaps below it and two more push lower. The fifth candle turns green and closes back inside the gap that started it all.
A five-candle shape whose point is the gap being closed again by the last candle. The move ran away from the trend, then came back: it is read as a reversal at the end of a decline.
Closing inside the gap is what completes the pattern; without that last candle it is just a continuation of the fall.
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A long green candle, then a second green one gaps above it and two more push higher. The fifth candle turns red and closes back inside the gap that started it all.
A five-candle shape whose point is the gap being closed again by the last candle. It is read as a reversal at the end of an advance.
The last candle is the pattern: a close back inside the gap, or nothing happened.
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Four red candles step down like a ladder. The fourth one finally shows an upper shadow — sellers pushed, but something pushed back. The fifth candle opens higher and closes above the previous high.
The fourth candle's upper shadow is the first crack, and the fifth candle opening above the prior open and closing above its high is the reversal. It is a rare shape.
In testing it reverses only slightly better than chance, so the level and the next candles matter more than the name.
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Two red candles in a row close at exactly the same price: the fall hits a level and stops there twice.
Two consecutive red candles with equal closes. Classically a bullish reversal after a decline — the repeated close marks a level the market is defending. ⚠️ In independent testing it behaved as a bearish continuation more often, so the honest label is contested.
The equal close is a level, not a signal: what the following candle does with that level is the real information.
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A long red candle ends a decline, then a small red candle forms inside its body: the fall continues, but with far less conviction.
Two red candles where the second body sits inside the first. Unlike a Harami the colour does not change — it is the shrinking body that matters. It is read after a downtrend.
Testing found it near random on its own: two red candles losing power is a hint, not a reversal.
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A red candle, then a green one, then another red candle that closes exactly where the first one did: the market bites the same level twice.
Two red candles with the same close, with a green candle in between. The repeated close is read as a support level. Classically a bullish reversal — though testing found it continuing down more often than reversing.
The shared close is a line to watch: what happens when the price returns there is the real test.
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Three doji in a row: the first, then one that opens and trades entirely below it, then a third back at the first level. Three periods of pure indecision, one of them isolated.
Three consecutive doji with the middle one gapped away from the others. It is supposed to mark exhaustion — but in testing it is one of the weakest reversal signals there is, so it deserves a small position in your attention, not in your size.
Three doji can be read as a pause in the fall or as nothing at all: the next close tips the balance.
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Three doji in a row: the first, then one that opens and trades entirely above it, then a third back at the first level. Three periods of pure indecision, one of them isolated.
Three consecutive doji with the middle one gapped up. In testing the bearish variant is even weaker than the bullish one — close to a coin flip. Information, not a signal.
Indecision repeated three times is still indecision: the candle after it decides.
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Three green candles, each closing higher than the last — but each with a smaller body and a longer upper shadow. The advance keeps going, with less and less behind it.
Three rising closes whose progress weakens: shrinking bodies, lengthening upper shadows. It looks like a trend running out of fuel. ⚠️ Testing found it acting as a bullish continuation more often than a reversal, so treat the bearish label as unproven.
Weakening candles show effort without result: the confirmation is a close that finally fails to make a new high.
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Two long green candles push higher, then a third one barely moves: a small body sitting on the shoulder of the previous one. The advance has stopped making progress.
Three rising closes where the last one stalls, with a small body riding on the previous long body. In testing this stalling pattern actually continued upward far more often than it reversed — so the bearish label is the weakest part of the story.
A stall is a pause until proven otherwise: the next candle decides whether the trend resumes or turns.
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A long green candle, then a small red one opens above it. A third candle opens inside that small body and pushes down into the first green candle's body.
The gap up followed by a close back inside the first body is the point: the rally reached higher and the ground was given back. It is read after an uptrend, as the first sign of a crowd turning.
In testing it reverses only slightly better than chance: the level of the first body is what to watch, not the name.
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A long green candle, then a small red candle that gaps above it. A third red candle swallows the small one completely — yet still closes above where the green candle ended.
Two red candles that cannot take back the first close: the gap holds. Classically bearish, but in testing it behaved as a bullish continuation more often, so the label is contested.
The first candle's close is the line: as long as it holds, the sellers have not won anything yet.
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Three red candles step down, and every one opens exactly where the previous closed: sellers hand the market to each other at the same price, with no gap and no bounce.
Three declining red candles, each opening at the prior close, with very short lower shadows. "Identical" refers to the continuity of the opens, not to equal body sizes. It is read after an advance.
Three clean steps down show real pressure; they also mean the move is extended, so a bounce is normal.
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A long red candle with a long lower shadow, then a smaller one probing even lower, then a tiny red candle that goes nowhere at all. The fall runs out of energy in three steps.
Three shrinking red candles: the first has a long lower shadow, the second makes a lower low, the third is a small marubozu contained inside the second's range. Testing gives it the best reversal rate of all patterns — on only nine occurrences ever seen: it is superb and nearly impossible to find.
A pattern nobody can find is a piece of knowledge, not a strategy: the level it marks is what to use.
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Two red candles with no shadows, then a third that gaps down but pokes its upper shadow back into the previous body, then a fourth, larger red candle that swallows the third completely.
Four red candles in a row, and the pattern is bullish: the third candle's shadow reaching back up, and the fourth engulfing it, show sellers overreaching. ⚠️ It is extraordinarily rare, and the few observations available point the other way — treat it as a curiosity.
With one of the rarest shapes on the charts, honesty is the only useful guide: it is interesting, not actionable.
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A long red candle, then a green one opens below its low and closes only barely back inside the red body, right around the previous close.
The bounce is so weak it hardly gets back into the body. It is a bearish continuation shape: a pullback that fails is the market confirming the fall. Compare it with a Piercing Line, which closes above the midpoint.
A weak bounce is information about buyers, not a buy signal: the level of the red low is what matters.
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A long red candle, then a green one opens below its low and closes exactly at that low: the bounce stops on the line the sellers had broken.
The green candle closes right at the previous low, unable to get back inside the body. A bearish continuation shape — the failed attempt confirms the level as resistance.
Support that becomes resistance is a classic read: the next close below the low is the confirmation.
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A long red candle, then a green one opens below its low and closes back inside the red body — but not past the middle of it.
The line between a Thrusting and a Piercing Line is exactly that: the Piercing closes above the midpoint, the Thrusting stays below it. It is a bearish continuation reading, and in testing it has behaved as a mild bullish reversal instead.
Where the bounce stops is the whole message: below the midpoint the sellers still own the candle.
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A wide range up and down, and a close exactly where the candle opened — in the middle of it all.
A doji whose body sits in the middle of the range, with long shadows on both sides. It is a pure indecision shape, and testing on it was blunt: it looks pretty and carries no usable direction.
Indecision is a fact, not a forecast: the break of either extreme is the only thing that matters.
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The price is driven down a very long way, then completely recovered: the candle closes where it opened, at the top, leaving one enormous lower shadow.
A Dragonfly Doji with an exceptionally long lower shadow. The difference from its cousin is only the length of the shadow — the depth of the rejection. It is read after a decline.
A very deep wick marks a level that was strongly refused: the next candle has to hold above it.
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A long red candle, then a smaller red one whose body stays inside the first but whose shadow makes a lower low, then a small green candle: the fall can't push any further.
A red harami that probes lower with its shadow (a lower low the body does not confirm), then a small green candle. Classically bullish — in testing it behaved as a bearish continuation instead.
A shadow making the low while the body stays put is a small refusal: the next close is what counts.
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A candle, then a smaller one that stays entirely inside its range, then a third that pokes below the second and closes back inside: a trap for anyone who sold the break.
The name is Japanese for a deceptive move. The setup is a false breakout from an inside bar: bar three breaks down and fails. In testing the trap is barely better than a coin flip — but knowing what it is protects you from being the one trapped.
A failed break is a small fact with a big consequence: the level that refused the price becomes the one to watch.
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A candle, then a smaller one inside its range, then a third that pokes above the second and closes back inside: a trap for anyone who bought the break.
The mirror trap: a false breakout above an inside bar. In testing this direction was exactly a coin flip, so the value here is recognition, not prediction.
The break that fails is the information: it shows where the buyers could not hold.
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Two candles that get narrower and narrower, each inside the previous one, then a fourth that breaks below and closes back inside. The trap is set after a squeeze.
The modified version: two successively narrower inside bars, with the second closing near its low, then the false break. A tighter spring, read after a decline.
The narrower the range, the more decisive the break — and the more useful the failure.
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Two candles that get narrower and narrower, each inside the previous one, then a fourth that breaks above and closes back inside. A squeeze, then a failed escape.
The modified version of the bearish Hikkake: two narrowing inside bars, the second closing near its high, then a false break up.
A failed break out of a squeeze says more than the break itself: it names the level that held.
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A candle, then two green candles of similar size that both open above it, at about the same level, with a gap left behind.
Two green candles side by side at the same opening level, both gapped up. The market moved to a new area and stayed there. A continuation shape, and a rare one — in testing the bullish form continued about two times out of three.
Holding the gap is the message: losing it would undo the whole reading.
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A candle, then two green candles of similar size that both open below it, at about the same level: the gap stays open even though both candles close up.
Two green candles side by side, gapped down. Green candles inside a gap in a falling market are failed bounces: a bearish continuation reading. Rare, and the sample behind it is thin.
Green candles that cannot close the gap are the point: the gap is the level that matters.
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Two green candles with a gap between them, then a red candle that comes back down and closes inside the gap — filling it, and no more.
The difference from a Tasuki Gap is right here: here the third candle fills the gap, there it does not. A continuation shape by the book. ⚠️ In testing both directions of this pattern reversed more often than they continued.
Filling the gap exactly and stopping is what makes it a pause rather than a top.
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Two red candles with a gap between them, then a green candle that comes back up and closes inside the gap — filling it, and no more.
The third candle fills the gap completely (in a Tasuki Gap it would not). A bearish continuation by the book, and like its twin it has tested as a reversal more often than a continuation.
The gap closes and the move stops: the next candle decides whether it was a pause or a turn.
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Two marubozu of opposite colour with a gap between them — and one of them is clearly longer. When the two bodies differ, the longer one sets the direction.
A variant of Kicking: the pattern is the same two gapped marubozu, but the bull/bear bias comes from the length of the bodies instead of the second candle's colour. Here the green body is the longer one.
The rule is a tie-breaker inside a very rare shape: the gap and the following close still carry more weight.
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A red candle falls to a price, then a green candle falls to exactly the same price and closes higher: the same level was tested twice and held the second time.
Two candles with matching lows. The first is red, the second green, and the equal low is the pattern — a level the market refused to break. It is read after a decline.
Two touches are stronger than one, but still a level, not a promise: the next close has to stay above it.
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A green candle rises to a price, then a red candle rises to exactly the same price and closes lower: the same level was tested twice and rejected the second time.
Two candles with matching highs: the equal high is the pattern, a level the market could not clear. It is read after an advance, as the mirror of the Tweezer Bottom.
A level touched twice and refused is worth remembering — and worth confirming with the next close.
Back to the indexA candlestick pattern is a description, not a prediction. It says: in this candle, the buyers (or the sellers) won the fight, or lost their grip. That information is useful only next to everything else - the trend it appears in, the level it appears at, and the candle that comes after.
So the honest way to use them is short: trend first, level second, pattern third, confirmation last. If you skip the first two, a pattern becomes a coin flip with a nice name. There is no pattern that guarantees a reversal, and no chart shape that removes risk.
The patterns on this page are the same mechanics our engine works with. The signals it produces are tracked to their real outcome and published - losing trades included - on the results page.
A candlestick pattern is a shape formed by one or more candles. It is a picture of what buyers and sellers did during that period: who pushed, who gave up, and where the price closed. It describes behaviour - it does not forecast on its own.
The one you trade. The shape is the same on every chart, but its weight changes: on 1h and 4h a pattern carries more meaning, while on very short charts it is mostly noise. Our signals are built on the 1h timeframe.
No. A pattern shows that pressure is changing, not that the trend has turned. It is read together with the trend, the level it forms at, and the candle that follows. Anyone promising a certain outcome is not telling you the truth.
Because a trader who understands the shape reads our signals better. The engine tracks every signal to its real outcome and publishes the archive - losing trades included. The patterns are the same mechanics we use, explained without promises.