Candlestick Patterns

Looks like: Open and close are almost the same, with wicks on both sides.

Signals: Buyers and sellers are balanced. After a long trend it warns that momentum is fading.

Confirm with: Wait for the next candle to close beyond the doji's high or low.

Looks like: Small body at the top, lower wick at least twice the body, after a decline.

Signals: Sellers pushed price down but buyers drove it back up before the close.

Confirm with: A green candle closing above the hammer's body, ideally on higher volume.

Looks like: Small body at the bottom with a long upper wick, after a rally.

Signals: Buyers tried to push higher and failed; sellers took control by the close.

Confirm with: A red candle closing below the shooting star's body.

Looks like: A large green candle whose body fully covers the previous red body.

Signals: Buyers overwhelmed the prior session's sellers. Strongest at the end of a downtrend.

Confirm with: Follow-through the next day and a close above the engulfing candle's high.

Looks like: A large red candle whose body fully covers the previous green body.

Signals: Sellers overwhelmed the prior session's buyers. Strongest after an extended rally.

Confirm with: A close below the engulfing candle's low in the next session.

Looks like: Long red candle, small-bodied candle that gaps lower, then a long green candle.

Signals: A three-day shift from selling, to indecision, to buying. A classic bottom pattern.

Confirm with: The third candle should close above the midpoint of the first.

Looks like: Long green candle, small-bodied candle that gaps higher, then a long red candle.

Signals: The mirror image of the morning star; marks exhaustion at a top.

Confirm with: The third candle should close below the midpoint of the first.

Looks like: Red candle, then a green candle that opens lower and closes above the red body's midpoint.

Signals: Buyers recovered more than half of the previous day's losses.

Confirm with: A higher close the next day.

Looks like: Green candle, then a red candle that opens higher and closes below the green body's midpoint.

Signals: Sellers erased more than half of the previous day's gains.

Confirm with: A lower close the next day.

Looks like: Three long green candles, each opening inside the prior body and closing near its high.

Signals: Steady, broad buying pressure; often starts a new uptrend.

Confirm with: Watch for small upper wicks; long wicks suggest buyers are tiring.

Looks like: Three long red candles, each opening inside the prior body and closing near its low.

Signals: Persistent selling; often starts a new downtrend.

Confirm with: Most reliable after an extended rally and on rising volume.

Looks like: Small body in the middle with upper and lower wicks of similar length.

Signals: Indecision; neither side is in control. Often a pause rather than a reversal.

Confirm with: Use the next candle's direction and the larger trend.