Reference Shelf · Reference 5 of 8
Poster: Candlestick Patterns
Print it. Pin it. Every major candlestick pattern in words, at a glance.
Pin this by your charts. A candlestick is one bar that shows where price opened, went high, went low, and closed for that period. Support is a price area where falls have stopped before; resistance is where rises have stalled. Patterns mean the most AT those areas.
Single Candles
| Pattern | What it looks like | What it can mean | Where it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doji | Open and close almost equal; cross shape | Indecision — buyers and sellers tied | After a long run, either direction |
| Hammer | Tiny body on top, long lower wick (the thin line below) | Sellers pushed down, buyers fought back | At support, after a fall |
| Inverted Hammer | Tiny body at bottom, long upper wick | Buyers tried to push up | At support, after a fall |
| Shooting Star | Tiny body at bottom, long upper wick | Buyers pushed up, sellers slammed it down | At resistance, after a rise |
| Marubozu | All body, almost no wicks | One side in total control | Mid-trend, shows strong momentum |
| Spinning Top | Small body, wicks both sides | Indecision, momentum fading | After a strong move |
Pairs and Triples
| Pattern | What it looks like | What it can mean | Where it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bullish Engulfing | Green candle's body fully covers the prior red body | Buyers took over | At support, after a fall |
| Bearish Engulfing | Red candle's body fully covers the prior green body | Sellers took over | At resistance, after a rise |
| Piercing Line | Green candle closes past the halfway point of the prior red candle | Buyers reclaiming ground | At support, after a fall |
| Dark Cloud Cover | Red candle opens above, closes past halfway down the prior green candle | Sellers pushing back | At resistance, after a rise |
| Morning Star | Big red, then a small indecision candle, then a big green | A bottom forming | At support, after a downtrend |
| Evening Star | Big green, then a small indecision candle, then a big red | A top forming | At resistance, after an uptrend |
| Harami | Small candle sits inside the prior big candle's body | Momentum is stalling | After a strong move |
| Tweezer Bottom | Two candles share the same low | That price got defended twice | At support |
| Tweezer Top | Two candles share the same high | That price got rejected twice | At resistance |