Quick Summary
- This guide covers all 38 widely-referenced candlestick patterns: 21 bullish and 17 bearish, each with its own diagram.
- Every pattern includes a plain-language description of its formation plus a one-line 'What it indicates' summary.
- A candlestick pattern is a probability signal, not a guarantee — context (trend, volume, support/resistance) determines how much weight to give it.
- Several patterns (Three Inside Up, Three Outside Up, Rising/Falling Three Methods) are explicitly built around confirmation candles — don't act before that confirmation appears.
- The closing section covers practical rules for using these patterns alongside volume, trend context and risk management, rather than as a standalone trading system.
A complete visual guide to all 38 commonly referenced candlestick patterns — 21 bullish and 17 bearish — each with an accurate diagram and a plain-language explanation of what it actually signals.
A candlestick chart packs four prices — open, high, low and close — into a single visual shape for each trading session. Read in sequence, these shapes can reveal shifts in buyer-seller momentum well before they show up in a moving average or an indicator. This guide covers all 38 commonly referenced candlestick patterns: 21 bullish (signalling a possible move up) and 17 bearish (signalling a possible move down), each with a diagram showing the pattern in context — the trend leading into it, the pattern itself circled, and the typical outcome — plus a plain-language explanation of what it's actually telling you.
Before you rely on any of these: a candlestick pattern on its own is a probability, not a certainty. The same shape means different things depending on where it appears (after a long trend vs. in a sideways range), on what volume accompanied it, and on whether the next candle actually confirms the move. Treat every pattern below as one input among several — support/resistance levels, volume, and broader trend context — not a standalone buy or sell signal.
Bullish Candlestick Patterns
Bullish Engulfing
A small red candle is followed by a larger green candle whose body completely engulfs the prior red body, opening below the prior close and closing above the prior open.
What it indicates: Strong buying pressure has overwhelmed sellers — often marks a bottom after a downtrend.
Hammer
A single candle with a small body near the top of its range, little or no upper wick, and a lower wick at least twice the body's length, forming after a decline.
What it indicates: Sellers pushed price down intraday but buyers drove it back up — a potential bottom.
Morning Star
A long red candle is followed by a small-bodied candle that gaps lower, then a long green candle that closes well into the first candle's body.
What it indicates: A three-candle reversal where indecision (the middle candle) gives way to renewed buying.
Piercing Line
A long red candle is followed by a green candle that opens below the prior low but closes above the midpoint of the red candle's body.
What it indicates: Buyers staged a strong intraday recovery after an initial gap down — bullish, though less decisive than engulfing.
Bullish Harami
A long red candle is followed by a small green candle whose entire body sits inside the prior red body.
What it indicates: Downward momentum is stalling and a reversal may be forming, though confirmation is usually needed.
Three White Soldiers
Three consecutive long green candles, each opening within the previous candle's body and closing near its own high.
What it indicates: Sustained, steady buying — a strong bullish reversal or continuation signal.
Inverted Hammer
A single candle with a small body near the bottom of its range and a long upper wick at least twice the body's length, little or no lower wick, after a decline.
What it indicates: Buyers tested higher prices intraday — a tentative bottoming signal that benefits from confirmation.
Dragonfly Doji
Open and close are nearly equal and sit at the top of the range, with a long lower wick and essentially no upper wick.
What it indicates: Sellers drove price sharply lower but buyers reclaimed the entire range by the close — a bullish reversal signal, especially after a downtrend.
Bullish Abandoned Baby
A long red candle, then a doji that gaps completely below it (no overlap), then a long green candle that gaps back up, leaving the doji isolated.
What it indicates: A rare but powerful island-reversal pattern signalling a sharp sentiment shift from selling to buying.
Three Inside Up
A bullish harami (long red, then small green inside it) is confirmed by a third green candle that closes above the first candle's open.
What it indicates: The harami's tentative reversal signal gets confirmed by follow-through buying.
Three Outside Up
A bullish engulfing pattern (small red, then larger engulfing green) is confirmed by a third green candle closing even higher.
What it indicates: Confirms the engulfing reversal with additional buying momentum.
Bullish Kicker
A red candle is followed by a green candle that gaps up above the prior candle's open, with no overlap between the two ranges at all.
What it indicates: An abrupt, often news-driven reversal in sentiment from bearish to bullish.
Tweezer Bottom
Two consecutive candles share nearly the same low, the first typically red and the second green.
What it indicates: Price tested the same support level twice and held — a short-term bottoming signal.
Rising Three Methods
A long green candle, followed by three small-bodied (often red) candles that stay within its range, then a fifth long green candle closing above the first candle's close.
What it indicates: A brief pause within an uptrend before buyers resume control — bullish continuation.
Concealing Baby Swallow
Two long red candles are followed by a third red candle that gaps down, then a fourth red candle that fully engulfs the third candle's range.
What it indicates: A rare bottoming pattern where sellers lose control despite an aggressive final push down.
Mat Hold
Similar to Rising Three Methods, but the first small candle gaps up before the pullback candles form, then a fifth long green candle pushes to new highs.
What it indicates: A stronger bullish continuation signal than Rising Three Methods, due to the initial gap.
Bullish Separating Lines
A red candle is followed by a green candle that opens at the exact same price but moves decisively higher, within an existing uptrend.
What it indicates: A brief pullback is rejected at the same open level — bullish trend continuation.
Bullish Belt Hold
A single long green candle that opens at or very near its low (no lower wick) and closes near its high, appearing after a decline.
What it indicates: Buyers took control from the opening bell — an aggressive bottoming signal.
Three-Line Strike (Bullish)
Three consecutive green candles with progressively higher closes are followed by a fourth long red candle that opens above and closes below the first candle's open.
What it indicates: Despite the sharp reversal candle, this is classically treated as a bullish continuation signal within an uptrend.
Ladder Bottom
Continue Exploring
Three declining red candles with progressively lower closes are followed by a small-bodied candle and then a green candle confirming a reversal with a gap up.
What it indicates: A gradual bottoming process that ends with a decisive bullish turn.
Meeting Lines (Bullish)
A long red candle is followed by a long green candle that closes at almost exactly the same price as the red candle's close.
What it indicates: Sellers and buyers 'meet' at the same level — the failure to push lower signals a potential bottom.
Bearish Candlestick Patterns
Bearish Engulfing
A small green candle is followed by a larger red candle whose body completely engulfs the prior green body.
What it indicates: Strong selling pressure has overwhelmed buyers — often marks a top after an uptrend.
Bearish Belt Hold
A single long red candle that opens at or very near its high (no upper wick) and closes near its low, appearing after a rally.
What it indicates: Sellers took control from the opening bell — an aggressive topping signal.
Three Black Crows
Three consecutive long red candles, each opening within the previous candle's body and closing near its own low.
What it indicates: Sustained, steady selling — a strong bearish reversal or continuation signal.
Bearish Three-Line Strike
Three consecutive red candles with progressively lower closes are followed by a fourth long green candle that opens below and closes above the first candle's open.
What it indicates: Classically treated as a bearish continuation signal despite the sharp up candle.
Hanging Man
The same shape as a Hammer — small body near the top, long lower wick — but forms after an uptrend instead of a downtrend.
What it indicates: Heavy intraday selling that was only partly absorbed — an early warning that a top may be forming.
Upside Gap Two Crows
A long green candle is followed by a small red candle that gaps up with no overlap, then a third red candle that opens higher still but closes down, engulfing the second candle's body.
What it indicates: An uptrend attempts to extend but sellers quickly reassert control — a bearish warning.
Evening Star
A long green candle is followed by a small-bodied candle that gaps higher, then a long red candle that closes well into the first candle's body.
What it indicates: The mirror image of Morning Star — indecision at the top gives way to renewed selling.
Shooting Star
A single candle with a small body near the bottom of its range and a long upper wick at least twice the body's length, after a rally.
What it indicates: Buyers pushed price sharply higher intraday but sellers dragged it back down — a potential top.
Bearish Harami
A long green candle is followed by a small red candle whose entire body sits inside the prior green body.
What it indicates: Upward momentum is stalling and a reversal may be forming, though confirmation is usually needed.
Bearish Doji Star (Gravestone Doji)
Open and close are nearly equal and sit at the bottom of the range, with a long upper wick and essentially no lower wick.
What it indicates: Buyers drove price sharply higher but sellers reclaimed the entire range by the close — a bearish reversal signal, especially after an uptrend.
Bearish Abandoned Baby
A long green candle, then a doji that gaps completely above it, then a long red candle that gaps back down, leaving the doji isolated.
What it indicates: A rare but powerful island-reversal pattern signalling a sharp sentiment shift from buying to selling.
Tweezer Top
Two consecutive candles share nearly the same high, the first typically green and the second red.
What it indicates: Price tested the same resistance level twice and failed — a short-term topping signal.
Bearish Kicker
A green candle is followed by a red candle that gaps down below the prior candle's open, with no overlap between the two ranges.
What it indicates: An abrupt, often news-driven reversal in sentiment from bullish to bearish.
Three Inside Down
A bearish harami (long green, then small red inside it) is confirmed by a third red candle that closes below the first candle's open.
What it indicates: The harami's tentative reversal signal gets confirmed by follow-through selling.
Three Outside Down
A bearish engulfing pattern (small green, then larger engulfing red) is confirmed by a third red candle closing even lower.
What it indicates: Confirms the engulfing reversal with additional selling momentum.
Bearish Mat Hold
A long red candle, then three small green candles that stay within its range (a brief rally within a downtrend), then a fifth long red candle closing at new lows.
What it indicates: A short pause before sellers resume control — bearish continuation.
Dark Cloud Cover
A long green candle is followed by a red candle that opens above the prior high but closes below the midpoint of the green candle's body.
What it indicates: Buyers lost control after an initial gap higher — a bearish reversal signal, slightly less decisive than engulfing.
How to actually use these patterns
A few practical rules separate traders who use candlestick patterns well from those who get burned by them:
- Context matters more than the shape. A Hammer after a sharp multi-week decline is far more meaningful than the same shape appearing randomly in a sideways, range-bound market.
- Wait for confirmation where the pattern calls for it. Patterns like Three Inside Up or Three Outside Up are explicitly built around a third confirming candle — don't act on the first two candles alone.
- Volume adds credibility. A reversal pattern on unusually high volume carries more weight than the same pattern on a quiet, low-volume session.
- Combine with support/resistance. A Bullish Engulfing candle forming exactly at a known support zone is a stronger signal than the same candle appearing in open space.
- These are probability tools, not guarantees. No candlestick pattern works every time — risk management (stop-losses, position sizing) still matters regardless of how textbook the pattern looks.
Candlestick patterns are best used as one layer of a broader technical analysis approach — alongside trend lines, moving averages, volume, and the larger market context — rather than as a trading system on their own.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most reliable candlestick pattern?
No single pattern is reliable in isolation — reliability comes from context. Multi-candle patterns that include an explicit confirmation candle (Three Inside Up/Down, Three Outside Up/Down, Morning/Evening Star) are generally considered more dependable than single-candle patterns like Doji or Hammer, which work best combined with support/resistance and volume.
Do candlestick patterns work on all timeframes?
They appear on every timeframe (1-minute to monthly charts), but patterns on higher timeframes (daily, weekly) are generally considered more significant than the same shape on very short intraday timeframes, where noise is higher.
What's the difference between a Hammer and a Hanging Man?
They have the identical shape — small body near the top, long lower wick — but context determines the name and meaning. A Hammer forms after a downtrend (bullish signal); a Hanging Man forms after an uptrend (bearish warning).
Can candlestick patterns be used alone for trading decisions?
It's not advisable. Candlestick patterns work best as one input alongside trend direction, volume, support/resistance levels and broader market context — not as a standalone trading system.
Why do bullish and bearish versions of the same pattern exist (e.g. Harami, Kicker, Abandoned Baby)?
The underlying price-action logic is a mirror image: a bullish version forms after a downtrend and signals a possible reversal up, while the bearish version forms after an uptrend and signals a possible reversal down. The candle shapes and colors are inverted accordingly.
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