Source-aware field guide · 20 answers
Candlestick Pattern Reference
Precise, non-predictive descriptions of common single-candle and multi-candle labels, with rules readers can reproduce.
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How to use this guide
Precise, non-predictive descriptions of common single-candle and multi-candle labels, with rules readers can reproduce. The guide is written for traders, educators and charting-quality reviewers. The collection defines candle geometry and sequence labels. It separates reproducible pattern rules from claims about what price will do next.
Use every answer to resolve one operational question: What exact open, high, low and close relationship qualifies the pattern, and what context was used when labeling it? Pattern thresholds and required trend context differ among authors and platforms. Every screen or test needs a declared rule set.
The supporting set is MetaTrader 5 Help — Technical indicators; MetaTrader 5 Help — Charts; CME Group — Technical analysis. These links provide standards, regulator material or official product documentation for the subject; they do not imply endorsement, worldwide applicability or a verified feature in a particular deployment. Check the current source, contract, configuration and qualified local advice before a production, trading or compliance decision.
What Is a Hammer Candlestick?
A hammer is a small real body near the candle high with a lower shadow that is long relative to the body, usually labeled after a decline.
- Use it to
- Encode body location, shadow ratio and prior-context requirements before counting examples.
- Check the boundary
- Color and threshold rules vary, and the shape does not guarantee a reversal.
What Is an Inverted Hammer?
An inverted hammer has a small body near the candle low and a long upper shadow, commonly interpreted only when it follows a decline.
- Use it to
- Define the shadow ratio, allowed lower shadow and preceding trend.
- Check the boundary
- The same geometry in a different context may receive another name.
What Is a Shooting Star?
A shooting star has a small body near the low with a long upper shadow and is commonly labeled after an advance.
- Use it to
- Separate its geometry from the trend rule and confirmation convention.
- Check the boundary
- One upper rejection candle is not proof that an uptrend has ended.
What Is a Hanging Man?
A hanging man uses hammer-like geometry after an advance: a small body near the high and a comparatively long lower shadow.
- Use it to
- Record the prior advance, body position and shadow ratios used by the classifier.
- Check the boundary
- Its shape matches a hammer, so context determines the label.
What Is a Doji?
A doji is a candle whose open and close are equal or sufficiently close under a declared tolerance, leaving shadows that describe the period's range.
- Use it to
- Set the equality tolerance in ticks or percentage and retain the underlying OHLC data.
- Check the boundary
- Rounding and feed precision can change whether a candle qualifies.
What Is a Dragonfly Doji?
A dragonfly doji has an open and close near the high with a long lower shadow and little upper shadow under a chosen tolerance.
- Use it to
- Define the body tolerance and maximum upper shadow before scanning charts.
- Check the boundary
- Thin-market prints and session boundaries can create misleading shapes.
What Is a Gravestone Doji?
A gravestone doji has an open and close near the low with a long upper shadow and little lower shadow under a chosen tolerance.
- Use it to
- Test the classifier against tick size and candles with tiny nonzero bodies.
- Check the boundary
- The name does not establish bearish follow-through.
What Is a Bullish Engulfing Pattern?
A bullish engulfing label commonly requires a down candle followed by an up candle whose real body covers the prior real body, often after a decline.
- Use it to
- State whether equality, shadows and gap conditions count and how the prior trend is defined.
- Check the boundary
- Some definitions engulf bodies only while others imply a larger range condition.
What Is a Bearish Engulfing Pattern?
A bearish engulfing label commonly requires an up candle followed by a down candle whose real body covers the prior real body, often after an advance.
- Use it to
- Encode body direction, containment, equality and context rules.
- Check the boundary
- Definitions differ on whether shadows matter and no pattern ensures continuation.
What Is a Morning Star Pattern?
A morning star is a three-candle label with an initial decline candle, a smaller middle body and a recovery candle that closes into the first body.
- Use it to
- Define body-size ratios, gap rules, penetration threshold and prior decline.
- Check the boundary
- Continuous markets may not gap, so borrowed equity-market rules can misclassify forex data.
What Is an Evening Star Pattern?
An evening star is a three-candle label with an initial advance candle, a smaller middle body and a decline candle that closes into the first body.
- Use it to
- Document the size, gap, penetration and preceding-trend tests.
- Check the boundary
- Loosening every rule can inflate counts and make historical results irreproducible.
What Is a Piercing Line Pattern?
A piercing line commonly combines a down candle with a following up candle that closes well into, but below the top of, the first real body.
- Use it to
- State the opening relationship and required penetration percentage.
- Check the boundary
- Gap-based definitions transfer poorly to markets trading nearly around the clock.
What Is Dark Cloud Cover?
Dark cloud cover commonly combines an up candle with a following down candle that closes materially into the first real body.
- Use it to
- Define the opening condition, penetration threshold and prior advance.
- Check the boundary
- The phrase describes geometry and context, not a certain price decline.
What Is a Harami Pattern?
A harami is a two-candle label in which the second real body is contained within the first real body, with bullish or bearish naming based on context and direction.
- Use it to
- Specify containment boundaries, equality rules and whether shadows are ignored.
- Check the boundary
- Feeds with different daily cutoffs can create or remove the relationship.
What Are Three White Soldiers?
Three white soldiers describes three consecutive rising candles with relatively strong bodies and closes, usually after weakness or consolidation.
- Use it to
- Encode body size, opens, closes, shadows and context rather than relying on visual judgment.
- Check the boundary
- Three rising bars alone may not satisfy stricter definitions and can occur after an extended move.
What Are Three Black Crows?
Three black crows describes three consecutive falling candles with relatively strong bodies and closes, usually after strength or consolidation.
- Use it to
- Set quantitative rules for body size, opening location, shadows and prior context.
- Check the boundary
- Arbitrary visual labeling makes backtests and platform comparisons unreliable.
What Is a Marubozu Candle?
A marubozu is a candle with a large real body and absent or very small shadows under a stated tolerance.
- Use it to
- Measure shadows in ticks or as a fraction of range and define a minimum body.
- Check the boundary
- Perfect no-shadow candles are rare, so an undeclared tolerance changes the sample.
What Is a Spinning Top Candle?
A spinning top has a relatively small real body with meaningful shadows on both sides, expressing geometry rather than a directional forecast.
- Use it to
- Define body-to-range and minimum-shadow thresholds.
- Check the boundary
- It can resemble a doji or other small-body pattern when tolerances overlap.
What Is a Tweezer Top?
A tweezer top labels adjacent candles with highs that match within a chosen tolerance, generally considered in an advancing context.
- Use it to
- Declare price tolerance, candle count and trend context and test for tick rounding.
- Check the boundary
- Matching highs are common and do not establish a durable resistance level.
What Is a Tweezer Bottom?
A tweezer bottom labels adjacent candles with lows that match within a chosen tolerance, generally considered in a declining context.
- Use it to
- Record tolerance, sequence length, session boundary and context.
- Check the boundary
- Data precision and spread construction can make two lows appear equal or unequal.
Primary and official references
These sources establish definitions, standards or official product behavior used across this guide. Follow the exact source and check its current version before a live implementation.