Partner Center Find a Broker

Did you click here first?

If you did, stop reading right now and start at the first Japanese Candlesticks lesson!

If you’re REALLY done with all the lessons, here’s a quick one-page reference cheat sheet for single, dual, and triple Japanese candlestick formations.

This cheat sheet will help you to easily identify what kind of candlestick pattern you are looking at whenever you are trading.

Go ahead and bookmark this page… No need to be shy!

Candlestick Anatomy

Body: The real body represents the range between the opening and closing prices.

Color:

  • White/Green: Indicates the closing price was higher than the opening price (bullish).
  • Black/Red: Indicates the closing price was lower than the opening price (bearish).

Wicks (Shadows): Show the highest and lowest price points reached during the trading period.

Candlestick Patterns

Single Candlestick Patterns

Number of Bars Candlestick Name Bullish or Bearish? What It Looks Like? Description Potential Signal
Single Spinning Top Neutral Candlestick Pattern: Spinning Tops Small real body, long wicks Indecision
Doji Neutral Candlestick Pattern: Dojis Open and close are nearly the same Indecision, potential reversal
White Marubozu Bullish Candlestick Pattern: White Marubozu Long body, no shadows Strong buying pressure
Black Marubozu Bearish Candlestick Pattern: Black Marubozu Long body, no shadows Strong selling pressure
Hammer Bullish Candlestick Pattern: Hammer Small real body at top, long lower wick Potential bullish reversal from a downtrend
Hanging Man Bearish Candlestick Pattern: Hanging Man Small real body at top, long lower wick, appears in an uptrend Potential bearish reversal (similar to Hammer but in an uptrend)
Inverted Hammer Bullish Candlestick Pattern: Inverted Hammer Small real body at bottom, long upper wick, appears in a downtrend Potential bullish reversal (similar to Shooting Star but in a downtrend)
Shooting Star Bearish Candlestick Pattern: Shooting Star Small real body at bottom, long upper wick Potential bearish reversal from an uptrend

Multiple Candlestick Patterns

Number of Bars Candlestick Name Bullish or Bearish? What it Looks Like? Description Potential Signal
Double Bullish Engulfing Bullish Dual Candlestick Pattern: Bullish Engulfing Bearish candle followed by a larger bullish candle that engulfs it Potential bullish reversal
Bearish Engulfing Bearish Dual Candlestick Pattern: Bearish Engulfing Bullish candle followed by a larger bearish candle that engulfs it Potential bearish reversal
Tweezer Tops Bearish Dual Candlestick Pattern: Tweezer Tops Two consecutive candles with matching or nearly matching high Potential bearish reversal
Tweezer Bottoms Bullish Dual Candlestick Pattern: Tweezer Bottoms Two consecutive candles with matching or nearly matching lows Potential bullish reversal
Triple Morning Star Bullish Triple Candlestick Pattern: Morning Star Long bearish candle, small real body (any color), then long bullish candle Potential bullish reversal
Evening Star Bearish Triple Candlestick Pattern: Evening Star Long bullish candle, small real body (any color), then long bearish candle Potential bearish reversal
Three White Soldiers Bullish Triple Candlestick Pattern: Three White Soldiers Three consecutive long white/green candles with small wicks Continuation of uptrend
Three Black Crows Bearish Triple Candlestick Pattern: Three Black Crows Three consecutive long black/red candles with small wicks Continuation of downtrend
Three Inside Up Bullish Triple Candlestick Pattern: Three Inside Up Two consecutive candles with matching or nearly matching lows Potential bullish reversal
Three Inside Down Bearish Triple Candlestick Pattern: Three Inside Down A bullish candle followed by a smaller bearish candle contained within the prior candle’s real body, then a bearish candle that breaks below the prior candle’s low Potential bearish reversal