Spotting Your First PatternsChart Patterns

The four patterns you'll see constantly: doji, hammer, shooting star, and engulfing. This free lesson covers: What you'll learn, The doji, Indecision, The hammer, Name it, The shooting star, The shooting star, Engulfing patterns, Name it, Context matters, Reading it in context.

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Chart Patterns · Learn · Step 1 of 11

What you'll learn

Four patterns that show up constantly on any chart: the doji, the hammer, the shooting star, and the engulfing candle.

Going deeper

More on spotting your first patterns

Candlestick patterns are descriptions of behaviour, not predictions. A hammer describes a period where sellers pushed price down and buyers took it back — whether that matters depends entirely on where it happened.

Most published win rates for these patterns come from studies that ignore context and give wildly inconsistent results. Treat any specific percentage claim with suspicion.

Common mistakes4
  • Trading patterns in isolation. The same hammer is meaningful at a tested support zone and meaningless in the middle of a range.
  • Forcing the label. If you need to squint to call it an engulfing candle, it is not one.
  • Ignoring the preceding trend. A hammer only means "reversal candidate" after a decline — the identical shape mid-uptrend is just a candle.
  • Acting on a pattern before the candle closes. Half-formed candles change shape completely in their final seconds.
From experience2
  • Ask "what had to happen for this shape to form?" A shooting star means buyers pushed up and were overwhelmed. That mechanism is the signal, not the name.
  • Patterns at levels you already marked are worth far more than patterns you found by scanning for shapes.
Questions people ask3

Which candlestick pattern is the most reliable?

None reliably in isolation. The context — where it forms and what preceded it — matters more than which pattern it is, which is why this Academy teaches structure before patterns.

Do candlestick patterns work on all timeframes?

The shapes appear on every timeframe, but lower timeframes produce far more of them and a much higher proportion are noise.

Should I use a pattern-scanning indicator?

Scanners find shapes, not situations. They will flag dozens of technically-valid patterns in places no experienced trader would act.