The Ultimate List of Candlestick Patterns (2026 Guide)

What Are Candlestick Patterns?

Candlestick patterns are chart patterns, but more specifically, visual formations of charted price movements which can signal potential market movement and trends in an asset or index. Each individual candle shows the open, high, low, and close for a given time period, and the shape, color, and position of candles relative to one another are where patterns form that traders can use to gauge shifts in buying and selling pressures.

Candlestick patterns date back to 18th-century Japanese rice trading and were popularized in Western markets in the 1990s. Today they're a standard part of technical analysis. They’re not used as a standalone signal, but alongside indicators, volume, and general trends to give the trader context for what could happen next.

A candlestick pattern reflects a signal of potential market activity in the future. It does not predict what will happen next. Traders use these visual formations to build a probability-based view of near-term price action.

How to Read a Candlestick Chart 

Every candle is built from four data points for a chosen time frame (1-minute, daily, weekly, and so on): 

Open — the first traded price in the period. 

High — the highest traded price in the period. 

Low — the lowest traded price in the period. 

Close — the last traded price in the period. 

The rectangular section of the body represents the range between open and close. A green or unfilled body means the close was higher than the open, i.e. a bullish candle; a red or filled body means the close was lower than the open, i.e. a bearish candle. The “wicks” or lines above and below the body mark the high and low. Body size reflects market pressure. A long body indicates strong buying or selling pressure to their respective directionalities (bullish/green or bearish/red), while shorter bodies indicate market consolidation (evenly matched buyers and sellers). The smaller the body, the less price range, momentum, and directionality. No candle body (Doji) indicates market indecision and a potential turning point.  

Bullish Candlestick Patterns

These formations have historically appeared near the end of a downtrend or during an uptrend, and traders commonly read them as a signal that buying pressure may be building which could signal a potential uptrend. As with every pattern in this guide, no patterns guarantee a specific market move, and every pattern is best understood in context to its greater market. 

Single-candle bullish patterns 

Hammer — will appear at the bottom of a downtrend; it is a small body near the top of the candle’s range with a long lower wick and little to no top wick. The long lower wick is sellers trying to drive the price down, but then buyers were able to rally it back to its high.  Shows selling pressure could be weakening.  

Inverted Hammer — will appear at the bottom of a downtrend and is a small body near the bottom of the candle’s range with a long top wick and little to no lower wick. The long top wick indicates buyers pushed well above the open, but that sellers brought it down towards the close. Indicates selling pressure could be exhausted.  

Bullish Marubozu — a full-bodied green candle with no wicks. Buyers controlled the entire period from open to close.  

Double-candle bullish patterns 

Bullish Engulfing — a bearish candle followed by a larger bullish candle whose body fully covers the prior body. The shift in size signals a swing in control from sellers to buyers. 

Piercing Line — a bearish candle followed by a bullish candle that opens below the prior close but closes above the prior candle's midpoint. 

Tweezer Bottom — two consecutive candles that touch nearly the same low after a downtrend, suggesting sellers failed to push the price to a new low a second time. 

Triple-candle bullish patterns 

Morning Star — a bearish candle, a small-bodied candle showing indecision, then a bullish up candle. The three-candle sequence shows selling pressure fading before buyers take over. 

Three White Soldiers — three consecutive bullish candles, each closing higher than the last with limited upper wicks, showing sustained buying pressure, if appearing after a downtrend could signal a reversal, but appearing during an uptrend it could signal a continuation.  

Three Inside Up — a bearish candle, a smaller candle contained within its range, then a bullish candle that closes above the first candle's open. The bearish candle, to smaller candle, to bullish candle could suggest buyers are taking control and the price will be increasing.  

Bearish Candlestick Patterns

These formations have historically appeared near the end of an uptrend or during a downtrend, and traders commonly read them as a signal that selling pressure may be building. 

Single-candle bearish patterns 

Hanging Man — the same shape as a hammer (small body, long lower wick) but appearing after an uptrend instead of a downtrend. Hints buying pressure could be weakening because sellers could gain so much ground in a market rally.  

Shooting Star — Appearing at the top of an uptrend, it is a small body near the bottom of the price range with a long upper wick. Buyers pushed the price higher during the period before sellers took it back down. 

Bearish Marubozu — a full-bodied red candle with no wicks. Sellers controlled the entire period from open to close. 

Double-candle bearish patterns 

Bearish Engulfing — a bullish candle followed by a bearish candle whose body fully covers the prior body. Suggests buying pressure are being overwhelmed by selling pressures, and momentum has flipped to a downtrend.  

Dark Cloud Cover — a bullish candle followed by a bearish candle that opens above the prior close but closes below the bullish candle's midpoint. The failure to hold a high and penetrate deep into the bullish candle suggests buying pressure is faltering.  

Tweezer Top — Forming at the end of an uptrend, it is two consecutive candles that touch nearly the same high after an advance. A repeated failure to break through a high suggests buying pressure is exhausted, and selling pressure may reassert control to create a downtrend.  

Triple-candle bearish patterns 

Evening Star — it is a bullish candle, followed by a small-bodied candle showing indecision, and then a bearish candle. Appearing at the top of an uptrend, this suggests buying momentum is shifting to a downtrend as the gains on the bullish candle stall with second candle and then are eliminated by the bearish candle.  

Three Black Crows — three consecutive bearish candles, each closing lower than the last with limited lower wicks. After an uptrend this could read as a reversal, but within an existing downtrend it could read as a continuation – either way a bearish signal.  

Three Inside Down — it is a bullish candle with a smaller candle contained within its range, and then a bearish candle that closes below the first bullish candle's open. The bullish candle’s gains being eliminated suggests control is moving towards the sellers signaling a potential downtrend.  

Reversal vs. Continuation Candlestick Patterns

Every pattern in this guide falls into one of two categories based on what it signals about future trends. Some patterns are context dependent, and can mean either in differing contexts: 

Reversal patterns — form after a trend has been in place and suggest that trend may be losing momentum.  

Continuation patterns — form during a trend and suggest a brief pause before the existing trend resumes.  

The same basic shapes can carry different implications depending on where they appear on the chart. A pattern's location relative to the broader trend, not just its shape, is what informs whether it is a signal or noise. Every candlestick pattern should be taken in context within broader market trends.  

Candlestick Patterns Cheat Sheet 

The table below summarizes every pattern covered in this guide. 

How to Spot These Patterns Faster With tastytrade's Charting Tools

Reading candlestick patterns manually across multiple symbols and time frames takes practice. tastytrade's web platform and desktop platform both include advanced charting and drawing tools, a full library of technical indicators, and the ability to view the same symbol across multiple time frames side by side. 

On the chart, traders can: 

• Switch between candlestick, bar, and line chart types on any time frame 
• Apply drawing tools to mark support, resistance, and trendlines around a pattern 
• Layer indicators such as moving averages or volume alongside a pattern for confirmation, rather than trading the candle in isolation 
• Open multiple time frame windows for the same symbol to see whether a pattern on a daily chart aligns with the intraday trend 

Before acting on a pattern, pull up the symbol's option chain or futures contract directly from the chart to review current pricing. If placing a trade, please review commissions & fees before submitting the order. Chart tools help identify a pattern faster; they do not remove the underlying risk of the position. 

Traders who want to explore candlestick patterns on live markets can open a tastytrade account to access advanced charting on both the web and desktop platforms. 

Common Mistakes When Trading Candlestick Patterns

Trading a pattern in isolation — a single candle rarely tells the full story, so context is key. Traders typically weigh a pattern against the broader trend, volume, and nearby support or resistance. 

Ignoring confirmation — many reversal patterns are treated as more significant when the next candle confirms the move, rather than acting on the pattern candle alone. 

Over-emphasizing rare patterns — some multi-candle formations appear infrequently on any given chart. Waiting for a specific pattern can mean missing more common patterns. 

Skipping the broader time frame — a pattern on a 5-minute chart can conflict with the daily trend. Checking multiple time frames helps put a single pattern in context. 

Treating a pattern as a trade plan — a candlestick pattern can inform an entry idea, but position size, defined risk, and an exit plan are separate decisions a pattern does not make for you. 

For a deeper look at applying technical tools like moving averages alongside chart patterns, see how EMAs work on tastytrade's charts.