› Patterns

Measured, not promised

Patterns and indicators, with the real odds

Every pattern here was counted on real past charts. You see how often the target came first, how often the stop did, and how often nothing happened.

Candlestick patterns

1. DojiOpen and close are almost equal. Buyers and sellers are in a tie.
2. Spinning topSmall body, wicks on both sides. Nobody is in charge.
3. Bullish marubozuA full green body with no wicks. Buyers owned the whole candle.
4. Bearish marubozuA full red body with no wicks. Sellers owned the whole candle.
5. HammerAfter a fall, a long lower wick shows buyers stepped in.
6. Hanging manAfter a rise, a long lower wick warns that sellers are testing.
7. Inverted hammerAfter a fall, buyers tried to push up. A first sign of interest.
8. Shooting starAfter a rise, buyers pushed up and sellers slammed it back down.
9. Dragonfly dojiSellers pushed price far down, buyers pushed it all the way back.
10. Gravestone dojiBuyers pushed price far up, sellers pushed it all the way back.
11. Bullish engulfingA green body swallows the red one before it. Buyers took control.
12. Bearish engulfingA red body swallows the green one before it. Sellers took control.
13. Piercing lineAfter a big red candle, green closes above its middle.
14. Dark cloud coverAfter a big green candle, red closes below its middle.
15. Bullish haramiA small candle inside a big red one. Selling is slowing down.
16. Bearish haramiA small candle inside a big green one. Buying is slowing down.
17. Inside barA candle fully inside the one before. The market is coiling.
18. Tweezer bottomTwo candles hit the same low. That floor held twice.
19. Tweezer topTwo candles hit the same high. That ceiling held twice.
20. Morning starA big fall, a pause, then a strong rise. The night is ending.
21. Evening starA big rise, a pause, then a strong fall. The day is ending.
22. Three white soldiersThree strong green candles in a row. Buyers keep marching.
23. Three black crowsThree strong red candles in a row. Sellers keep pushing.

Chart patterns

1. Double bottomTwo lows at the same level, then a break above the peak between them.
2. Double topTwo peaks at the same height, then a break below the dip between them.
3. Head and shouldersThree peaks with the middle one highest, then a break below the neckline.
4. Inverse head and shouldersThree lows with the middle one deepest, then a break above the neckline.
5. Ascending triangleA flat ceiling and rising floor squeeze together, then price breaks up.
6. Descending triangleA flat floor and falling ceiling squeeze together, then price breaks down.
7. Symmetrical triangleLower highs and higher lows squeeze into a point, then price picks a side.
8. Rising wedgePrice climbs inside two rising lines that squeeze together, then breaks down.
9. Falling wedgePrice falls inside two falling lines that squeeze together, then breaks up.
10. Bull flagA fast rise, a short calm pause, then price breaks out of the pause.
11. Bear flagA fast fall, a short calm pause, then price breaks down out of the pause.
12. Cup and handleA rounded dip like a cup, a small dip like a handle, then a break above the rim.

Indicators

1. RSI oversold bounceRSI fell below 30, then climbed back above it. Selling may be tiring.
2. RSI overbought dropRSI rose above 70, then fell back below it. Buying may be tiring.
3. Stochastic bullish crossBelow 20, the fast stochastic line crossed above the slow one.
4. Stochastic bearish crossAbove 80, the fast stochastic line crossed below the slow one.
5. Golden crossThe 50-period average crossed above the 200-period average.
6. Death crossThe 50-period average crossed below the 200-period average.
7. EMA 9/21 bullish crossThe fast 9-period average crossed above the slower 21-period average.
8. EMA 9/21 bearish crossThe fast 9-period average crossed below the slower 21-period average.
9. MACD bullish crossBelow zero, the MACD line crossed above its signal line.
10. MACD bearish crossAbove zero, the MACD line crossed below its signal line.
11. VWAP reclaimPrice spent hours below the day's average price, then closed back above it.
12. VWAP rejectionPrice spent hours above the day's average price, then closed back below it.
13. OBV bullish divergencePrice made a lower low, but volume flow made a higher low. Sellers were running out of force.
14. OBV bearish divergencePrice made a higher high, but volume flow made a lower high. Buyers were running out of force.
15. Bollinger breakout upAfter a tight squeeze, price closed above the upper band.
16. Bollinger breakout downAfter a tight squeeze, price closed below the lower band.
17. ATR expansion upAfter a very calm stretch, one big candle broke above the recent range. Calm often comes before a storm.
18. ATR expansion downAfter a very calm stretch, one big candle broke below the recent range. Calm often comes before a storm.
19. Volume profile bouncePrice fell back to the price where the most trading happened, and bounced.
20. Volume profile rejectionPrice rose back to the price where the most trading happened, and turned down.
21. Fibonacci bounce upAfter a big rise, price pulled back to the 50 to 61.8% zone and bounced.
22. Fibonacci bounce downAfter a big fall, price rallied back to the 50 to 61.8% zone and turned down.

Market structure

1. Support bouncePrice fell back to a level that stopped it before, and bounced again.
2. Resistance rejectionPrice rose back to a level that stopped it before, and turned down again.
3. BreakoutPrice closed above resistance on strong volume. The ceiling broke.
4. False breakoutPrice broke above resistance, then fell straight back below it. A trap.
5. Gap upPrice opened above the previous candle's high. It jumped up between the two candles.
6. Gap downPrice opened below the previous candle's low. It jumped down between the two candles.