Patterns › Hammer vs Hanging man
Look-alikes
Hammer vs Hanging man
They look alike, so beginners mix them up. Here is what each one means, and how often each one worked on real charts.
Hammer
After a fall, a long lower wick shows buyers stepped in.
A hammer has a small body near the top and a long lower wick, at least twice the size of the body, with little or no upper wick. It only counts as a hammer after price has been falling. It shows sellers pushed price down hard, but buyers pushed it back up before the candle closed. It hints that the fall may be slowing, but it does not prove the fall is over.
Calling any long-tailed candle a hammer, even when price was not falling before it.
Hanging man
After a rise, a long lower wick warns that sellers are testing.
A hanging man has a small body near the top and a long lower wick, just like a hammer. The difference is where it appears: after a rise. It shows sellers managed to push price down hard during the candle, even though buyers got it back. It warns that the rise may be tiring, and many traders wait for the next candle to close lower before trusting it.
Mixing it up with a hammer and ignoring whether price was rising or falling before it.
Real odds side by side
| Pattern | Found | Target first | Stop first | Went nowhere |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hammer | 11,792 | 31% | 58% | 10% |
| Hanging man | 8,311 | 36% | 58% | 6% |
Counted by the Trading Class research engine on real past candles: entry at the signal candle's close, target 1.5 × ATR(14), stop 1 × ATR(14), 12 candles to decide, a candle that touches both counts as the stop. How we count. Past data, not a forecast and not advice.