Ladder Top candlestick pattern: Complete Guide

Candlestick patterns

Ladder top
  • The Ladder Top candlestick pattern is a 5-bar bearish reversal pattern that appears at the end of a bullish trend.
  • You can identify it with the following characteristics:
    • The first three candles are always white with long real bodies opening and closing above the open and close levels of the previous candle.
    • The fourth candle must have a white short body with a long lower wick.
    • The fifth candle must be a long black candle opening below the real body of the fourth candle. 

Statistics to prove if the Ladder pattern really works

Are the odds of the Ladder Bottom pattern in your favor?


How does the Ladder Bottom behave with a 2:1 target R/R ratio?

Success rate

From our research the Ladder Bottom pattern confirms 72.8% of the time on average overall all the 4120 markets we analysed. Historically, this patterns confirmed within 3 candles or got invalidated within 6 candles. If confirmed, it reached the 2:1 R/R target 38.2% of the time and it retested it's entry price level 96.3% of the time.
Not accounting for fees, it has an expected outcome of 0.147 $/$. It means for every $100 you risk on a trade with the Ladder Bottom pattern you make $14.7 on average.
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How to handle risk with the Ladder Bottom pattern?


We analysed 4120 markets for the last 59 years and we found 3 750 occurrences of the Ladder Bottom pattern.
On average markets printed 1 Ladder Bottom pattern every 4 161 candles.

For 2:1 R/R trades, the longest winning streak observed was 9 and the longest losing streak was 14. A trading strategy relying solely on this pattern is not advised. Anyway, make sure to use proper risk management.

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Keep in mind all these informations are for educational purposes only and are NOT financial advice.

If you want to learn more and deep dive into candlestick patterns performance statistics, I strongly recommend you follow the best available course about it. Joe Marwood (who's a famous trader with more than 45 000 Twitter followers) created an online course called "Candlestick Analysis For Professional Traders" in his Marwood Research University. There he will take you through the extensive backtesting of the 26 main candlestick patterns. He then summarizes which one is THE best pattern. Do you know which one it is?
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What is the Ladder Top candlestick pattern?

The ladder top candlestick pattern is a bearish reversal pattern that appears at the end of a bullish trend. It is one of the most popular reversal patterns that give early signs of the uptrend’s deterioration. The ladder top has five candles just like its counterpart ladder bottom. However, its first three candles are white with long bodies. The first three candles resemble the three white soldiers formation. The fourth candle is also white but it has a shorter body than the previous three candles and with a long lower wick. The fifth candle is black with a long body that closes on its low. The longer the candlesticks of the ladder top, the more it will be reliable. 

How to identify the ladder top candlestick pattern? 

The appearance of the ladder top candlestick pattern is a very rare phenomenon that occurs very seldom. As we already know that it is a bearish reversal pattern, therefore, the prevailing trend must be an uptrend or bullish. There are certain other hints that can be used to identify the ladder top pattern. 

  • The first three candles are always white with long real bodies opening and closing above the open and close levels of the previous candle.
  • The fourth candle must have a white short body with a long lower wick.
  • The fifth candle must be a long black candle opening below the real body of the fourth candle. 

What does the pattern tell traders? 

The ladder top candlestick pattern is a bearish reversal pattern that appears during an uptrend and signals an upcoming reversal of the market. It is always very interesting for the traders to analyze the behavior of the market and candlestick patterns are very friendly in this matter. They allow traders to get an overall picture of the current market conditions and to predict the future.

The ladder bottom pattern does the same. It indicates that currently, traders have a positive outlook because of the bullish trend in the market. They continue to buy and keep the momentum going. The first three candles of the ladder top form in such circumstances. However, the appearance of the fifth candles indicates that the bullish sentiment has started to fade. Buyers still continue to buy in response to the new selling wave and keep the market close higher for the fourth candle as well. The fifth candle is the last whistle that predicts an upcoming bearish reversal. 

The ladder top pattern also helps to devise some trading strategies as well. Traders can go short when the volume of each of the first four candles is lower than the volume of the previous bar. They can exit the trade after the appearance of all five bars. Moreover, the appearance of the fifth bar also signals to sell. It’s because it ends with an uptrend and starts a bearish trend that is likely to continue. Furthermore, technical analysts and experts always advise not using the ladder top pattern also. It should be used in conjunction with other indicators and patterns for solid confirmation of a bearish reversal.

How does Ladder pattern look in real life?

The cryptocurrency pair QLC/BTC printed a bullish Ladder Bottom on 2018-10-15 15:00:00. It confirmed on 2018-10-16 08:00:00 (meaning price closed above entry level). It retested the trade entry level on 2018-10-16 13:00:00. Then it failed to reach the 2:1 R/R target and got stopped on 2018-10-18 17:00:00.
The cryptocurrency pair QLC/BTC printed a bullish Ladder Bottom on 2018-10-15 15:00:00. It confirmed on 2018-10-16 08:00:00 (meaning price closed above entry level). It retested the trade entry level on 2018-10-16 13:00:00. Then it failed to reach the 2:1 R/R target and got stopped on 2018-10-18 17:00:00.
The stock BEN printed a bullish Ladder Bottom on 1990-08-21. It confirmed on 1990-09-19 (meaning price closed above entry level). It retested the trade entry level on 1990-09-20. Then it failed to reach the 2:1 R/R target and got stopped on 1990-10-15.
The stock BEN printed a bullish Ladder Bottom on 1990-08-21. It confirmed on 1990-09-19 (meaning price closed above entry level). It retested the trade entry level on 1990-09-20. Then it failed to reach the 2:1 R/R target and got stopped on 1990-10-15.
The stock CDNS printed a bullish Ladder Bottom on 2013-01-28. It confirmed on 2013-02-12 (meaning price closed above entry level). It retested the trade entry level on 2013-02-13. Then it failed to reach the 2:1 R/R target and got stopped on 2013-03-18.
The stock CDNS printed a bullish Ladder Bottom on 2013-01-28. It confirmed on 2013-02-12 (meaning price closed above entry level). It retested the trade entry level on 2013-02-13. Then it failed to reach the 2:1 R/R target and got stopped on 2013-03-18.
The stock CMA printed a bullish Ladder Bottom on 2012-07-30. It confirmed on 2012-08-15 (meaning price closed above entry level). It retested the trade entry level on 2012-08-16. Then it failed to reach the 2:1 R/R target and got stopped on 2012-10-23.
The stock CMA printed a bullish Ladder Bottom on 2012-07-30. It confirmed on 2012-08-15 (meaning price closed above entry level). It retested the trade entry level on 2012-08-16. Then it failed to reach the 2:1 R/R target and got stopped on 2012-10-23.
The stock DXC printed a bullish Ladder Bottom on 1995-10-24. It confirmed on 1995-11-10 (meaning price closed above entry level). It retested the trade entry level on 1995-11-13. Then it failed to reach the 2:1 R/R target and got stopped on 1996-01-10.
The stock DXC printed a bullish Ladder Bottom on 1995-10-24. It confirmed on 1995-11-10 (meaning price closed above entry level). It retested the trade entry level on 1995-11-13. Then it failed to reach the 2:1 R/R target and got stopped on 1996-01-10.
The stock MAS printed a bullish Ladder Bottom on 1994-07-25. It confirmed on 1994-08-17 (meaning price closed above entry level). It retested the trade entry level on 1994-08-23. Then it failed to reach the 2:1 R/R target and got stopped on 1994-09-26.
The stock MAS printed a bullish Ladder Bottom on 1994-07-25. It confirmed on 1994-08-17 (meaning price closed above entry level). It retested the trade entry level on 1994-08-23. Then it failed to reach the 2:1 R/R target and got stopped on 1994-09-26.
The stock NLOK printed a bullish Ladder Bottom on 2009-10-23. It confirmed on 2009-11-18 (meaning price closed above entry level). It retested the trade entry level on 2009-11-19. Then it failed to reach the 2:1 R/R target and got stopped on 2010-05-07.
The stock NLOK printed a bullish Ladder Bottom on 2009-10-23. It confirmed on 2009-11-18 (meaning price closed above entry level). It retested the trade entry level on 2009-11-19. Then it failed to reach the 2:1 R/R target and got stopped on 2010-05-07.
The stock TFX printed a bullish Ladder Bottom on 2004-08-04. It confirmed on 2004-08-27 (meaning price closed above entry level). It retested the trade entry level on 2004-08-30. Then it failed to reach the 2:1 R/R target and got stopped on 2004-09-20.
The stock TFX printed a bullish Ladder Bottom on 2004-08-04. It confirmed on 2004-08-27 (meaning price closed above entry level). It retested the trade entry level on 2004-08-30. Then it failed to reach the 2:1 R/R target and got stopped on 2004-09-20.
The stock TTWO printed a bullish Ladder Bottom on 2008-03-07. It confirmed on 2008-03-25 (meaning price closed above entry level). It retested the trade entry level on 2008-03-26. Then it failed to reach the 2:1 R/R target and got stopped on 2008-07-02.
The stock TTWO printed a bullish Ladder Bottom on 2008-03-07. It confirmed on 2008-03-25 (meaning price closed above entry level). It retested the trade entry level on 2008-03-26. Then it failed to reach the 2:1 R/R target and got stopped on 2008-07-02.
The cryptocurrency pair AST/BTC printed a bullish Ladder Bottom on 2018-03-30 01:00:00. It confirmed on 2018-03-30 21:00:00 (meaning price closed above entry level). It retested the trade entry level on 2018-03-31 20:00:00. Then it successfully reached the 2:1 R/R target.
The cryptocurrency pair AST/BTC printed a bullish Ladder Bottom on 2018-03-30 01:00:00. It confirmed on 2018-03-30 21:00:00 (meaning price closed above entry level). It retested the trade entry level on 2018-03-31 20:00:00. Then it successfully reached the 2:1 R/R target.
The stock COO printed a bullish Ladder Bottom on 1986-07-25. It confirmed on 1986-08-18 (meaning price closed above entry level). It retested the trade entry level on 1986-09-11. Then it successfully reached the 2:1 R/R target.
The stock COO printed a bullish Ladder Bottom on 1986-07-25. It confirmed on 1986-08-18 (meaning price closed above entry level). It retested the trade entry level on 1986-09-11. Then it successfully reached the 2:1 R/R target.
The cryptocurrency pair VIA/BTC printed a bullish Ladder Bottom on 2019-12-22 16:00:00. Unfortunately it invalidated on 2019-12-23 16:00:00 before the trade could trigger (it triggered the stop before entering).
The cryptocurrency pair VIA/BTC printed a bullish Ladder Bottom on 2019-12-22 16:00:00. Unfortunately it invalidated on 2019-12-23 16:00:00 before the trade could trigger (it triggered the stop before entering).
The stock AES printed a bullish Ladder Bottom on 2010-02-03. Unfortunately it invalidated on 2010-03-01 before the trade could trigger (it triggered the stop before entering).
The stock AES printed a bullish Ladder Bottom on 2010-02-03. Unfortunately it invalidated on 2010-03-01 before the trade could trigger (it triggered the stop before entering).
The stock SYK printed a bullish Ladder Bottom on 2018-11-19 14:30:00. Unfortunately it invalidated on 2018-11-20 14:30:00 before the trade could trigger (it triggered the stop before entering).
The stock SYK printed a bullish Ladder Bottom on 2018-11-19 14:30:00. Unfortunately it invalidated on 2018-11-20 14:30:00 before the trade could trigger (it triggered the stop before entering).
The stock VFC printed a bullish Ladder Bottom on 1994-04-13. Unfortunately it invalidated on 1994-05-09 before the trade could trigger (it triggered the stop before entering).
The stock VFC printed a bullish Ladder Bottom on 1994-04-13. Unfortunately it invalidated on 1994-05-09 before the trade could trigger (it triggered the stop before entering).

Looking to learn more about this pattern?
You should take a look at Joe Marwood's online course. In his course, he backtested the 26 main candlestick patterns before to summarize which one is THE best pattern. I really liked his course and you shouldn't miss it!
Click here to signup to his "Candlestick Analysis For Professional Traders" course now!

Russell Crane

Russell Crane

Russell is an Algorithmic & Technical Analyst Trader @ PatternsWizard.
His passion is to share his knowledge about TA, patterns & more. Why hope for your trading to work when you can precisely know the performance stat of every pattern?

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