15 Bullish and Bearish Reversal Candlestick Patterns: Definitions, Confirmation and Test Results

Reversal candlestick patterns are formations of one, two or three candles that appear at the end of a trend and suggest it may turn: bullish patterns after a downtrend, bearish patterns after an uptrend. The 15 below are the classic ones, with names that follow Steve Nison’s book Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques. They are not ranked by reliability, because our tests do not support a ranking: each pattern’s measured result is shown in the boxes, next to its definition, and the details are on each pattern’s page.

What makes a candlestick pattern a reversal pattern

Three things, all of them part of the definition.

• A trend to reverse. A hammer in the middle of a range is just a candle with a long lower shadow. Our bench requires a prior trend for every pattern on this page, measured on the close just before the pattern: it must have moved at least one ATR from the close 10 bars earlier and sit in the lower half of the range of closes over the past 40 bars (the upper half before a bearish pattern).
• A shape. The rules below set the size of the bodies and the shadows, and where each candle opens and closes compared with the one before.
• Confirmation. StockCharts says that most bullish patterns require bullish confirmation, and most bearish patterns bearish confirmation, within one to three days: a gap, a long candle in the new direction or a move on high volume. Without it, it treats a bullish pattern as neutral, at best a sign of possible support.

Bullish reversal candlestick patterns

Each forms after a downtrend. The rule in italics is the one our bench applies.

Hammer

One candle with a short body near the top of its range and a long lower shadow. Short body, lower shadow at least twice the body, very short upper shadow, range at least the average of the 10 previous candles. Sellers pushed price down during the session and buyers brought it back up. Details on the hammer page.

Inverted hammer

The hammer upside down. Short body, upper shadow at least twice the body, very short lower shadow, range at least the average of the 10 previous candles. Buyers tried to push price up and failed by the close, so the candle alone shows an attempt, not a turn; it needs the same confirmation as the others. See the inverted hammer.

Piercing line

Two candles. A long black candle, then a long white candle opening below the prior low and closing above the middle of the black body, but below its open. If the white candle closes above the black open, the pattern becomes a bullish engulfing. See the piercing line.

Bullish engulfing

Two candles. A black candle (not a doji), then a white candle whose body engulfs the black body. Only the bodies count; the shadows do not have to be engulfed. Some descriptions ask the white candle to open below the black candle’s low and close above its high; the rule is about the bodies. See the engulfing pattern.

Bullish harami

Two candles, the mirror of the engulfing. A long black candle, then a short candle whose body lies inside the first body. The small body sits inside the large one. See the harami.

Bullish harami cross

A harami whose second candle is a doji. A long black candle, then a doji inside the first body. See the harami cross.

Morning star

Three candles. A long black candle, a short body gapping below it, then a white candle closing at least 30 percent into the black body. The small middle candle shows that selling has slowed; the third candle shows buyers taking over. See the morning star.

Morning doji star

A morning star whose middle candle is a doji. StockCharts notes that it needs no further confirmation beyond the long white candle on the third day. Our bench does not test the three-candle version separately; it tests the two-candle doji star, a long black candle then a doji whose body gaps below the black body.

Bearish reversal candlestick patterns

Each forms after an uptrend, and each is the mirror of a bullish pattern above: the same shape for the hanging man and the shooting star, the same structure turned upside down for the others.

Shooting star

One candle. Short body, upper shadow at least twice the body, very short lower shadow, range at least the average of the 10 previous candles. Buyers pushed price up and sellers pushed it back down by the close. See the shooting star.

Hanging man

The hammer’s shape at the top of a rise. Short body, lower shadow at least twice the body, very short upper shadow, range at least the average of the 10 previous candles. See the hanging man.

Dark cloud cover

The mirror of the piercing line. A long white candle, then a black candle opening above the prior high and closing below the middle of the white body, but above its open. See the dark cloud cover.

Bearish engulfing

A white candle (not a doji), then a black candle whose body engulfs the white body. The bearish side of the engulfing pattern.

Bearish harami

A long white candle, then a short candle whose body lies inside the first body. The bearish side of the harami; with a doji as second candle it becomes a bearish harami cross.

Evening star

Three candles. A long white candle, a short body gapping above it, then a black candle closing at least 30 percent into the white body. See the evening star.

Evening doji star

An evening star whose middle candle is a doji. As with the morning doji star, our bench tests the two-candle bearish doji star rather than the three-candle form: a long white candle then a doji whose body gaps above the white body.

How to trade reversal candlestick patterns

1. Check the trend first. No prior trend, no reversal pattern.
2. Wait for confirmation within one to three days, as StockCharts suggests: a gap or a long candle in the new direction, ideally on higher volume. StockCharts adds that candlestick patterns are usually effective for only one or two weeks.
3. Place the stop beyond the pattern: below the low of a bullish pattern, above the high of a bearish one. If price goes there, the reversal failed.
4. Look for a nearby support or resistance level. A hammer on a support that held gives a clearer stop than one in open space (our reading, not tested).
5. Size the position for the stop distance, not for how convincing the pattern looks.

Are reversal candlestick patterns reliable?

Not on their own, in our tests. Our bench measures each pattern on crypto, forex, stocks, ETFs, indices and commodities, against entries at random dates, as explained in our methodology. The boxes on this page show the result for each one; for most patterns and markets we measured no edge over random entries. That does not make the shapes useless: they mark where buyers or sellers fought back, which helps place stops. It means the shape alone is not a reason to trade. All the patterns tested are in the candlestick patterns section, and the wider topic is in technical analysis.