Candlestick Patterns (UK, 2026)

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Candlestick patterns are shapes formed by one to three candles that hint at a likely reversal or continuation in price. UK traders read them alongside the trend and nearby support or resistance, never on their own. This page sets out the ten most-watched bullish and bearish patterns, how each one confirms, and why the confirmation candle and risk sizing matter more than the shape itself.

All patterns Bullish Bearish

Pattern	Direction	Candles	Confirmation
Hammer	Bullish	1	Close above the hammer's high
Bullish engulfing	Bullish	2	Green body engulfs the prior red body
Morning star	Bullish	3	Third candle closes into the first body
Piercing line	Bullish	2	Close above the prior red candle's midpoint
Three white soldiers	Bullish	3	Three rising closes, each near its high
Shooting star	Bearish	1	Close below the shooting star's low
Bearish engulfing	Bearish	2	Red body engulfs the prior green body
Evening star	Bearish	3	Third candle closes into the first body
Hanging man	Bearish	1	Close below the hanging man's low
Three black crows	Bearish	3	Three falling closes, each near its low

How to read a candlestick

A candlestick plots four prices for a set period: the open, the high, the low and the close. The gap between the open and close forms the body, coloured green when price closed higher and red when it closed lower, and the thin wicks above and below mark the session’s extremes. Reading the balance between body and wicks is what makes a pattern legible, so it is worth being comfortable with the anatomy before working through the shapes below.

Bullish candlestick patterns

Bullish candlestick patterns point to a likely move higher, most often a reversal after a fall. Each is only a clue until the next candle confirms it, and all of them carry more weight when they form at support or after an extended decline than in the middle of a range.

Hammer

A hammer is a single candle with a small body and a long lower wick that prints after a downtrend. It shows sellers driving price down through the session before buyers push it back near the open, which is what leaves the long tail. The signal confirms when the next candle closes above the hammer’s high, so a hammer on its own is a flag to watch rather than a trade.

Bullish engulfing

A bullish engulfing pattern is two candles: a small red candle followed by a larger green one whose body completely covers the previous body. The green candle takes back everything the previous session gave up, a clean handover from sellers to buyers, and it is most convincing after a run of lower closes. The wider that green body against recent candles, the more decisive the turn.

Morning star

A morning star is a three-candle bottom: a long red candle, then a small-bodied candle that stalls or gaps, then a green candle that closes well into the first body. The small middle candle is the turning point, where selling pressure runs out before buyers step in on the third session. It confirms as the third candle closes, not on the star itself.

Piercing line

A piercing line is a two-candle reversal where a green candle opens below the prior red candle’s low and then closes back above the midpoint of that red body. Closing beyond the halfway mark is the detail that separates it from a shallow bounce that fades. Like the other reversals here, it is more reliable after a clear downtrend.

Three white soldiers

Three white soldiers are three tall green candles in a row, each opening within the previous body and closing near its high. The pattern shows steady, repeated buying rather than a single spike, which is why it reads as a durable reversal signal. A break in that rhythm, such as a candle closing well off its high, weakens the read.

Bearish candlestick patterns

Bearish candlestick patterns point to a likely move lower, usually a reversal after a rise. The same discipline applies in reverse: each needs the following candle to confirm it, and each reads best at resistance or after an extended advance.

Shooting star

A shooting star is a single candle with a small body and a long upper wick that appears at the top of an uptrend. Buyers push price up during the session, but sellers reject the high and force the close back near the open, leaving the long wick above. It confirms when the next candle closes below the shooting star’s low.

Bearish engulfing

A bearish engulfing pattern is a small green candle followed by a larger red one whose body completely covers it. The red candle wipes out the prior session’s buying in a single move, and it is most telling after a stretch of higher closes. As with its bullish mirror, the wider the red body, the stronger the signal.

Evening star

An evening star is the bearish mirror of the morning star: a long green candle, a small indecisive candle at the high, then a red candle that closes well into the first body. The star is the stall at the top before sellers take over on the third session. Confirmation comes on the close of that third candle.

Hanging man

A hanging man has the same shape as a hammer, a small body with a long lower wick, but it prints at the top of an uptrend rather than the bottom of a downtrend. In that position the long lower wick warns that selling appeared intrasession even as price stayed elevated. It is a weaker signal than an engulfing pattern and needs the next candle to close lower to confirm.

Three black crows

Three black crows are three tall red candles in a row, each opening within the previous body and closing near its low. Like three white soldiers in reverse, the pattern shows sustained selling rather than one sharp drop, which is what gives it weight at the top of a move. Watch for the run becoming overextended, since a deep sequence of crows can precede a short-term bounce.

How candlestick patterns confirm

A candlestick pattern is a setup, not a signal, until the market confirms it. For most reversals that means waiting for the next candle to close in the pattern’s direction, ideally on rising volume, which is easier to judge on a platform that plots volume alongside price such as MT4. Acting on the shape alone invites false signals, where a hammer or engulfing candle forms and price simply carries on. Context matters as much as the shape: the same pattern is worth more at support or resistance than in the middle of a range, and worth more after an extended move than inside choppy conditions. TradingView can flag many of these patterns automatically, but a scanner does not judge that context, so treat it as a shortlist.

Managing the risk

Candlestick patterns give a natural place to set a stop: just beyond the wick that defines the pattern, below a hammer’s low or above a shooting star’s high, so the trade is invalidated cleanly if that level breaks. Size the position so the loss to the stop is a fixed, small share of the account, as set out in the stop-loss guide. Any leverage stays within the FCA retail caps, 30:1 on major pairs, with the 50% margin close-out and negative balance protection applying as backstops. A pattern improves the odds of a setup; it does not change the fact that most retail accounts lose money trading CFDs.

Common mistakes

The frequent error is trading the shape before it confirms, since an unconfirmed hammer or engulfing candle fails often. Reading a pattern in isolation, without the trend or a nearby level to support it, forces trades the chart does not justify. Treating a single candle as a certainty rather than a probability removes the stop and the sizing that make a pattern worth trading at all. For the multi-candle chart formations that work on the same principles, see the bullish chart patterns and bearish chart patterns pages, and the patterns hub for how the families fit together.