Smart choice.
Identifying signs of bullish price action ahead is a useful trading skill. Certain candlestick patterns can help you do that.
Identifying Bullish Candlestick Patterns
The vast majority of candlestick patterns have bullish variations.
Some imply bullish reversal while others imply bullish continuation.
However, no pattern guarantees a given outcome. Just because you see a candlestick pattern does not mean that things will play out as the pattern suggests.
In fact, 70% is a high hit rate for candlestick patterns while many hover around 50%.
What’s more, it’s common for candlesticks to begin to form one of these patterns only to backtrack on the last candle. That’s why you shouldn’t make any trading decisions based on a candlestick pattern until it fully completes. That’s also why smart traders look for additional points of confirmation that reinforce the signal.
When a bullish pattern fails, it often leads to a bearish outcome. Thus, it’s important to understand bearish candlestick patterns as well (including both bearish reversal and bearish continuation patterns).
Almost all candlestick patterns have both bearish and bullish versions that mirror each other exactly.
So as you read through this list, try to visualize each pattern’s opposite.
Bullish Abandoned Baby
A bullish abandoned baby pattern is a 3-candlestick formation that may signal a bullish reversal.
It may appear during a downtrend and is made up of a large bearish candle, a doji that gaps down, and a large bullish candle that gaps up.
In trading terms:
- During the first period, the price continued the pre-existing downtrend.
- The second period opened with a gap down, after which neither the bulls nor the bears were able to maintain control.
- The third period opened with a gap back up and continued increasing, threatening the pre-existing downtrend.
Bullish abandoned baby patterns show that the bears attempted to press their advantage on candle one, stalled on candle two, and finally surrendered momentum to the bulls on candle three.
Pattern Type: Bullish Reversal
Number of Candlesticks: 3
Looks Like/Narrative Meaning: U-turn or counterpunch
Technical Specifications***
Technically, a bullish abandoned baby pattern must:
- Appear during a downtrend
- Begin with a bearish long candle
- Have a doji as the second candle
- Have gaps before and after the doji
- End with a bullish long candle of similar size to the first candle
In practicality though, many traders will make various exceptions.
- The first and third candles can be different lengths, as long as they are both long line candles and/or test important price levels.
- The second candle doesn’t necessarily have to be a doji, as long as it is a short line candle.
- The gaps can go, especially in markets where gaps are less common like cryptocurrency.
- There can be more than one doji (or short candle) between the first and final candlestick.
***Depending on who you ask, any of these standards may be more or less important. Moreover, some of these variations may be more properly classified as other bullish candlestick patterns.
Related Patterns:
- Similar to Morning Doji Star Pattern
- Similar to Morning Star Pattern
- Subtype of Abandoned Baby Pattern
- Opposite of Bearish Abandoned Baby Pattern
For more detail, read our full breakdown on Trading Bullish Abandoned Baby Candlestick Patterns.
Bullish Counterattack Lines
A bullish counterattack line pattern is a 2-candlestick formation that may signal a bullish reversal.
It may appear during a downtrend and is made up of a large bearish candle followed by a large bullish candle that opens with a large gap down then moves higher, filling the gap to close near the first candle’s close.
In trading terms:
- During the first period, price continued the pre-existing downtrend.
- The second period opens with a gap down but price moves back up, immediately filling the gap and ending with a similar close to the following period.
Bullish counterattack line patterns show that the bears attempted to press their advantage on candle one, continued to do so between candles, but then lost all momentum by the close of candle two.
Pattern Type: Bullish Reversal
Number of Candlesticks: 2
Looks Like/Narrative Meaning: a turning point or drawing of battle lines
Technical Specifications***
Technically, a bullish counterattack line pattern must:
- Appear during a downtrend
- Begin with a bearish long candle
- End with a bullish long candle of similar size to the first candle
- Have both candles’ closes at approximately the same price
- Completely fill the gap by end of the second candle
In practicality though, many traders will make various exceptions.
- The candles don’t necessarily have to be long candles, as long as they are the same size.
- The candles don’t necessarily have to be the same size, as long as they are long candles.
- It can take two candles to fill the gap, as long as the combined length of the second and third candles equals the length of the first.
***Depending on who you ask, any of these standards may be more or less important. The only real non-negotiables are the direction of the candles and the immediate gap fill. Moreover, some of these variations may be more properly classified as other bearish candlestick patterns.
Related Patterns:
- Similar to Bullish In Neck Pattern
- Similar to Bullish On Neck Pattern
- Subtype of Counterattack Lines Pattern
- Opposite of Bearish Counterattack Lines Pattern
For more detail, read our full breakdown on Trading Bullish Counterattack Lines Candlestick Patterns.
Morning Doji Star
A morning doji star pattern is a 3-candlestick formation that may signal a bullish reversal.
It may appear during a downtrend and is made up of a large bearish candle followed by a doji and a large bullish candle.
In trading terms:
- During the first period, price continued the pre-existing downtrend.
- During the second period, neither side was able to maintain control.
- During the third period, price moved back up, threatening the downtrend.
Morning doji star patterns show that the bears attempted to press their advantage on candle one, stalled on candle two, and finally surrendered momentum to the bulls on candle three.
Pattern Type: Bullish Reversal
Number of Candlesticks: 3
Looks Like/Narrative Meaning: U-turn or counterpunch
Technical Specifications***
Technically, an morning doji star pattern must:
- Appear during a downtrend
- Begin with a bearish long candle
- Have any doji other than a four-price doji as the second candle
- End with a bullish long candle of similar size to the first candle
- Contain no gaps
In practicality though, many traders will make various exceptions.
- The first and third candles can be different lengths, as long as they are both long line candles and/or test important price levels.
- The second candle doesn’t necessarily have to be a doji, as long as it is a short line candle.
- There can be more than one doji (or short candle) between the first and final candlestick.
***Depending on who you ask, any of these standards may be more or less important. Moreover, some of these variations may be more properly classified as other bearish candlestick patterns.
Related Patterns
- Similar to Bullish Abandoned Baby Pattern
- Similar to Morning Star Pattern
- Subtype of Doji Star Pattern
- Opposite of Evening Doji Star Pattern
For more detail, read our full breakdown on Trading Morning Doji Star Candlestick Patterns.
Bullish Engulfing
A bullish engulfing candlestick pattern is a 2-candlestick formation that may signal a bullish reversal.
It may appear during a downtrend and is made up of a bearish candle and a large bullish candle that opens below and closes above the first, fully containing the trading range of the first.
In trading terms:
- During the first period, price continued the pre-existing downtrend.
- The second period opens with a gap down that is quickly filled as price proceeds to move back up above the opening price of the previous period.
Bullish engulfing candlestick patterns show that the bears attempted to press their advantage on candle one, continued to do so between candles one and two, but then completely lost the momentum by the end of candle two.
Pattern Type: Bullish Reversal
Number of Candlesticks: 2
Looks Like/Narrative Meaning: dam break or counterpunch
Technical Specifications***
Technically, a bullish engulfing candle pattern must:
- Appear during a downtrend
- Begin with a bearish candle
- End with a bullish long candle
- Have the first candle’s body contained completely within the body of the second
In practicality though, many traders will make various exceptions.
- The first candle can be a neutral candle (ie. a doji), as long as it is fully contained within the body of the second.
- The first candle can move against trend, as long as it is fully contained within the body of the second.
- The second candle doesn’t necessarily have to be a long candle, as long as it fully contains the body and wicks of the first.
- The open of the second candle can be even with the close of the first candle, especially in markets where gaps are less common like cryptocurrency.
***Depending on who you ask, any of these standards may be more or less important. Moreover, some of these variations may be more properly classified as other bearish candlestick patterns.
Related Patterns
- Precursor of Three Outside Up Pattern
- Subtype of Engulfing Candlestick Pattern
- Opposite of Bearish Engulfing Pattern
For more detail, read our full breakdown on Trading Bullish Engulfing Candlestick Patterns.
Bullish Harami
A bullish harami pattern is a 2-candlestick formation that may signal a bullish reversal.
It may appear during a downtrend and is made up of a large bearish candle followed by a small bullish (or neutral) candle. The trading range of the second candle must be completely contained within the body of the first.
In trading terms:
- During the first period, price continued the pre-existing downtrend.
- Before the second period opened, price moved higher, opening within the range of the prior candle body.
- During the second period, price continued to move higher to a modest degree, closing within the range of the prior candle body.
Bullish harami patterns show that the bears attempted to press their advantage on candle one, lost momentum between candles, and fully stalled out by the close of candle two.
Pattern Type: Bullish Reversal
Number of Candlesticks: 2
Looks Like/Narrative Meaning: birth of a counter-trend or counter-trend incubator
Technical Specifications***
Technically, a bullish harami pattern must:
- Appear during a downtrend
- Begin with a bearish long candle
- End with a bullish short candle
- Have the second candle’s body and wicks contained completely within the body of the first
In practicality though, many traders will make various exceptions.
- The first candle doesn’t have to be a long candle, as long as it is bearish and contains the second candle.
- The second candle doesn’t have to move against trend as long as it is neutral and/or very small (ie. a doji).
- The second candle’s wicks don’t have to be contained within the body of the first, as long as its body is.
- The open of the second candle can be even with the close of the first candle, especially in markets where inside candles are less common like cryptocurrency.
- If additional, consecutive candles after the second candle remain contained within the body of the first candle, all would be included in the harami pattern.
***Depending on who you ask, any of these standards may be more or less important. Moreover, some of these variations may be more properly classified as other bearish candlestick patterns.
Related Patterns
- Similar to Bullish Harami Cross Pattern
- Precursor of Three Inside Up Pattern
- Subtype of Harami Pattern
- Opposite of Bearish Harami Pattern
For more detail, read our full breakdown on Trading Bullish Harami Candlestick Patterns.
Bullish Harami Cross
A bullish harami cross pattern is a 2-candlestick formation that may signal a bullish reversal.
It may appear during a downtrend and is made up of a large bearish candle followed by an inside doji candlestick. The trading range of the second candle must be completely contained within that of the first.
In trading terms:
- During the first period, price continued the pre-existing downtrend.
- Before the second period opened, price moved higher, opening within the range of the prior candle body.
- During the second period, price stayed within the range of the prior candle body and closed at (or very near to) the open.
Bullish harami cross patterns show that the bears attempted to press their advantage on candle one, lost momentum between candles, and fully stalled out by the close of candle two.
Pattern Type: Bullish Reversal
Number of Candlesticks: 2
Looks Like/Narrative Meaning: birth of a counter-trend or counter-trend incubator
Technical Specifications***
Technically, a bullish harami cross pattern must:
- Appear during a downtrend
- Begin with a bearish long candle
- End with a doji candlestick
- Have the second candle’s body and wicks contained completely within the body of the first
In practicality though, many traders will make various exceptions.
- The first candle doesn’t have to be a long candle, as long as it contains the second candle and moves in the direction of trend.
- The second candle’s wicks don’t have to be contained within the body of the first, as long as the open and close are.
- The open and close of the second candle can be even with the close of the first candle, especially in markets where inside candles are less common like cryptocurrency.
- If additional, consecutive doji after the second candle remain contained within the body of the first candle, all would be included in the harami cross pattern.
***Depending on who you ask, any of these standards may be more or less important. Moreover, some of these variations may be more properly classified as other bearish candlestick patterns.
Related Patterns
- Similar to Bullish Harami Pattern
- Precursor of Three Inside Up Pattern
- Subtype of Harami Cross Pattern
- Opposite of Bearish Harami Cross Pattern
For more detail, read our full breakdown on Trading Bullish Harami Cross Candlestick Patterns.
Bullish In Neck
A bullish in neck pattern is a 2-candlestick formation that may signal a bullish continuation.
It may appear in an uptrend and is made up of a large bullish candle followed by a gap up and smaller bearish candle that fills the gap and closes near the close of the first candle.
In trading terms:
- During the first period, price continued the pre-existing uptrend.
- The second period opened with a modest gap up but price moved back down, filled the gap, and closed at the same price as the first period.
Bullish in neck patterns show that the bulls attempted to press their advantage on candle one and between candles one and two, but then allowed some reprieve by the end of candle two.
Pattern Type: Bullish Continuation
Number of Candlesticks: 2
Looks Like/Narrative Meaning: a pause in the action or rallying point
Technical Specifications***
Technically, a bullish in neck pattern must:
- Appear during an uptrend
- Begin with a bullish long candle
- Have a gap up after the first candle
- End with a bearish candle that fills the gap and closes even with the top of the first candle’s body
In practicality though, many traders will make various exceptions.
- The first candle doesn’t necessarily have to be a long candle, as long as its body is longer than the body of the second candle.
- The close of the second candle can be slightly above or below the close of the first candle.
- It can take two candles to fill the gap, as long as the combined body length of the second and third candles is shorter than the length of the first.
***Depending on who you ask, any of these standards may be more or less important. Moreover, some of these variations may be more properly classified as other bearish candlestick patterns.
Related Patterns
- Similar to Bullish Counterattack Lines Pattern
- Similar to Bullish On Neck Pattern
- Subtype of In Neck Pattern
- Opposite of Bearish In Neck Pattern
For more detail, read our full breakdown on Trading Bullish In Neck Candlestick Patterns.
Bullish Mat Hold
A bullish mat hold pattern is a 5-candlestick formation that may signal a bullish continuation.
It may appear in an uptrend and is made up of a large bullish candlestick followed by a gap up and three smaller bearish (or neutral) candles that fill the gap but never close below the first candle’s open, then another large bullish candle that closes above all previous candles.
In trading terms:
- During the first period, price continued the pre-existing uptrend.
- The second period opened with a gap up that was filled over the course of the next three periods as price moved back down but never closed lower than the first period’s open.
- During the fifth period, price resumed upward movement and closed higher than any of the preceding four periods.
Bullish mat hold patterns show that the bulls attempted to press their advantage on candle one (and between candles one and two), stalled for the next three candles, before finally regaining control and pressing trend further by the end of the fifth candle.
Pattern Type: Bullish Continuation
Number of Candlesticks: 5
Looks Like/Narrative Meaning: a one-sided beatdown or near-knockout blow
Technical Specifications***
Technically, a bullish mat hold pattern must:
- Appear during an uptrend
- Begin with a bullish long candle
- Have a gap up after the first candle that gets filled over the course of the next three candles
- Have three consecutive bearish (or neutral) short candlesticks after the first candlestick that never close below the open of the first candlestick
- End with another bullish long candlestick that closes above the body and wicks of all preceding candlesticks in the pattern
In practicality though, many traders will make various exceptions.
- The first candle doesn’t necessarily have to be a long candle, as long as its body is longer than candles two, three, and four.
- The middle three candles don’t necessarily have to be short candles, as long as all of them are shorter than candle one.
- One or more of the middle candles can be bullish, as long as the gap gets filled before the fifth candle begins.
- There can be more than three candles between the first and last candles, as long as the gap gets filled and none of the middle candles close outside the body of the first.
- The gap can go, especially in markets where gaps are less common, like cryptocurrency.
- The final candle doesn’t necessarily have to close above all of the wicks of the prior candles, as long it closes above their bodies.
***Depending on who you ask, any of these standards may be more or less important. Moreover, some of these variations may be more properly classified as other bearish candlestick patterns.
Related Patterns
- Similar to Rising Three Methods Pattern
- Subtype of Mat Hold Pattern
- Opposite of Bearish Mat Hold Pattern
For more detail, read our full breakdown on Trading Bullish Mat Hold Candlestick Patterns.
Bullish On Neck
A bullish on neck pattern is a 2-candlestick formation that may signal a bullish continuation.
It may appear in an uptrend and is made up of a large bullish candle followed by a gap up and a smaller bearish candle that partially fills the gap and closes near the high of the previous candle.
In trading terms:
- During the first period, price continued the pre-existing uptrend.
- The second period opened with a gap up above the first period’s high, then moved back down, partially filled the gap, and closed at the same price as the first period’s high.
Bullish on neck patterns show that the bulls attempted to press their advantage on candle one and between candles one and two, then held their ground fairly well over the course of candle two.
Pattern Type: Bullish Continuation
Number of Candlesticks: 2
Looks Like/Narrative Meaning: “no man’s land” or a mustering line
Technical Specifications***
Technically, a bullish on neck pattern must:
- Appear during an uptrend
- Begin with a bullish long candle that has an upper wick, such as a bullish belt hold.
- Have a gap up after the first candle that exceeds the upper wick of the first candle
- End with a bearish candle that partially fills the gap and closes even with the upper wick of the first candle
In practicality though, many traders will make various exceptions.
- The first candle doesn’t necessarily have to be a long candle, as long as its body is longer than the body of the second candle.
- The first candle doesn’t necessarily have to have an upper wick, as long as there is a gap that is only partially filled by the next candle.
- The close of the second candle candle be slightly above or below the upper wick of the first candle, as long as it does not get too near the close of the first candle.
- It can take two candles to reach the upper wick of the first candle, as long as the combined body length of the second and third candles is shorter than the body of the first candle.
***Depending on who you ask, any of these standards may be more or less important. Moreover, some of these variations may be more properly classified as other bearish candlestick patterns.
Related Patterns
- Similar to Bullish Counterattack Lines Pattern
- Similar to Bullish In Neck Pattern
- Subtype of On Neck Pattern
- Opposite of Bearish On Neck Pattern
For more detail, read our full breakdown on Trading Bullish On Neck Candlestick Patterns.
Morning Star
A morning star pattern is a 3-candlestick formation that may signal a bullish reversal.
It may appear during a downtrend and is made up of a large bearish candle followed by a short candle and a large bullish candle.
In trading terms:
- During the first period, price continued the pre-existing downtrend.
- During the second period, neither side was able to gain much ground.
- During the third period, price moved back up, threatening the downtrend.
Morning star patterns show that the bears attempted to press their advantage on candle one, stalled on candle two, and finally surrendered momentum to the bulls on candle three.
Pattern Type: Bullish Reversal
Number of Candlesticks: 3
Looks Like/Narrative Meaning: U-turn or counterpunch
Technical Specifications***
Technically, an morning star pattern must:
- Appear during a downtrend
- Begin with a bearish long candle
- Have a short candle as the second candle
- End with a bullish long candle of similar size to the first candle
- Contain no gaps
In practicality though, many traders will make various exceptions.
- The first and third candles can be different lengths, as long as they are both long line candles and/or test important price levels.
- There can be more than one short candle between the first and final candlestick.
- There can be one or more gaps, as long as the overall structure remains the same.
***Depending on who you ask, any of these standards may be more or less important. Moreover, some of these variations may be more properly classified as other bearish candlestick patterns.
Related Patterns
- Similar to Bullish Abandoned Baby Pattern
- Similar to Morning Doji Star Pattern
- Subtype of Star Pattern
- Opposite of Evening Star Pattern
For more detail, read our full breakdown on Trading Morning Star Candlestick Patterns.
Upside Tasuki Gap
An upside tasuki gap pattern is a 3-candlestick formation that may signal a bullish continuation.
It may appear during an uptrend and is made up of a large bullish candle, a gap up, and another large bullish candle, followed by a bearish candle that partially closes the gap between the first two.
In trading terms:
- During the first period, price continued the pre-existing uptrend.
- The second period opened with a gap up and continued driving upward.
- During the third period, price moved back down and closed somewhere in the middle of the gap.
Upside tasuki gap patterns show that the bulls pressed their advantage on candle one, continued between candles one and two, continued further through the end of candle two, until finally suffering a relatively minor setback on candle three.
Pattern Type: Bullish Continuation
Number of Candlesticks: 3
Looks Like/Narrative Meaning: a momentary respite or an attempted counterattack
Technical Specifications***
Technically, an upside tasuki gap pattern must:
- Appear during an uptrend
- Begin with a bullish long candle
- Have a gap up after the first candle
- Have another bullish long candle after the gap
- End with a bearish long candle that partially fills the gap
In practicality though, many traders will make various exceptions.
- The first candle doesn’t necessarily have to be a long candle, as long as it is a candlestick that gives a strong bullish bias (such as a gravestone doji).
- The second candle doesn’t necessarily have to be a long candle, as long as it is bullish and does not fill the gap.
- The third candle doesn’t necessarily have to be a long candle, as long as it doesn’t fully fill the gap.
- The third candle doesn’t have to fill the gap at all, as long as it moves against trend.
- It can take multiple bearish candles to reach the gap, as long as all other criteria are met and the gap remains partially unfilled.
***Depending on who you ask, any of these standards may be more or less important. Moreover, some of these variations may be more properly classified as other bearish candlestick patterns.
Related Patterns
- Extension of Rising Window Pattern
- Subtype of Tasuki Gap Pattern
- Opposite of Downside Tasuki Gap Pattern
For more detail, read our full breakdown on Trading Upside Tasuki Gap Candlestick Patterns.
Three Inside Up
A three inside up pattern is a 3-candlestick formation that may signal a reversal.
It may appear during a downtrend and is made up of a large bearish candle followed by a shorter bullish (or neutral) inside candle and another bullish candle that closes above the open of the first candle.
In trading terms:
- During the first period, price continued the pre-existing downtrend.
- Before the second period opened, price moved higher, opening within the range of the prior candle body.
- During the second period, price moved higher to a modest degree, closing within the range of the prior candle body.
- During the third period, price continued moving higher, this time closing above the open of the first period.
Three inside up patterns show that the bears attempted to press their advantage on candle one, suffered immediate pushback between candles one and two, and completely surrendered momentum over the course of candles two and three.
Pattern Type: Bullish Reversal
Number of Candlesticks: 3
Looks Like/Narrative Meaning: U-turn or counterpunch
Technical Specifications***
Technically, a three inside up pattern must:
- Appear during a downtrend
- Begin with a bearish long candle
- Have a bullish inside candle as the second candle
- End with a bullish candle that closes above the first candle’s open
In practicality though, many traders will make various exceptions.
- The first candle doesn’t necessarily have to be a long candle, as long as the second candle is a bullish inside candlestick.
- The second candle can be bearish, as long as it is an inside candle.
- The second candle’s wicks don’t necessarily have to be contained within the body of the first, as long as its body is.
- The open of the second candle can be even with the close of the first candle, especially in markets where inside candles are less common, like cryptocurrency.
- There can be more than one inside candle between the first and final candles, as long as the final candle closes above the first candle’s open.
***Depending on who you ask, any of these standards may be more or less important. Moreover, some of these variations may be more properly classified as other bearish candlestick patterns.
Related Patterns
- Extension of Bullish Harami
- Extension of Bullish Harami Cross
- Subtype of Three Inside Pattern
- Opposite of Three Inside Down Pattern
For more detail, read our full breakdown on Trading Three Inside Up Candlestick Patterns.
Rising Three Methods
A rising three methods pattern is a 5-candlestick formation that may signal a bullish continuation.
It may appear in an uptrend and is made up of a large bullish candlestick, three smaller bearish (or neutral) candles that never close below the first candle’s open, then another large bullish candle that closes above all previous candles.
In trading terms:
- During the first period, price continued the pre-existing uptrend.
- During the next three periods, price moved down but never closed lower than the first period’s open.
- During the fifth period, price resumed upward movement, and closed higher than any of the preceding four periods.
Rising three methods patterns show that the bulls attempted to press their advantage on candle one, stalled for the next three candles, before finally regaining control and pressing trend further by the end of the fifth candle.
Pattern Type: Bullish Continuation
Number of Candlesticks: 5
Looks Like/Narrative Meaning: one-sided beatdown or near-knockout blow
Technical Specifications***
Technically, a rising three methods pattern must:
- Appear during an uptrend
- Begin with a bullish long candle
- Have three consecutive bearish (or neutral) short candlesticks after the first candlestick that never close below the open of the first candlestick
- End with another bullish long candlestick that closes above the body and wicks of all preceding candlesticks in the pattern
In practicality though, many traders will make various exceptions.
- The first candle doesn’t necessarily have to be a long candle, as long as its body is longer than candles two, three, and four.
- The middle three candles don’t necessarily have to be short candles, as long as all of them are shorter than candle one.
- One or more of the middle candles can be bullish, as long as all of them close within the range of candle one.
- There can be more than three candles between the first and last candles, as long as none of the middle candles close outside the body of the first.
- The final candle doesn’t necessarily have to close above all of the wicks of the prior candles, as long it closes above their bodies.
***Depending on who you ask, any of these standards may be more or less important. Moreover, some of these variations may be more properly classified as other bearish candlestick patterns.
Related Patterns
- Similar to Bullish Mat Hold Pattern
- Subtype of Three Methods Pattern
- Opposite of Falling Three Methods Pattern
For more detail, read our full breakdown on Trading Rising Three Methods Candlestick Patterns.
Three Outside Up
A three outside up pattern is a 3-candlestick formation that may signal a bullish reversal.
It may appear during a downtrend and is made up of a bearish candle followed by a large bullish engulfing candlestick and another bullish candle after that.
In trading terms:
- During the first period, price continued the pre-existing downtrend.
- Before the second period opened, price continued moving lower, creating a gap down open.
- During the second period, price moved dramatically higher, closing above the open of the first period.
- During the third period, price continued the upward movement of the period before.
Three outside up patterns show that the bears attempted to press their advantage on candle one, continued to do so between candles one and two, but were completely upended by the end of candle two, and lost even more ground on candle three.
Pattern Type: Bullish Reversal
Number of Candlesticks: 3
Looks Like/Narrative Meaning: complete turnaround or devastating counterstrike
Technical Specifications***
Technically, a three outside up pattern must:
- Appear during a downtrend
- Begin with a (non-short) bearish candle
- Gap down to open the second candle
- Have a bullish long candle as the second candle that fully contains the first
- End with another bullish candle
In practicality though, many traders will make various exceptions.
- The first candle can be a short or neutral (ie. a doji), as long as it is fully contained within the body of the second.
- The first candle can be bullish, as long as it is fully contained within the body of the second.
- The second candle doesn’t necessarily have to be a long candle, as long as it fully contains the body and wicks of the first.
- The open of the second candle can be even with the close of the first candle, especially in markets where gaps are less common like cryptocurrency.
***Depending on who you ask, any of these standards may be more or less important. Moreover, some of these variations may be more properly classified as other bearish candlestick patterns.
Related Patterns
- Extension of Bullish Engulfing Candlestick Pattern
- Subtype of Three Outside Pattern
- Opposite of Three Outside Down Pattern
For more detail, read our full breakdown on Trading Three Outside Up Candlestick Patterns.
Tweezer Bottom
A tweezer bottom pattern is a 2-candlestick formation that may signal a bullish reversal.
It may appear during a downtrend and is made up of a large bearish candlestick followed by a large bullish candlestick where the bottom of the bodies and wicks of each candle match each other.
In trading terms:
- During the first period, price continued the pre-existing downtrend before pulling back above the low.
- During the second period, price moved back down until it reached the prior period’s low then rose back up near the open of the first period.
Tweezer bottom patterns show that the bears attempted to press their advantage on candle one but surrendered the momentum over the course of candle two.
Pattern Type: Bullish Reversal
Number of Candlesticks: 2
Looks Like/Narrative Meaning: an about-face or price action 180
Technical Specifications***
Technically, a tweezer bottom pattern must:
- Appear during a downtrend
- Begin with a bearish long candle that has an lower wick, such as a bearish belt hold
- End with a bullish long candle that has an lower wick of approximately the same length as the first
In practicality though, many traders will make various exceptions.
- The second candle doesn’t necessarily have to be a long candle, as long as the wicks of both candles are even.
- The wicks of the two candles don’t necessarily have to match exactly, as long as both candles are long candles in which the open of the second matches the close of the first.
- The candles don’t necessarily have to have wicks, as long as the candle bodies are nearly identical in size.
***Depending on who you ask, any of these standards may be more or less important. Moreover, some of these variations may be more properly classified as other bearish candlestick patterns.
Related Patterns
- Subtype of Tweezers Pattern
- Opposite of Tweezer Top Pattern
For more detail, read our full breakdown on Trading Tweezer Bottom Candlestick Patterns.
Rising Window
A rising window pattern is a 2-candlestick formation that may signal a bullish continuation.
It may appear during an uptrend and is made up of two large bullish candles with a gap between them.
In trading terms:
- During the first period, price continued the pre-existing uptrend.
- The second period opened with a gap up and continued driving upward.
Rising window patterns show that the bulls pressed their advantage on candle one, continued between candles one and two, and continued further through the end of candle two.
Pattern Type: Bullish Continuation
Number of Candlesticks: 2
Looks Like/Narrative Meaning: a runaway train or uncontested offensive
Technical Specifications***
Technically, a rising window pattern must:
- Appear during an uptrend
- Begin with a bullish long candle
- Have a gap up after the first candle
- End with another bullish long candle
In practicality though, many traders will make various exceptions.
- The first candle doesn’t necessarily have to be a long candle, as long as it is a candlestick that gives a strong bullish bias (such as a dragonfly doji).
- The second candle doesn’t necessarily have to be a long candle, as long as it is bullish and does not fill the gap.
***Depending on who you ask, any of these standards may be more or less important. Moreover, some of these variations may be more properly classified as other bearish candlestick patterns.
Related Patterns
- Precursor of Upside Tasuki Gap Pattern
- Subtype of Window Pattern
- Opposite of Falling Window Pattern
For more detail, read our full breakdown on Trading Rising Window Candlestick Patterns.
Takeaways
As you can see, there are many different bullish candlestick patterns.
Luckily, you don’t memorize them all to become a successful trader. Learning the principles of price action and technical analysis are far more important. However, studying candlestick patterns is one of the best ways to do so.
In the end, understanding candlestick patterns is but one piece of the trading puzzle. You’ll need more tools in your belt to understand the story of the charts. Still, by learning the different types of candlestick patterns, you’re one step closer to creating a complete trading strategy.
Know of an important bullish candlestick pattern we missed? Have some special insight into trading a specific type? Contribute to the conversation in the comments below! Or, if you know someone who could benefit from this post, share it with them.