Strategy Detail
Candlestick Patterns
Enter on a named candlestick pattern, hold for a fixed bar count, no stops. Covers the classical patterns most traders learn first, from Hammer to Three Black Crows.
What It Does
Candlestick Patterns runs on a single contract at a single timeframe. On every bar close it inspects the trailing window of bars and asks one question: do these bars form the chosen candlestick pattern?
If the pattern is recognized and the strategy is flat, it enters at the close in the pattern’s direction. Bullish patterns trigger long entries, bearish patterns trigger short entries.
Once in a position, the only exit is a fixed bar-count hold: after hold_bars bars have elapsed since entry, the strategy flattens unconditionally. No stops, no profit targets, no trend filters, no scaling. The pattern selection is the strategy.
Which Patterns Are Available
See the catalog below for the patterns covered. The lineup starts with the classical formations most traders learn first, the ones covered in every Japanese candlestick text, from the Hammer through Three Black Crows. Each pattern links to its full definition in the pattern catalog, alongside its sample backtests where available.
Timeframe Matters
Candlestick patterns are traditionally read on daily bars, and that is where the presets default. The form lets you pick any timeframe from 15 minutes up to daily. Faster timeframes fire more signals but also more noise. The pattern definitions are shape-based, not timeframe-aware, so the same shape is recognized whether you read 5-minute or daily bars.
Best In
- Liquid markets where each daily bar carries enough conviction that shape-based patterns are not pure noise. Equity index futures and large-cap commodities are the usual candidates.
- Studies that want to test classic chart-folklore claims on equal terms. Run several patterns across the same contract and date range, and the comparison is direct.
- Comparing the same pattern across instruments. Sample runs are available for NQ, ES, and GC at identical defaults, so the same pattern can be read side by side across markets.
Where It Struggles
- Strong trends. A reversal pattern inside a roaring trend often gets run over within the hold window.
- Low-signal regimes. Some patterns are strict and may not fire for months at a stretch on a quiet instrument.
- The bar-count exit is blunt. A signal that briefly works and then reverses against the position will still be held for the full hold period.
Possible Uses
- A control strategy for any candlestick-based idea that adds filters. If a fancier setup tracks the bare pattern entry, the filters are not earning their keep.
- An honest survey of the chart-folklore claims. Run several patterns across instruments and years and see which patterns hold up.
- A starting point for layered work. Combine the pattern trigger with a trend filter, a volatility regime, or a time-of-year window and see whether the conditional edge tightens.
What It Does Not Do
- No stops, no targets, no trailing exit. The bar-count hold is the only exit.
- No partial fills, no scaling, no pyramiding. One signal, one position, one contract count.
- No regime awareness. The pattern fires the same whether the market is trending hard, ranging tight, or churning.
- No awareness of the prior trade’s outcome. A losing streak does not change the next entry size or hold length.
FAQ
Do candlestick patterns work?
Candlestick patterns are described in every Japanese candlestick text but rarely tested on equal terms. This family enters on a named pattern in its direction, holds for a fixed bar count with no stops or targets, and reports the real backtested outcome with commissions and slippage. Browse the catalog above and run a pattern on NQ, ES, or GC to see what the data shows instead of relying on the classical story.
Which candlestick patterns are most reliable?
There is no single answer, which is the point of testing them side by side. The patterns share the same entry and exit logic and differ only in shape, so running several across the same contract and date range gives a direct comparison. Use the catalog and the sample backtests to see which patterns held up and which got run over, rather than trusting the folklore success rates.
When do candlestick patterns struggle?
Reversal patterns struggle most inside strong trends, where the signal often gets run over within the fixed hold window. The bar-count exit is blunt, so a pattern that briefly works and then reverses is still held for the full period. Some strict patterns also fire rarely, sometimes not for months on a quiet instrument, which makes their results noisier.
Pattern catalog (80)
Each pattern shows its shape and a short definition, then its sample backtests run at identical defaults. The shape and description link to the full pattern page.
Bullish reversal
Bullish Abandoned Baby
View pattern →Rare three-candle bottom: a doji that gaps fully below a down candle and fully below the up candle that follows, with no overlap.
No sample backtest yet.
Bullish After Bottom Gap Up
View pattern →Five-candle bottom: three heavy down candles into a gap, then a small up bar and a long up candle that gaps higher as buyers take over.
No sample backtest yet.
Bullish Breakaway
View pattern →Five-candle bottom: a gapped-down selloff that accelerates, then one strong up candle that rallies back into the gap.
No sample backtest yet.
Bullish Concealing Baby Swallow
View pattern →Four-candle bottom: two strong down candles, a third that gaps lower with a long upper wick, and a fourth that swallows it whole.
No sample backtest yet.
Bullish Deliberation Block
View pattern →Three down candles where the third is small and gaps lower, read as sellers hesitating after a long slide.
No sample backtest yet.
Bullish Downside Gap Two Rabbits
View pattern →Three-candle bottom: a down candle, then two small up candles below it, the second reaching back toward the first.
No sample backtest yet.
Bullish Engulfing
View pattern →Two-candle reversal trigger: a bearish candle followed by a bullish candle whose body engulfs the prior bar's body.
ES 1D · Bullish Engulfing · 2020-2024
- Win rate
- 52.63%
- Profit factor
- 0.65
- Max drawdown
- 36.86%
GC 1D · Bullish Engulfing · 2020-2024
- Win rate
- 50.00%
- Profit factor
- 1.65
- Max drawdown
- 19.07%
NQ 1D · Bullish Engulfing · 2020-2024
- Win rate
- 47.06%
- Profit factor
- 0.94
- Max drawdown
- 51.40%
Bullish Harami
View pattern →Two-candle reversal: a small up candle held entirely inside the body of a large prior down candle.
ES 1D · Bullish Harami · 2020-2024
- Win rate
- 75.00%
- Profit factor
- 2.84
- Max drawdown
- 7.64%
GC 1D · Bullish Harami · 2020-2024
- Win rate
- 53.85%
- Profit factor
- 0.82
- Max drawdown
- 14.74%
NQ 1D · Bullish Harami · 2020-2024
- Win rate
- 73.91%
- Profit factor
- 3.67
- Max drawdown
- 9.71%
Bullish Kicking
View pattern →Two-candle bullish reversal: a full-bodied down candle, then a gap up into a full-bodied up candle with no overlap.
No sample backtest yet.
Bullish Ladder Bottom
View pattern →Five-candle bottom: three long down candles, a fourth with an upper wick hinting at a rally, then a strong up candle that gaps higher.
No sample backtest yet.
Bullish On Neck Line
View pattern →Two-candle pattern: a down candle, then a weak up candle that gaps lower and only claws back to the first candle's low.
No sample backtest yet.
Bullish Rising Three Methods
View pattern →Five-candle continuation: a long up candle, three small down candles that drift inside its range, then a long up candle to a new high.
No sample backtest yet.
Bullish Side By Side White Lines
View pattern →Three-candle continuation in an uptrend: an up candle, a gap up to a second up candle, then a matching third up candle beside it.
No sample backtest yet.
Bullish Three Stars In The South
View pattern →Three shrinking down candles after a decline, each making a higher low, read as selling that is fading toward a bottom.
No sample backtest yet.
Bullish Tri Star
View pattern →Three-candle bottom: three small dojis in a row after a decline, the middle one gapping down and the last gapping back up.
No sample backtest yet.
Bullish Two Rabbits
View pattern →Three-candle bottom: a long down candle, an up candle that gaps below it, then an up candle that climbs back into the first candle's body.
No sample backtest yet.
Bullish Unique Three River Bottom
View pattern →Three-candle bottom: a down candle, a hammer-like down candle that pokes to a new low, then a small up candle holding above.
No sample backtest yet.
Bearish reversal
Bearish Abandoned Baby
View pattern →Three-candle bearish top: an up candle, a doji that gaps fully above with empty space on both sides, then a down candle that gaps below.
No sample backtest yet.
Bearish After Top Gap Down
View pattern →Five-candle bearish reversal: three rising up candles, the third gapping up, then two down candles with a gap down that breaks the trend.
No sample backtest yet.
Bearish Breakaway
View pattern →Five-candle bearish reversal: a long up candle, a gap up, two more bars drifting higher, then one down candle that drops back into the gap.
No sample backtest yet.
Bearish Deliberation Block
View pattern →Three-candle bearish reversal after a rally: two strong up candles, then a small gapped-up candle where the advance stalls.
No sample backtest yet.
Bearish Downside Gap Three Methods
View pattern →Continuation pattern in a downtrend: two long down candles separated by a clean gap, then an up candle that fills the gap before the slide resumes.
No sample backtest yet.
Bearish Downside Tasuki Gap
View pattern →Bearish continuation in a downtrend: two down candles gap apart, then an up candle pushes back into the gap but cannot close it.
No sample backtest yet.
Bearish Falling Three Methods
View pattern →Five-candle bearish continuation: a long down candle, three small up candles that drift back inside it, then another long down candle to new lows.
No sample backtest yet.
Bearish Kicking
View pattern →Two-candle bearish reversal: a strong up bar followed by a strong down bar that gaps below it, a sharp flip in control.
No sample backtest yet.
Bearish Ladder Top
View pattern →Five-candle bearish reversal: three rising up candles, a fourth up candle with a long lower wick, then a long down candle that opens below it.
No sample backtest yet.
Bearish Side By Side White Lines
View pattern →Bearish continuation in a downtrend: a down candle followed by two matching up candles that both sit in a gap below it.
No sample backtest yet.
Bearish Tri Star
View pattern →Three-candle bearish reversal after a rally: three small doji candles in a row, the middle one gapped up, signaling indecision at the top.
No sample backtest yet.
Bearish Two Crows
View pattern →Three-candle bearish reversal after a rally: a long up candle, then two down candles that gap up but fade back into the first candle's body.
No sample backtest yet.