Candlestick Patterns for Beginners
A candlestick shows four prices for a period: the open, high, low and close. The body is the open-to-close range; the wicks are the highs and lows. Once you can read candles, a few simple patterns tell you a lot about who's winning — buyers or sellers.
How to read a candle
A green (up) candle closed above its open; red closed below. A long body means strong conviction; long wicks mean price was rejected from that level. Context matters more than the candle alone — the same candle means different things at support vs mid-range.
Patterns that matter
- Engulfing — a candle whose body fully covers the prior one; a momentum shift.
- Pin bar / rejection — a long wick showing price was pushed back hard.
- Doji — open and close nearly equal; indecision, often near a turning point.
- Inside bar — a small candle inside the previous range; a pause before continuation.
Using them well
Candles are strongest at a level — a rejection wick off an order block or after a liquidity sweep is far more meaningful than one in the middle of nowhere. Use them as confirmation, not standalone signals.
I break this down live on NQ and ES every session — so you learn the timing, not just the theory.
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Do candlestick patterns actually work?
As confirmation at meaningful levels, yes. As random signals anywhere on the chart, no. Context is everything.
What is a doji candle?
A doji is a candle where the open and close are almost equal, leaving a tiny body. It signals indecision and often appears near reversals.
Educational content only, not financial advice. Trading futures carries substantial risk of loss.