Master K-Line Patterns: Your Quick Candlestick Reference for Better Trading Decisions

Want to read market sentiment like a pro? Understanding candlestick patterns is how traders across cryptocurrencies, stocks, and forex gain a competitive edge. This candlestick cheat sheet cuts through the complexity, organizing the most important formations into practical categories so you can spot opportunities faster. Whether you’re looking for reversal signals, continuation clues, or signs of market indecision, this guide is your go-to reference for making sharper trading decisions.

Reading the Basics: Candlestick Structure Explained

Before diving into specific patterns, you need to understand what each candlestick actually shows you. Every candle represents price action over a specific timeframe and tracks four critical data points:

• Open: Where the period started
• High: The peak price reached
• Low: The bottom price touched
• Close: Where the period ended

The color tells the story. A green (or white) candle means buyers won—the close was higher than the open (bullish). A red (or black) candle means sellers took control—the close fell below the open (bearish). This simple visual makes it easy to scan charts and identify momentum at a glance.

Spotting Reversals: When Bullish Patterns Signal a Trend Change

Reversal patterns are your warning system for when a downtrend might flip. These formations often appear at the bottom of a decline and suggest buying pressure is about to take over.

Hammer: Look for a small body sitting near the top with a long shadow below. This shape tells you sellers pushed hard, but buyers came in and reclaimed ground—a classic sign of floor-finding.

Bullish Engulfing: A large green candle that completely swallows the previous red one. This overwhelming show of buying strength often marks the turning point.

Bullish Marubozu: A strong green candle with no upper or lower shadows means buyers were in control from open to close with no hesitation. This pure momentum candle signals conviction.

Tweezer Bottom: Two candles with nearly identical lows often appear exactly where support should hold. When you see this double-bottom touch, it frequently bounces.

Morning Star: A three-candle formation that reads like a reversal story: red candle (selling), small candle in the middle (hesitation), then strong green candle (buyers take charge). It marks the turning point from down to up.

Bearish Signals: Recognizing Top Patterns Before the Decline

Just as bullish patterns forecast uptrends, bearish patterns warn you when the momentum is about to reverse downward. Watch for these formations at the top of an advance.

Shooting Star: A small body at the bottom with a long wick reaching upward. This pattern shows traders tried to push higher but failed to hold gains—weakness disguised as strength.

Bearish Engulfing: A large red candle that engulfs the prior green one represents selling dominance taking over. Buyers got overwhelmed.

Bearish Marubozu: A strong red candle without shadows shows relentless selling pressure from open to close. No confusion, no hesitation—just downward conviction.

Tweezer Top: Two candles with nearly equal highs mark resistance zones. When price touches the same ceiling twice, expect rejection or pullback.

Evening Star: The inverse of the Morning Star. This three-candle pattern starts with strength (green), shows hesitation (small middle candle), then closes with selling pressure (large red). It mirrors the top formation before declines.

Measuring Candle Strength: What Body Size and Wicks Tell You

Not all candles carry the same weight. Understanding candlestick strength helps you gauge how much real conviction backs each move.

Long-bodied green candles scream bullish momentum—buyers were aggressive and confident. Long-bodied red candles show equally strong bearish pressure. But neutral candles with tiny bodies and long wicks on both ends? Those are screaming “I don’t know what happens next.” Dojis and spinning tops represent market indecision.

The gradient is clear: compare body size, wick length, and overall shape to read sentiment intensity. Thick, clean candles show strong conviction. Thin bodies with long shadows suggest internal conflict and weakness. Mastering this visual language lets you differentiate between genuine moves and false signals.

When Markets Hesitate: Indecision Patterns at Work

Sometimes neither buyers nor sellers are in control. These indecision patterns often precede major breakouts or reversals—they’re the market catching its breath.

Spinning Top: A candle with a tiny body and long wicks reaching both up and down. The price went on a journey but ended near where it started—pure indecision.

Doji: The open and close are virtually identical, sometimes leaving just a thin line. This neutral position often appears at turning points where the market hasn’t yet decided direction.

Dragonfly Doji: A doji with a long lower shadow but barely any upper wick. It suggests selling tried to push lower but buyers rescued the price—a bullish sign of support holding.

Gravestone Doji: The opposite: long upper shadow, little to no lower wick. Buyers tried to push higher but got rejected—a bearish signal suggesting resistance is real.

Three-Candle Formations: Powerful Continuation and Reversal Signals

Single and double-candle patterns give hints. Three-candle formations often deliver the confirmation.

Bullish Three-Candle Patterns:

• Three Inside Up: A small red candle followed by two consecutive green candles breaking higher. This combination strongly signals reversal to the upside.
• Three White Soldiers: Three strong green candles in a row, each closing near highs. This relentless buying strength suggests the uptrend has real legs.

Bearish Three-Candle Patterns:

• Three Inside Down: A small green candle followed by two consecutive red candles breaking lower. The setup mirrors the bullish version but for downside reversals.
• Three Black Crows: Three long red candles in succession, each closing near lows. This shows persistent selling strength and warns of further downside.

Putting Your Candlestick Cheat Sheet into Practice

Now you’ve got the patterns, but knowledge without application doesn’t move your account. Use this reference to scan charts faster and spot setups earlier. But remember: candlestick patterns work best when you combine them with other tools. Volume confirms whether buying or selling is real. Support and resistance levels tell you where decisions happen. Trendlines show you the bigger picture context.

Think of this candlestick cheat sheet as your baseline toolkit. The real edge comes from practicing in real market conditions—watching how these formations play out, noting which ones work in your preferred markets, and understanding when they fail. Every trader develops pattern recognition instincts through repetition. Use this guide as your starting point, then let experience refine your eye for spotting genuine opportunities versus false signals.