Pin bars are single-candle reversal patterns with a long tail (shadow) on one side and a small body on the opposite side. The tail shows a sharp rejection of a price level. Pin bars are the most widely used price action signal among naked chart traders and work on all markets and timeframes.
Long tail representing rejection (>66% of the total range), Small body near the opposite end, Tail should 'stick out' from surrounding price action, Bullish pin bars have long lower tails; bearish have long upper tails
Pin bar with tail poking through and rejecting a key level, Pin bar at a moving average bounce, Pin bar coinciding with Fibonacci retracement, Pin bar at a round number or weekly high/low
Enter on break of pin bar's nose (opposite end from the tail), Stop beyond the tail tip (or 50% of the tail for aggressive entry), Target 2× the pin bar's range minimum
Effective on all timeframes from 15M to Weekly
The best pin bars 'stick out' from the surrounding candles — the tail protrudes beyond recent price action, showing a genuine failed test of a level.
An inside bar is a candle completely contained within the range (high to low) of the previous candle. It represents a contraction of volatility and indecision. Inside bars are used as breakout setups — traders wait for price to break above or below the inside bar's range (or the 'mother bar' range) to enter.
The kicker pattern is one of the most powerful two-candle reversal signals in candlestick analysis. It forms when the second candle opens at or beyond the open of the prior candle and moves aggressively in the opposite direction, effectively 'kicking' away from the previous sentiment. Kickers often occur after overnight news events or fundamental catalysts that cause an abrupt sentiment shift.
The morning star is a three-candle bullish reversal: a large bearish candle, a small body candle (the star) that gaps down, and a large bullish candle that closes well into the first candle's body. The evening star is the bearish mirror. These are among the strongest candlestick reversal patterns.
Tweezers are two-candle patterns where both candles test the same high (tweezer top) or low (tweezer bottom). The first candle extends the trend and the second candle reverses. The matching highs/lows create a visual 'tweezers' shape indicating a rejection level.