Twenty classic patterns in plain English — what each one is, what it actually means, where it counts, and when it fails. Free, no account needed.
Patterns that end an uptrend. Only valid at the TOP of a move.
What it is: Three peaks. The middle one is the highest, and the two outside it are roughly level.
What it means: Buyers made a higher high, then failed to make another. The trend has run out of people willing to pay more.
Where it counts: Only at the TOP of an uptrend. The same shape mid-range is noise.
When it fails: It is not confirmed until price closes below the neckline. Guessing early is the most common way to lose money on this pattern.
What it is: Two peaks at nearly the same level, with a dip between them.
What it means: Price tested a ceiling twice and was rejected twice. Sellers are defending that level.
Where it counts: At the top of a move, ideally with the second peak on lower volume.
When it fails: Two peaks alone mean nothing until the middle low breaks. Plenty of double tops simply become ranges.
What it is: Three rejections from the same level.
What it means: Stronger than a double top. Three failures at one price is a lot of supply sitting there.
Where it counts: Top of an uptrend, at an obvious horizontal level.
When it fails: The longer a level holds, the more violent the break when it finally goes — sometimes upward. Levels that hold three times attract stop hunts.
What it is: Price grinding higher inside two upward-sloping lines that squeeze together.
What it means: Still making highs, but each push is weaker. Momentum is draining even as price rises.
Where it counts: Can end an uptrend, or appear as a pause in a downtrend. Bearish in both cases.
When it fails: Wedges can run far longer than looks sensible. Wait for the lower line to break on a close.
What it is: A slow, smooth arc over. No sharp peak.
What it means: Sentiment turning gradually rather than suddenly. Common on higher timeframes.
Where it counts: End of a long uptrend. Best seen on Weekly charts.
When it fails: Hard to time. There is no clean trigger level, so it is better as context than as an entry.
Patterns that end a downtrend. Only valid at the BOTTOM of a move.
What it is: The head and shoulders flipped. Three troughs, the middle one deepest.
What it means: Sellers pushed to a new low and could not repeat it. Supply is exhausted.
Where it counts: At the BOTTOM of a downtrend.
When it fails: Same rule — no trade until price closes above the neckline. Anticipating it is how people catch falling knives.
What it is: Two troughs at nearly the same level with a bounce between.
What it means: Buyers defended one price twice. Often called a "W".
Where it counts: Bottom of a downtrend, at a level with history.
When it fails: The second low dipping slightly below the first is normal — a stop hunt, not a failure. Judge it on the close, not the wick.
What it is: Three bounces off the same floor.
What it means: Persistent demand at one price. Each test that holds adds weight to the level.
Where it counts: Bottom of a downtrend, on an obvious horizontal support.
When it fails: If it breaks down after three holds, the move is usually fast — everyone who bought the level is trapped at once.
What it is: Price drifting lower between two downward lines that converge.
What it means: Still falling, but the selling is losing force. Each leg down is shorter.
Where it counts: End of a downtrend, or a pause within an uptrend. Bullish either way.
When it fails: The break must come with real volume. A quiet break out of a wedge often falls straight back in.
What it is: A rounded bottom, then a small shallow pullback near the old high.
What it means: Price recovered patiently, then took a breath before trying the highs again.
Where it counts: After a decent advance, usually on Daily or Weekly.
When it fails: If the handle drops more than about a third into the cup, the pattern is broken. Deep handles usually keep going down.
Pauses inside a trend, not reversals. The trend usually resumes.
What it is: A steep rally, then a tight drift lower inside two parallel lines.
What it means: A pause, not a reversal. Early buyers taking profit while the trend rests.
Where it counts: Mid-uptrend, right after a strong impulsive move.
When it fails: If the pullback retraces more than about half the flagpole, it stops being a flag and becomes a reversal.
What it is: A sharp drop, then a slow drift upward in a narrow channel.
What it means: The bounce is relief, not recovery. Sellers usually return.
Where it counts: Mid-downtrend after a sharp leg down.
When it fails: The same rule inverted — a bounce past half the drop is no longer a flag.
What it is: A strong move, then a small symmetrical triangle.
What it means: A brief, tight consolidation. Usually resolves in the direction of the original move.
Where it counts: Immediately after a sharp impulse, in either direction.
When it fails: Pennants are short. If it drags on for weeks it is a triangle, and triangles can break either way.
What it is: A flat ceiling with higher lows pressing into it.
What it means: Sellers hold one price, buyers keep paying more to get there. Pressure builds upward.
Where it counts: Usually within an uptrend.
When it fails: It can still break down, especially against the larger trend. The shape leans bullish, it does not guarantee it.
What it is: A flat floor with lower highs pressing down on it.
What it means: Buyers defend one price while sellers accept less each time. Pressure builds downward.
Where it counts: Usually within a downtrend.
When it fails: A flat floor tested repeatedly is also where stops pile up. Breaks can be sharp and can reverse hard.
No built-in direction. They resolve either way — wait for the break.
What it is: Lower highs and higher lows squeezing into a point.
What it means: Genuine indecision. Range tightening as neither side commits.
Where it counts: Anywhere. It does not lean either way on its own.
When it fails: It has no direction until it breaks. Anyone telling you a symmetrical triangle is bullish is guessing.
What it is: Price bouncing between a clear ceiling and floor.
What it means: Balance. Both sides are active and neither is winning.
Where it counts: Very common — markets range far more than they trend.
When it fails: Most losing trades come from trading a range as though it were a trend. Fade the edges or wait for the break.
What it is: Higher highs and lower lows — the range widening instead of narrowing.
What it means: Rising volatility and disagreement. Often around major news.
Where it counts: Frequently near market tops, or through high-impact data.
When it fails: Brutal to trade. Every edge is further out than the last, so stops get hit constantly. Best avoided.
What it is: A broadening formation that then narrows — widening, then squeezing.
What it means: Volatility spikes, then compresses. Rare, and usually a reversal.
Where it counts: Most often at tops, after an extended run.
When it fails: Rare enough that people see them where they are not. If you have to squint, it is not a diamond.
What it is: A long, smooth arc upward. The mirror of a rounding top.
What it means: Slow transfer from sellers to buyers. Patient accumulation.
Where it counts: End of a long downtrend, best on Weekly charts.
When it fails: Takes months to form and has no clean trigger. Treat it as context, not a signal.
Twelve more patterns you will meet eventually. Same rules apply — location still beats pattern.
What it is: Price swinging wider at the bottom of a move — lower lows and higher highs at once.
What it means: Volatility expanding while the market argues. Nobody is in control.
Where it counts: At the bottom of a downtrend, often around news.
When it fails: Every swing is bigger than the last, so stops get hit constantly. Most traders lose money here by trading the middle.
What it is: The same widening swings, but at the top of an advance.
What it means: Rising disagreement near a high. Often a sign the trend is tiring.
Where it counts: End of an uptrend, frequently around earnings or data.
When it fails: It can widen far longer than looks sane. Treat it as a warning, not an entry.
What it is: Both lines slope up, but the range widens instead of narrowing.
What it means: Higher highs and higher lows, with volatility climbing. Unstable strength.
Where it counts: Within an uptrend. Usually resolves downward.
When it fails: It leans bearish, it does not promise bearish. Wait for the lower line to break on a close.
What it is: Both lines slope down while the range expands.
What it means: Still falling, but with growing volatility — often the last flush before a turn.
Where it counts: End of a downtrend.
When it fails: Falling knife territory. No trade until the upper line breaks with volume behind it.
What it is: A rounded top, then a small bounce that fails below the old high.
What it means: The mirror of a cup and handle. The bounce is where trapped buyers get out.
Where it counts: After an extended rally, on Daily or Weekly.
When it fails: If the handle recovers more than about a third of the cup, the pattern is void.
What it is: A very steep rally, then an unusually shallow, tight pause.
What it means: The pullback is small because almost nobody wants to sell. Strong hands are holding.
Where it counts: Only after a large, fast advance. Rare.
When it fails: The strength that creates it also makes it violent when it fails. Position size accordingly.
What it is: A jump between one session's close and the next session's open, leaving empty space.
What it means: Something happened while the market was shut. Demand or supply appeared all at once.
Where it counts: Overnight in equities, over the weekend in forex, around data releases.
When it fails: "Gaps always fill" is folklore. Many do, plenty never do, and waiting for one to fill is how people hold losers for months.
What it is: A head and shoulders with more than one shoulder on either side.
What it means: The same story, told over longer. Repeated failed attempts at the highs.
Where it counts: Top of an extended uptrend, usually on higher timeframes.
When it fails: Easy to see one where none exists. If you have to work hard to count the shoulders, it is not a pattern.
What it is: A gap up, a few sessions trading alone, then a gap back down — leaving the candles stranded.
What it means: A cluster of trades marooned above everything around them. Everyone who bought there is trapped.
Where it counts: At tops after a run, or inverted at bottoms.
When it fails: Rare and only obvious afterwards. By the time the second gap confirms it, most of the move has gone.
What it is: A leg up, a sideways rest, then a second leg of roughly similar size.
What it means: The market moving in steps rather than one push. The rest is a pause, not a top.
Where it counts: Inside a healthy uptrend.
When it fails: The second leg often falls short. Treat "roughly similar" loosely and take profit on the way, not at the projection.
What it is: A leg down, a pause, then a second leg of similar size.
What it means: Selling in stages. The pause is consolidation, not recovery.
Where it counts: Inside a downtrend.
When it fails: The pause can become the bottom instead. Nothing guarantees the second leg arrives.
What it is: Three troughs, each one higher than the last.
What it means: Buyers stepping in earlier every time. Demand strengthening beneath price.
Where it counts: Bottom of a downtrend, or a pullback within an uptrend.
When it fails: A rising floor breaks eventually. If the third valley gives way, the move down is usually quick — everyone was leaning the same way.
Zoom all the way in. These are not chart shapes — they are what two individual sessions did to each other, and they often mark the exact turn inside a bigger pattern.
What it is: A green body that completely swallows the red body before it.
What it means: One side did not just win — it erased the whole previous session.
Where it counts: At a bottom, or at a level price has respected before.
When it fails: Mid-range it means very little. The bigger the engulfing candle, the further away your stop has to go.
What it is: A red body that completely swallows the green one before it.
What it means: Control changed hands in a single session.
Where it counts: At a top, or at resistance.
When it fails: Common inside strong uptrends where it means nothing. Location decides it.
What it is: A green candle closing more than halfway up the red one before it.
What it means: Buyers took back most of the previous session, but not all of it.
Where it counts: At support, after a run down.
When it fails: Weaker than an engulfing. If it closes less than halfway up, it is not the pattern.
What it is: A red candle opening above the previous high and closing past its midpoint.
What it means: A gap up that got sold into. Buyers were trapped at the open.
Where it counts: At resistance, after a run up.
When it fails: Needs the open above the prior high. Without that gap it is just a red candle.
What it is: A small green candle sitting entirely inside a big red body.
What it means: The selling stopped. Not a reversal yet — an exhaustion signal.
Where it counts: After a sharp, extended drop.
When it fails: Harami means pause, not turn. Plenty resume straight down. Wait for the next candle to confirm.
What it is: A small red candle inside a big green body.
What it means: Buying momentum ran out. The trend is catching its breath.
Where it counts: After a strong advance.
When it fails: Same caveat — a stall, not a reversal, until price actually breaks lower.
What it is: Two candles with almost identical lows, both rejected.
What it means: The same floor held twice in a row. Buyers are defending it deliberately.
Where it counts: At support with history.
When it fails: Two matching lows are common by chance. It only counts at a level that already mattered.
What it is: Two candles with almost identical highs, both rejected.
What it means: The same ceiling rejected price twice.
Where it counts: At resistance with history.
When it fails: A level tested twice is also where stops sit. Breaks through it can be fast.
The same 32 patterns above, drawn as candles instead of a line. Same shapes, same names, same rules.
What it is: Three peaks. The middle one is the highest, and the two outside it are roughly level.
What it means: Buyers made a higher high, then failed to make another. The trend has run out of people willing to pay more.
Where it counts: Only at the TOP of an uptrend. The same shape mid-range is noise.
When it fails: It is not confirmed until price closes below the neckline. Guessing early is the most common way to lose money on this pattern.
What it is: Two peaks at nearly the same level, with a dip between them.
What it means: Price tested a ceiling twice and was rejected twice. Sellers are defending that level.
Where it counts: At the top of a move, ideally with the second peak on lower volume.
When it fails: Two peaks alone mean nothing until the middle low breaks. Plenty of double tops simply become ranges.
What it is: Three rejections from the same level.
What it means: Stronger than a double top. Three failures at one price is a lot of supply sitting there.
Where it counts: Top of an uptrend, at an obvious horizontal level.
When it fails: The longer a level holds, the more violent the break when it finally goes — sometimes upward. Levels that hold three times attract stop hunts.
What it is: Price grinding higher inside two upward-sloping lines that squeeze together.
What it means: Still making highs, but each push is weaker. Momentum is draining even as price rises.
Where it counts: Can end an uptrend, or appear as a pause in a downtrend. Bearish in both cases.
When it fails: Wedges can run far longer than looks sensible. Wait for the lower line to break on a close.
What it is: A slow, smooth arc over. No sharp peak.
What it means: Sentiment turning gradually rather than suddenly. Common on higher timeframes.
Where it counts: End of a long uptrend. Best seen on Weekly charts.
When it fails: Hard to time. There is no clean trigger level, so it is better as context than as an entry.
What it is: The head and shoulders flipped. Three troughs, the middle one deepest.
What it means: Sellers pushed to a new low and could not repeat it. Supply is exhausted.
Where it counts: At the BOTTOM of a downtrend.
When it fails: Same rule — no trade until price closes above the neckline. Anticipating it is how people catch falling knives.
What it is: Two troughs at nearly the same level with a bounce between.
What it means: Buyers defended one price twice. Often called a "W".
Where it counts: Bottom of a downtrend, at a level with history.
When it fails: The second low dipping slightly below the first is normal — a stop hunt, not a failure. Judge it on the close, not the wick.
What it is: Three bounces off the same floor.
What it means: Persistent demand at one price. Each test that holds adds weight to the level.
Where it counts: Bottom of a downtrend, on an obvious horizontal support.
When it fails: If it breaks down after three holds, the move is usually fast — everyone who bought the level is trapped at once.
What it is: Price drifting lower between two downward lines that converge.
What it means: Still falling, but the selling is losing force. Each leg down is shorter.
Where it counts: End of a downtrend, or a pause within an uptrend. Bullish either way.
When it fails: The break must come with real volume. A quiet break out of a wedge often falls straight back in.
What it is: A rounded bottom, then a small shallow pullback near the old high.
What it means: Price recovered patiently, then took a breath before trying the highs again.
Where it counts: After a decent advance, usually on Daily or Weekly.
When it fails: If the handle drops more than about a third into the cup, the pattern is broken. Deep handles usually keep going down.
What it is: A steep rally, then a tight drift lower inside two parallel lines.
What it means: A pause, not a reversal. Early buyers taking profit while the trend rests.
Where it counts: Mid-uptrend, right after a strong impulsive move.
When it fails: If the pullback retraces more than about half the flagpole, it stops being a flag and becomes a reversal.
What it is: A sharp drop, then a slow drift upward in a narrow channel.
What it means: The bounce is relief, not recovery. Sellers usually return.
Where it counts: Mid-downtrend after a sharp leg down.
When it fails: The same rule inverted — a bounce past half the drop is no longer a flag.
What it is: A strong move, then a small symmetrical triangle.
What it means: A brief, tight consolidation. Usually resolves in the direction of the original move.
Where it counts: Immediately after a sharp impulse, in either direction.
When it fails: Pennants are short. If it drags on for weeks it is a triangle, and triangles can break either way.
What it is: A flat ceiling with higher lows pressing into it.
What it means: Sellers hold one price, buyers keep paying more to get there. Pressure builds upward.
Where it counts: Usually within an uptrend.
When it fails: It can still break down, especially against the larger trend. The shape leans bullish, it does not guarantee it.
What it is: A flat floor with lower highs pressing down on it.
What it means: Buyers defend one price while sellers accept less each time. Pressure builds downward.
Where it counts: Usually within a downtrend.
When it fails: A flat floor tested repeatedly is also where stops pile up. Breaks can be sharp and can reverse hard.
What it is: Lower highs and higher lows squeezing into a point.
What it means: Genuine indecision. Range tightening as neither side commits.
Where it counts: Anywhere. It does not lean either way on its own.
When it fails: It has no direction until it breaks. Anyone telling you a symmetrical triangle is bullish is guessing.
What it is: Price bouncing between a clear ceiling and floor.
What it means: Balance. Both sides are active and neither is winning.
Where it counts: Very common — markets range far more than they trend.
When it fails: Most losing trades come from trading a range as though it were a trend. Fade the edges or wait for the break.
What it is: Higher highs and lower lows — the range widening instead of narrowing.
What it means: Rising volatility and disagreement. Often around major news.
Where it counts: Frequently near market tops, or through high-impact data.
When it fails: Brutal to trade. Every edge is further out than the last, so stops get hit constantly. Best avoided.
What it is: A broadening formation that then narrows — widening, then squeezing.
What it means: Volatility spikes, then compresses. Rare, and usually a reversal.
Where it counts: Most often at tops, after an extended run.
When it fails: Rare enough that people see them where they are not. If you have to squint, it is not a diamond.
What it is: A long, smooth arc upward. The mirror of a rounding top.
What it means: Slow transfer from sellers to buyers. Patient accumulation.
Where it counts: End of a long downtrend, best on Weekly charts.
When it fails: Takes months to form and has no clean trigger. Treat it as context, not a signal.
What it is: Price swinging wider at the bottom of a move — lower lows and higher highs at once.
What it means: Volatility expanding while the market argues. Nobody is in control.
Where it counts: At the bottom of a downtrend, often around news.
When it fails: Every swing is bigger than the last, so stops get hit constantly. Most traders lose money here by trading the middle.
What it is: The same widening swings, but at the top of an advance.
What it means: Rising disagreement near a high. Often a sign the trend is tiring.
Where it counts: End of an uptrend, frequently around earnings or data.
When it fails: It can widen far longer than looks sane. Treat it as a warning, not an entry.
What it is: Both lines slope up, but the range widens instead of narrowing.
What it means: Higher highs and higher lows, with volatility climbing. Unstable strength.
Where it counts: Within an uptrend. Usually resolves downward.
When it fails: It leans bearish, it does not promise bearish. Wait for the lower line to break on a close.
What it is: Both lines slope down while the range expands.
What it means: Still falling, but with growing volatility — often the last flush before a turn.
Where it counts: End of a downtrend.
When it fails: Falling knife territory. No trade until the upper line breaks with volume behind it.
What it is: A rounded top, then a small bounce that fails below the old high.
What it means: The mirror of a cup and handle. The bounce is where trapped buyers get out.
Where it counts: After an extended rally, on Daily or Weekly.
When it fails: If the handle recovers more than about a third of the cup, the pattern is void.
What it is: A very steep rally, then an unusually shallow, tight pause.
What it means: The pullback is small because almost nobody wants to sell. Strong hands are holding.
Where it counts: Only after a large, fast advance. Rare.
When it fails: The strength that creates it also makes it violent when it fails. Position size accordingly.
What it is: A jump between one session's close and the next session's open, leaving empty space.
What it means: Something happened while the market was shut. Demand or supply appeared all at once.
Where it counts: Overnight in equities, over the weekend in forex, around data releases.
When it fails: "Gaps always fill" is folklore. Many do, plenty never do, and waiting for one to fill is how people hold losers for months.
What it is: A head and shoulders with more than one shoulder on either side.
What it means: The same story, told over longer. Repeated failed attempts at the highs.
Where it counts: Top of an extended uptrend, usually on higher timeframes.
When it fails: Easy to see one where none exists. If you have to work hard to count the shoulders, it is not a pattern.
What it is: A gap up, a few sessions trading alone, then a gap back down — leaving the candles stranded.
What it means: A cluster of trades marooned above everything around them. Everyone who bought there is trapped.
Where it counts: At tops after a run, or inverted at bottoms.
When it fails: Rare and only obvious afterwards. By the time the second gap confirms it, most of the move has gone.
What it is: A leg up, a sideways rest, then a second leg of roughly similar size.
What it means: The market moving in steps rather than one push. The rest is a pause, not a top.
Where it counts: Inside a healthy uptrend.
When it fails: The second leg often falls short. Treat "roughly similar" loosely and take profit on the way, not at the projection.
What it is: A leg down, a pause, then a second leg of similar size.
What it means: Selling in stages. The pause is consolidation, not recovery.
Where it counts: Inside a downtrend.
When it fails: The pause can become the bottom instead. Nothing guarantees the second leg arrives.
What it is: Three troughs, each one higher than the last.
What it means: Buyers stepping in earlier every time. Demand strengthening beneath price.
Where it counts: Bottom of a downtrend, or a pullback within an uptrend.
When it fails: A rising floor breaks eventually. If the third valley gives way, the move down is usually quick — everyone was leaning the same way.
Chart patterns are built from candles. If you cannot read a single candle yet, start there — the full course is free.
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