16 Important Bullish Candlestick Patterns (with Cheat Sheet)

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And why these signals indicate positive price action

Co-authored by Tan Phan and Eric McClure

Last Updated: May 20, 2026 Fact Checked

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Single Candles

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Double Candle Patterns

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Triple Candle Patterns (& More)

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Tips

If you’re interested in actively trading securities, forex, or futures, you’re going to come across candlestick patterns. Here, we’re going to cover the most popular bullish signals that traders use to identify entries and exits. Please keep in mind that technical analysis (while helpful) is more art than science—you cannot beat the market benchmark just by looking for candlestick patterns in your charts—so be disciplined and practice with paper trading before striking out on your own!

Bullish Candlestick Patterns Cheat Sheet

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A compilation of all of the most popular bullish candlestick patterns used by traders.

In technical analysis, bullish candlestick patterns refer to sets of common chart patterns that often indicate an upward trend in pricing may be coming. While technical analysis can help locate potential entries and exits, it is not a surefire way to win every trade.

Section 1 of 3:

Single Candle Patterns

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Hammer A hammer is a small, green candle with a long wick sticking out of the bottom. It’s named after the shape of the candle and wick, which kind of resembles a traditional hammer.^{[1]
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- Why is it supposedly bullish? The wick indicates that the market wanted to test a lower level, but the candle shows there was enough buying pressure to keep that from happening.
- A note on all patterns in this article: We are assuming you’re using standard charting conventions where green signals a higher close and wicks represent intraday highs/lows. If you use different charting settings, the patterns will appear different in your charting software.
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Inverted Hammer The inverted hammer is identical to a hammer, except it’s upside down. The key thing here is that the candle itself is green—this is a terribly bearish signal if the candle is red.^{[2]
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- Why is it supposedly bullish? It could indicate that a base is in. Buyers stepped in at the end of the trading period to keep the price above the opening level, signaling a potential support level.
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Bullish Spinning Top The bullish spinning top is named after its shape—it kind of looks like a children’s top with a stout, green candle, and long wicks sticking out of either side. It’s a popular reversal indicator, too.^{[3]
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- Why is it supposedly bullish? The long wicks reflect a lot of intraperiod volatility, but the tight candle shows that the open and close weren’t that far off. The market seems to have agreed on a price here for a base.
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Dragonfly Doji The dragonfly doji is a long wick with a very, very tiny candle body near the top of the candle. It basically looks like a letter T.^{[4]
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- Why is it supposedly bullish? Bears tried to drive the price down, and the bulls didn’t let it happen. At minimum, it’s a sign of consolidation.

Section 2 of 3:

Double Candle Patterns

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Bullish Kicker There’s a red candle, followed by a gap up and a large green candle. The wicks can overlap, but the bodies of the candles cannot.^{[5]
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- Why is it supposedly bullish? A gap up followed by a big green candle reflects a powerful shift in momentum to the upside.
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Bullish Engulfing A bullish engulfing candle is one of the most classic two-candle patterns for traders. It requires a red candle with a typical body, followed by a green candle with a lower open and a higher close that completely overlaps the bearish red candle.^{[6]
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- Why is it supposedly bullish? This is a sign of serious conviction. Buyers opened below the red candle and it just didn’t matter—the drive to the upside was way too strong.
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Bullish Harami Following a downtrend, a bullish Harami occurs when a large red candle is followed by a smaller green candle that is engulfed on both sides by the previous period’s candle.^{[7]
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- Why is it supposedly bullish? This is only bullish in the context of a reversal pattern. It’s a sign the sell-side pressure is filtering out and the market is open to a new direction.
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Piercing Line The piercing line is basically identical to the bullish Harami, except the green candle isn’t engulfed entirely—the base of the candle extends down past the base of the red candle from the period before it.^{[8]
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- Why is it supposedly bullish? Like the bullish Harami, this only works as a signal if it appears at the end of a downtrend. It indicates buyers are back and that the direction of the trend may change.
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Tweezer Bottom A tweezer bottom occurs when a red candle is followed by a green candle, and the wicks of each candle line up at the bottom on the same price.^{[9]
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- Why is it supposedly bullish? Two wicks bouncing off the same price level indicate that the floor may be in, at least for the time being.

Section 3 of 3:

Triple Candle Patterns

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Morning Star This is one of the more iconic reversal patterns. You have a red candle, followed by a gap down and another, smaller, red candle, then there’s a large green candle. The green candle doesn’t have to gap up, but it can.^{[10]
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- Why is it supposedly bullish? It’s a big sign of volatility—a morning star involves a lot of price action that’s kind of all over the place. The fact that the last candle is a large green one indicates the trend may be pushing to the upside.
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Morning Doji Star The morning doji star is identical to the morning star with one major (and important) difference: the third candle closes underneath the top of the first red candle’s body.^{[11]
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- Why is it supposedly bullish? It’s a slightly “softer” signal than the morning star, but the overarching meaning of the movement is the same: price action is reversing with conviction.
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Bullish Abandoned Baby A red candle followed by a gap down is usually bearish, but if the gap down ends up being a green hammer and the next period opens with a huge gap up that ends in a green candle, you’ve got a bullish abandoned baby.^{[12]
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- Why is it supposedly bullish? The green hammer reflects the fight going on down in the trenches. Bears and bulls are clashing back and forth. The gap up after that is a major sign the momentum is in the bulls’ favor.
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Three White Soldiers One of the most consistently accurate bullish signals, the three white soldiers pattern involves three green candles that gradually increase in price.^{[13]
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- Why is it supposedly bullish? It’s just consistent buying. Nobody is betting against the ticker (or contract) enough to keep price action down. This is why momentum traders tend to heavily favor this pattern.
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Three Line Strike A three line strike occurs after the bearish version of the three white soldiers (three black crows) appears, and then a giant green candle blows past the previous three candles. Three line strike is, by most accounts, the most accurately consistent candlestick pattern (studies suggest it’s correct up to 84% of the time).^{[14]
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- Why is it supposedly bullish? It’s a recovery indicator. Buyers stepped in big time after the price reached a certain level, which indicates the market is unlikely to drive the price lower again any time soon. It’s also a sign that shorts are covering, since three consistently red candles followed by buying indicates a big change in sentiment.
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Three Inside Up The three inside up pattern occurs after a large red candle is followed by a smaller green candle with the same base. Then, a green candle opens above the second candle, and closes above the first candle.^{[15]
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- Why is it supposedly bullish? This pattern requires a good amount of consolidation around the middle of the first candle in the pattern, so breaking out is a big deal. It indicates there’s a good amount of conviction behind the buyer’s side.
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Three Outside Up The three outside up is an even more bullish version of the three inside up pattern. It occurs when a small red candle is engulfed by a green candle, which is followed by a second green candle that opens and closes higher.^{[16]
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- Why is it supposedly bullish? It’s a potent sign that sellers are missing. The higher opens indicate consistent bullishness on the unclear side of the market.

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Tips

Tan Phan, MSFP, Certified Financial Planner®, notes that what he finds most effective and practical when the broad market drops is to shift conservative assets into equities. For instance, when the broad market drops 10%, he’ll shift bonds or cash into equities. If the market drops 20% or 30%, he’ll rebalance further into equities. “It is about disciplined rebalancing, not pattern watching,” he says.^{[17]
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