How to Spot Candlestick Formations in Any

Market & What to Do Once You Spot Them

WHAT IS A CANDLESTICK?

candlestick depicts the battle between Bulls (buyers) and

Bears (sellers) over a given period of time.

Before we get down to the nitty-gritty, (spoiler alert: awesome

candlestick formation images are coming your way) its
important for you to understand what a candlestick actually is.
No, were not talking about the kind you pick up from that
fancy candle store to set the mood on date night. Were talking
about Japanese Candlesticks the market signal that shows
the battle between the Bulls (buyers) and the Bears (sellers)
over a certain amount of time.
Why do you need to know Candlesticks like the back of your
hand? Because knowledge could give you the upper hand
when the Bulls and the Bears are in the middle of a market
smackdown. Candlestick formations allow you to find setups,
determine market direction and identify optimal entry and
exit points that could help you execute profitable returns
consistently in your trades.

Copyright 2015 Market Traders Institute, Inc. | 1-800-866-7431 | MarketTraders.com

Understanding the Language

of the Market
Bulls, Bears, buyers, sellersis anyone else confused? Dont
get your trendlines in a bunch; its easier than you think.
Now that you know what a candlestick is, we can talk about
how they essentially determine how you attack the market. At
first glance, youll notice two types of candlesticks:
Hollow (Light) candlesticks - close price is greater
than the open price, indicating buying pressure
Filled (Dark) candlesticks - close price is less than
open price, indicating selling pressure
Clear as black and white, wouldnt you agree? Now that you
have this part down pat, youre ready to learn about the Bulls
and the Bears.

PRO TRADER TIP

Most charts allow you to color code your candlesticks
however you like, but for the purpose of this e-book, well
be referring to Bullish as light-colored candlesticks and
Bearish as dark-colored candlesticks.

Copyright 2015 Market Traders Institute, Inc. | 1-800-866-7431 | MarketTraders.com

What can their formations

tell us?
The relationship between the open and close is considered
vital information and forms the essence of candlesticks.
Hollow candlesticks, where the close is greater than the open,
indicate buying pressure. Filled candlesticks, where the close is
less than the open, indicate selling pressure.

TYPES OF CANDLESTICKS
Open

BEARISH

BULLISH

Long lled candlesticks

Long hollow candlesticks

indicate that the Bears

indicate that the Bulls

controlled trading for

Close

Close

controlled trading for

most of the time.

most of the time.

Open

Copyright 2015 Market Traders Institute, Inc. | 1-800-866-7431 | MarketTraders.com

BULLISH
Bullish candlesticks indicate the
market is moving in an upward
trend. An easy way to remember this
is by picturing an actual bull: bulls horns
go up just like the market will when you spot
this type of candlestick.
So, what exactly are you looking for? Keep an eye out
for those hollow or light-colored candlesticks we were
talking about earlier. Once you have your bullish candle,
take a look at the body. The bigger the body, the bigger the
upward price movement for that specific point in time. Ideally,
you want to identify a full-bodied candlestick with small wicks.

PRO TRADER TIP

The small wicks signify the highest and lowest price. The
smaller the wick, the less volatile the price movement
during that time period. Small bodies with large wicks
mean indecision and fighting for control. Large bodies with
small wicks means one group is in control of the market
for that particular time period.

Now that youre a certified market matador, here are a couple of

bullish formations you could find in your charts (see next page).
Copyright 2015 Market Traders Institute, Inc. | 1-800-866-7431 | MarketTraders.com

BULLISH

Opening price
of the bearish
candle
Buy at the
opening of the
next candle.

SHOOTING
STAR
When you see this: BUY in the
direction of the trend at the
opening of the next candle or when
it meets the criteria of the Bullish

Protective Stop Loss Order 10 pips below the low

Opening price
of the bearish
candle

Buy at the
opening of the
next candle.
Close of
the Bullish
candle
must be
beyond a
60% u-turn.

Protective Stop Loss Order 10 pips below the low

Shooting Star.

BULLISH

MORNING
STAR
When you see this: BUY in the
direction of the trend at the
opening of the next candle or when
it meets the criteria of the Bullish
Morning Star.

BULLISH
Buy at the opening
of the next candle.

ENGULFING
CANDLE
After the Bullish Engulfing Candle
appears in the direction of the
trend, BUY at the opening of the

Protective Stop Loss Order 10 pips below the low

next candle with a protective stop

loss order approximately 10 pips
beyond the lows of the wicks.

Copyright 2015 Market Traders Institute, Inc. | 1-800-866-7431 | MarketTraders.com

Buy at the opening

of the next candle.
60%

Close of the
bullish candle
must be
beyond a 60%
u-turn of the
bearish
candle.

Protective Stop Loss Order 10 pips below the low

BULLISH

PIERCING
LINE
When you see this: BUY in the
direction of the trend at the
opening of the next candle or when
it meets the criteria of the Bullish
Piercing Line.

Long Wicks
Small
Bodies

Buy at the
opening of the
next candle.

Wick min. 60%

BULLISH

TWEEZER
BOTTOM
When you see this: BUY in the
direction of the trend at the opening

Protective Stop Loss Order 10 pips below the low

of the next candle or when it meets

the criteria of the Tweezer Bottom.

HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? Send them our way by heading to

our Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ or Twitter pages and well do
our best to answer them as quickly as possible!

Copyright 2015 Market Traders Institute, Inc. | 1-800-866-7431 | MarketTraders.com

APPLY IT

Can you spot the bullish candlestick formations?

Identify formations A, B & C. Answers provided upside-down under the chart. No peeking!

A. BULLISH MORNING STAR | B. BULLISH ENGULFING CANDLE | C. BULLISH TWEEZER BOTTOM

Get More Trading Tips

Like what youre reading? Of course you do! But why limit
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the live market. See how real traders react to
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could use their experiences to become a
confident and consistent trader.

BEARISH
Bearish candlesticks indicate the
market is moving in a downward
trend. Need an easy way to remember
this? Think of a bear trying to swat down
a bee hive for some honey; only youre a
trader and youre trying to swat some pips into
your P/L statement to help you see returns sweeter
than honey!
Now, what makes a candlestick bearish? You guessed it:
filled or dark-colored candlesticks. Once you spot one, make
sure it follows the same body-to-wick ratio that we talked
about for bullish candlesticks.
The body rule still holds true for bearish candlesticks except
this time, were in a downward price movement. Guess what
they say is true: the bigger they are the harder they fall.
Here are a few of bearish formations that frequently pop up
on the charts (see next page).

Copyright 2015 Market Traders Institute, Inc. | 1-800-866-7431 | MarketTraders.com

BEARISH

Protective Stop Loss Order 15 pips above the high

SHOOTING
STAR
When you see this: SELL in the
Opening
price
of the
bullish
candle

Sell at the
opening
of the
next
candle.

Protective Stop Loss Order 15 pips above the high

Close of the
bearish
candle must
be beyond a
60% u-turn.

direction of the trend at the

opening of the next candle or when
it meets the criteria of the Bearish
Shooting Star.

BEARISH

EVENING
STAR
When you see this: SELL in the
direction of the trend at the

Opening
price of the
bullish candle

Sell at the opening

of the next candle.

opening of the next candle or when

it meets the criteria of the Bearish
Evening Star.

Protective Stop Loss Order 15 pips above the high

BEARISH

ENGULFING
CANDLE
When you see this: After the Engulfing
Bearish Candle appears in the direction

Sell at the
opening of the
next candle.

of the trend, SELL at the opening of the

next candle with a protective stop loss
order approximately 15 pips beyond
the HIGHS of the wicks.

Copyright 2015 Market Traders Institute, Inc. | 1-800-866-7431 | MarketTraders.com

Protective Stop Loss Order 15 pips above the high

Close of the
bearish
candle must be
beyond a 60%
u-turn of the
bullish candle.
60%
Opening
price of the
bullish candle

Sell at the opening

of the next candle.

BEARISH

DARK CLOUD
COVER
When you see this: SELL in the
direction of the trend at the opening
of the next candle or when it meets
the criteria of the Bearish Dark
Cloud Cover formation.

BEARISH
Protective Stop Loss Order 15 pips above the high

Long
Wicks
Small
Bodies

Wick min. 60%

TWEEZER
TOP
When you see this: After you have two
candles that have met the criteria of
a Tweezer Top, SELL at the opening

Sell at the opening

of the next candle.

of the next candle with a protective

stop loss order approximately 15 pips
beyond the highs of the wicks.

HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? Send them our way by heading to

our Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ or Twitter pages and well do
our best to answer them as quickly as possible!

Copyright 2015 Market Traders Institute, Inc. | 1-800-866-7431 | MarketTraders.com

APPLY IT

Can you spot the bearish candlestick formations?

Identify formations A, B & C. Answers provided upside-down under the chart. No peeking!

A. BEARISH EVENING STAR | B. BEARISH ENGULFING CANDLE | C. BEARISH TWEEZER TOP

Get More Trading Tips

Look at you becoming a pro trader! Keep the momentum
going and get a taste for what the market has to offer
by attending one of our free live market workshops.
Theres no better way to see these formations
in action!

So What Did You Learn?

Other than you are going to be one heck of a trader!
Heres a quick overview to tie everything together:
Candlesticks help you determine market movements. There
are hollow/light candlesticks, known as Bullish candlesticks
and there are filled/dark candlesticks, known as Bearish
candlesticks.
Bullish candlesticks mean the markets moving in
an upward trend, indicating buying pressure.
Bearish candlesticks reveal the market is in a
downward trend and there is high selling
pressure.
With enough consecutive
Bullish candlesticks and the
right indicators, you can
determine that an
upward movement
is taking place.

This tells you to trade that upward

movement in an uptrend.
On the other hand, Bearish
candlesticks reveal the market is in
a downward trend and there is high
selling pressure. Once you spot a
trail of Bearish candlesticks, youll be
looking at a downwards movement,
signifying you could trade that
movement as a downtrend.
The size of the candlesticks body is
also important to help you determine
how much movement happened
during a certain time period (it could be an hour,
a week, or a month, depending on how you have
your charts set-up).
You also got a brief overview of some of the
candlestick formations that typically pop up on your charts.
Candlesticks are only one way to see where the market
is going. There are many other indicators that could help
determine trend direction or reversals in the market. To learn
what these indicators are and how they could boost your
trading results, come to one of our upcoming workshops and
see how these candlesticks play out in action.

Copyright 2015 Market Traders Institute, Inc. | 1-800-866-7431 | MarketTraders.com

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Copyright 2015 Market Traders Institute, Inc. | 1-800-866-7431 | MarketTraders.com

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