In this article, Chris Pulver offers some insights into candlestick formations and how traders can identify and trade them effectively for potential profits.
To know more Forex systems, tricks, and strategies that our analysts use to target potentially profitable trades, you can download this free ebook.
Candlestick patterns are one of the important tools for conducting technical analysis to forecast the direction of prices. They can help traders interpret possible market trends and also signal bullish or bearish movements. And these trends and patterns, in turn, help traders to form their trading decisions.
Today, we will be talking about a simple candlestick pattern that’s commonly used for identifying trades in the direction of the trend.
But before that, here’s a quick look at what candlesticks are and how to identify the patterns they form.
Candlesticks & Candlestick Formations
Candlesticks are used to identify chart patterns. These patterns help traders in setting up a trade by giving them insights about the entry, stop loss, and exit levels.
The patterns are formed by grouping two or more candles in a certain sequence. Although powerful trading signals can be identified by just a single candlestick pattern. So, candlesticks can be broken down into single and multiple candlestick patterns.
Strength is represented by a green or bullish candle. On the other hand, weakness is represented by a red or bearish candle.
A general rule of thumb is to look for a prior period while reading candlesticks.
If you are looking at a bullish pattern, the prior trend should be bearish. And likewise, if you’re looking for a bearish pattern, the prior trend should be bullish.
Below is a quick cheat sheet showing five types of bullish and bearish candlestick formations.
Bullish & Bearish Candlestick Formations
With that in mind, let’s get talking about a simple way to spot and trade these formations in the direction of the trend.
Trading Japanese Candlestick Formations
Now, the best way to go about spotting candlestick formations is to know them by memory.
You can do that by reviewing the above cheat sheet and practicing how to find those formations on your charts.
Alternatively, if you’re on the SmartTrader trading platform, a simpler way to identify these patterns is to click on the ‘Candlestick Tools’ button, which allows you to activate all the bullish / bearish candlestick formations and gives you all the formations that meet the formula on your selected chart.
Here’s how it would look on the chart:
Green Candlesticks Highlighting Bullish Formations
Once this is done, one way to trade these candlesticks is to spot them at the bottom of retracement.
That means identifying the green candlesticks that are at the lowest levels during a given time and setting a trade on them for higher levels. So, once you spot a green candlestick from where the trend on the chart is reversing, you can place a trade for higher levels (as the pattern is indicating an uptrend).
The opposite goes for red candlesticks. Here you will identify the red candlesticks that are at the highest levels on the charts during a given period of time and set a trade on them for lower levels.
Here’s an easy way to understand this…
- Look for candlestick formations in an Uptrend if you’re looking to Buy
- Look for candlestick formations in a Downtrend if you’re looking to Sell
- For a better chance of success, trade the candlesticks at the end of retracements (as compared to trading the ones that are already in a trend)
So, that was one of the many simple ways in which you can trade using candlestick formations.
To discover more such simple to apply and potentially profitable Forex strategies, download our FREE ebook.
This book features the top 5 Forex Secrets traders can use when the markets seem random and chaotic. Click here to know more >>
Trading foreign exchange on margin carries a high level of risk, and may not be suitable for everyone. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The high degree of leverage can work against you as well as for you. Before getting involved in foreign exchange you should carefully consider your personal venture objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite. The possibility exists that you could sustain a loss of some or all of your initial deposit and therefore you should not place funds that you cannot afford to lose. You should be aware of all the risks associated with foreign exchange trading, and seek advice from an independent financial advisor if you have any doubts. The information contained in this web page does not constitute financial advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any Forex contract or securities of any type. MTI will not accept liability for any loss or damage, including without limitation any loss of profit, which may arise directly or indirectly from use of or reliance on such information.
