Home › Guides › Chart patterns
Chart patterns cheat sheet: 7 shapes and what confirms each
Every chart pattern has a name, a shape and a story. But they all share 3 rules, and once you know those, the list gets much shorter. Here are the shapes, and what actually confirms each one.
The 3 rules behind every pattern
Learn these first. Every shape below uses them.
- Location beats shape. A pattern at a level the bigger chart shows matters. The same shape in the middle of nowhere usually doesn't. Check the bigger chart first. See multiple timeframe analysis.
- The body close confirms. A pattern isn't finished until a candle body closes past its key level. A Wick poking through doesn't count. See breakout vs fakeout.
- The stop comes first. Every pattern fails often. Before you enter, know the price that proves you wrong, and size from it with the position size calculator.
Most patterns are turning points stepping up, down or sideways. If you can read higher highs and higher lows, you can read them all.
Head and shoulders
Three peaks after a rise, the middle one tallest. It's an uptrend that stopped making new highs. The flipped version (the inverse) forms after a fall.
| Check | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Key level | The neckline, through the two dips |
| Confirms when | A body closes below the neckline |
| Logical stop | Above the right shoulder, or above a neckline retest |
| Fails when | Price closes back above the neckline, or beats the head |
Full guide: head and shoulders pattern.
Double top and double bottom
Two peaks at about the same height (an M), or two lows (a W). The dip between them is the real pattern.
| Check | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Key level | The valley between the two peaks (or the peak between the two lows) |
| Confirms when | A body closes past that valley |
| Logical stop | Past the more extreme of the two peaks |
| Fails when | Price breaks out past both peaks instead |
Full guide: double top and double bottom.
Bull flag and bear flag
A fast move (the pole), then a calm, shallow drift the other way (the flag). It's a pause in a trend. A pennant is the same idea with lines that squeeze.
| Check | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Key level | The flag's outer edge |
| Confirms when | A body closes out of the flag, in the pole's direction |
| Logical stop | Past the far end of the flag (its low, for a bull flag) |
| Fails when | The flag gives back most of the pole, or closes past its far end |
Full guide: bull flag and bear flag.
Triangles
Swings get smaller until price squeezes into a point. Ascending (flat top, rising lows), descending (flat bottom, falling highs) or symmetrical (both lines slope in).
| Check | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Key level | Whichever line price closes past |
| Confirms when | A body closes outside the triangle |
| Logical stop | Past the last turning point inside the triangle |
| Fails when | The break snaps back inside, or price drifts out of the tip |
Full guide: triangle patterns.
Wedges
Both lines slope the same way and squeeze together. A rising wedge is a rise with shrinking pushes. A falling wedge is a fall with shrinking pushes.
| Check | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Key level | The last turning point inside the wedge |
| Confirms when | A body closes past that last turning point |
| Logical stop | Past the last high (rising wedge) or last low (falling wedge) |
| Fails when | Price breaks out the other side and the trend carries on |
Full guide: wedge patterns.
Cup and handle
A slow, rounded dip after a rise, a small pullback near the top, then a test of the old high.
| Check | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Key level | The rim: the old high both sides of the cup reached |
| Confirms when | A body closes above the rim |
| Logical stop | Below the handle's low |
| Fails when | The handle drops deep into the cup, or the rim keeps holding |
Full guide: cup and handle pattern.
Ranges
Price bounces sideways between a floor and a ceiling. The edges are where the decisions happen.
| Check | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Key level | The floor and the ceiling zones |
| Confirms when | Edge trade: price rejects an edge. Break trade: a body closes outside |
| Logical stop | Just past the edge, with room for past pokes |
| Fails when | A body closes outside the range and stays out |
Full guide: range trading explained.
The candlestick patterns
Candlestick patterns take 1 to 3 candles. They show who won a short fight, and they matter most at a level. Start with how to read candlestick charts, then:
| Pattern | Candles | What it shows | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hammer | 1 | Long lower tail after a fall: sellers pushed, buyers pushed back | Hammer |
| Shooting star | 1 | Long upper tail after a rise: buyers pushed, sellers pushed back | Shooting star |
| Doji | 1 | Open and close almost equal: nobody won | Doji |
| Pin bar | 1 | One long tail rejecting a level | Pin bar |
| Marubozu | 1 | A full body with almost no tails: one side in control | Marubozu |
| Engulfing | 2 | A body that fully covers the one before | Engulfing |
| Harami | 2 | A small body inside the one before | Harami |
| Inside bar | 2 | A whole candle inside the one before: a pause | Inside bar |
| Tweezer tops and bottoms | 2 | Two candles turning at the same price | Tweezers |
| Morning star and evening star | 3 | A move, a small pause candle, then a strong turn | Morning and evening star |
| Three white soldiers and three black crows | 3 | Three strong candles in a row the same way | Soldiers and crows |
The beginner overview is candlestick patterns for beginners.
How to use this sheet
Don't try to learn all 18 at once. Pick one chart pattern and one candle pattern. Practice only those for a week.
- Open a daily chart and start Bar Replay.
- Step forward one candle at a time. Never peek.
- When your pattern shows up, write down the key level, the confirm and the stop before stepping on.
- Log what happened either way in a trading journal.
After 20 logged examples, you'll know how your pattern behaves on your market. Our free chart tool marks the turning points for you, which is where most of these shapes start: add it on TradingView.
Questions
What are the most common chart patterns?
Head and shoulders, double tops and bottoms, flags, triangles, wedges, cup and handle, and ranges. They all come down to how the turning points move: up, down or sideways.
Do chart patterns actually work?
They're a way to describe what price is doing, not a promise of what it will do next. Every pattern fails often. That's why you wait for a body close and set the stop before you enter.
What's the difference between chart patterns and candlestick patterns?
Chart patterns form over many candles and show the bigger shape of a move. Candlestick patterns form over 1 to 3 candles and show a short fight between buyers and sellers. Both matter more at a key level.
Want the next step? We'll walk you through it.
Four free lessons by email, one every few days — each with a 10-minute exercise on a real chart.
Send Me the Free Lessons 4 short emails · No spam · Unsubscribe anytimeOr see the whole method, step by step:
See What’s Inside the Course Try everything free first. Decide when you're ready. · Open the free chart tool (works in the TradingView phone app)One chart idea a day, in plain English. Follow along: