Read the wick and the preceding move
After a decline · hammer candidate
Session 1: O 98 · H 101 · L 90 · C 100
After an advance · shooting-star candidate
Session 1: O 102 · H 112 · L 100 · C 101
Read the long-lower-wick family
A small body near the upper end of a range with a long lower wick resembles a hammer after a decline. A similar shape after an advance is commonly called a hanging man. Exact proportions vary across definitions; describe the measured prices as well as the name.
Our fictional hammer opens at $98, reaches $101, falls to $90 and closes at $100. Its $2 body, $8 lower wick and $1 upper wick make the proportions explicit. The lower wick is four times the body. The candle shows recovery from the low within the interval.
Read the long-upper-wick family
A small body near the lower end with a long upper wick resembles a shooting star after an advance. After a decline a similar upper-wick shape is called an inverted hammer. The preceding sequence helps distinguish those labels; the body need not have one compulsory color.
An original upper-wick example opens at $102, reaches $112, falls to $100 and closes at $101. Its body is $1, upper wick $10 and lower wick $1. If it follows an advance, a reader can describe a shooting-star candidate without claiming to know why the late price was lower.
Describe the surrounding move
A traditional reversal interpretation needs a preceding move to reverse. Put the candidate next to earlier swings and a stated support or resistance area. Comparing a candle with its neighbors can also show whether its range is unusual or merely routine variation.
The hammer example after a sequence of falling closes raises a different question from the identical OHLC prices after a rise. Changing the story while keeping the numbers identical demonstrates why recognizing a silhouette alone is insufficient. A label cannot reveal orders, participant identity or a firm’s economic value.
Use later evidence without rewriting history
Choose a precise follow-through observation before revealing later bars. A later close above a candidate’s high or below its low answers a different question from the original pattern recognition. Neither outcome was available at the first candle’s close.
A valid exercise includes candidates that fail and cases whose proportions are ambiguous. Record the interval and the definition used. Do not attach an unsupported success percentage to the family or assume that an attractive diagram establishes a profitable entry, protective exit or guarantee against gaps.
A candle has a small upper body and a long lower wick. Is it automatically a hammer?
Show the explanation
Its geometry resembles the hammer family, but the traditional label also needs context. After an advance, a similar shape is usually called a hanging man; neither name guarantees a reversal.
Sources and editorial notes
Original explanations and hypothetical examples prepared with AI assistance. Primary references checked October 16, 2026. Numerical examples are hypothetical unless explicitly identified otherwise.
- StockCharts ChartSchool: Candlestick Pattern Dictionary
Traditional pattern geometry and trend context for hammer-family, engulfing and morning/evening-star names. Definitions only; no prediction or reliability claims adopted. All numbers, diagrams, exercises and failure analyses are original.