The 10 Candlestick Patterns That Actually Work (Ranked by Data)
Candlestick patterns are visual formations created by the open, high, low, and close of one or more price bars. Traders watch them because certain shapes have shown repeatable behavior across many markets and time frames. The ten patterns below are the ones that ranked highest when measured against historical price data rather than against textbook reputation.
What the ranking measures
Each pattern is scored by how often price moved in the expected direction after the formation completed. The source is Thomas Bulkowski’s database of more than one hundred candlestick patterns, compiled from daily data on U.S. stocks. The rank number tells where that pattern sits in the full list; the performance figure is the percentage of times the expected move occurred within a set number of bars. The figure does not include transaction costs, slippage, or any rule for exiting the trade.
The top ten patterns
The Bearish Three Line Strike ranks first. It is a four-candle formation: three white candles followed by a long black candle that opens inside the prior bar and closes below the lowest low of the three. The bullish Three Line Strike ranks second and is the mirror image: three black candles followed by a long white candle that opens inside the prior bar and closes above the highest high. Three Black Crows ranks third; it consists of three consecutive long black candles that close near their lows and open within the body of the preceding candle. The Evening Star, fourth, is a three-candle reversal: a tall white candle, a small body that gaps above it, and a long black candle that closes well into the first candle’s range. The Upside Tasuki Gap, fifth, is a continuation pattern made of two white candles separated by an upward gap and followed by a black candle that opens inside the second white body and closes inside the gap. The Inverted Hammer, sixth, is a single-candle signal that appears after a down move; the candle has a small body at the lower end and a long upper shadow. The Falling Window, seventh, is simply a gap down between two sessions that is left unfilled on the next bar. Matching Low, eighth, shows two black candles with identical or nearly identical lows after a decline. The Abandoned Baby, ninth, is a three-candle reversal with a doji that gaps away from both the prior and following sessions. Two Black Gapping, tenth, is two consecutive black candles that open below the prior close and leave a gap on the daily chart.
How the patterns fail
A pattern fails when price does not move in the expected direction within the test window. For reversal patterns such as the Evening Star or Abandoned Baby, failure occurs when the next close is on the opposite side of the pattern’s extreme. For continuation patterns such as the Upside Tasuki Gap or Falling Window, failure occurs when price closes back through the gap or through the pattern’s key level. The measured rates already reflect these failures; they are not filtered for market condition, volume, or higher-time-frame alignment.
