What timeframe is best for candlesticks? (2024)

What timeframe is best for candlesticks? (1)

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Arthur Hill|

Most candlestick patterns form over 1-3 days, which makes them short-term patterns that are valid for 1-2 weeks. Hammers and shooting stars require just one day. Engulfing patterns, piercing patterns and dark cloud cover patterns require two days. Morning stars and evening stars require three days.

Keep in mind that these candlestick patterns are trying to reverse an existing trend, usually a short-term trend that is a few weeks old. Bullish candlestick patterns form in short-term downtrends, while bearish candlestick patterns form in short-term uptrends. Do not expect a long-term trend reversal from a candlestick pattern. More likely, a candlestick pattern may establish support/resistance or signal the start of a pullback or bounce.

What timeframe is best for candlesticks? (3)
Click on this chart to see more details.

Traders may want to combine tactics to improve candlestick signals. For example, look for bullish candlestick patterns when the medium-term trend is up and the short-term trend is down (i.e. a short-term pullback in a medium-term uptrend). The chart above shows Sara Lee (SLE) with the 70-day SMA (3 months) and 23-day SMA (1 month). SLE was trading above the 70-day SMA for a medium-term uptrend, but below the 23-day SMA for a short-term downtrend. SLE then formed a high-volume bullish engulfing that established a tradable low. A high-volume follow through breakout occurred a few days later.

You can read more on candlesticks in the Chart School.

What timeframe is best for candlesticks? (4)

About the author:Arthur Hill, CMT, is a Senior Technical Analyst at StockCharts.com.He has written articles for numerous financial publications including Barrons and Stocks & Commodities magazine.Focusing predominantly on US equities and ETFs, his systematic approach of identifying trend, finding signals within the trend, and setting key price levels has made him an esteemed technician.In addition to his CMT designation, Arthur holds an MBA from the Cass Business School at City University in London.Learn More

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Thank you for this mini-tutorial! This info will help me with my long-term buys. It makes sense when one considers the meaning of each candle :).

Posted by: Teresa Connolly August 28, 2009 at 16:18 PM

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What timeframe is best for candlesticks? (2024)

FAQs

What timeframe is best for candlesticks? ›

The best time frame for candlesticks is daily bars and relatively short holding periods from 1 to ten days. Thus, candlesticks are most useful for short-term trading.

What time frame are candlesticks used in? ›

Traders use monthly, weekly, daily, 4-hour, hourly, 15-minute and even 1-minute timeframes. Ideally, traders pick the main timeframe they are interested in and then choose a longer and a shorter timeframe to complement the main one. The longer timeframes typically contain fewer and more reliable signals.

Do candlestick patterns work on all time frames? ›

We recommend using different time frames in trading, but the best time frame for candlesticks seems to be daily bars. Daily bars seem to be much more reliable than intraday and weekly bars.

What is the 3 candle rule in trading? ›

The three inside up pattern is a bullish reversal pattern composed of a large down candle, a smaller up candle contained within the prior candle, and then another up candle that closes above the close of the second candle.

What is the best candlestick strategy? ›

Which candlestick pattern is most reliable? Many patterns are preferred and deemed the most reliable by different traders. Some of the most popular are: bullish/bearish engulfing lines; bullish/bearish long-legged doji; and bullish/bearish abandoned baby top and bottom.

Do professional traders use candlestick charts? ›

What charts do professional traders use? A common question is on the popular types of charts that professional traders use. In most cases, based on our experience, most professional traders prefer using candlesticks in trading. A candlestick is a chart pattern that has clear-to-see open, high, low, and high prices.

What is the most popular time frame for day trading? ›

15-minute and 5-minute day trading charts are the most popular when it comes to trading time frames.

What is the most accurate way to read a candlestick chart? ›

The candlestick has a wide part, which is called the "real body." This real body represents the price range between the open and close of that day's trading. When the real body is filled in or black, it means the close was lower than the open. If the real body is empty, it means the close was higher than the open.

Which candle pattern is more stronger? ›

1. Doji. Considered to be one of the most important single candlestick patterns, the doji can give you an insight into the market sentiment. Dojis are said to be formed when the opening price and the closing price of a stock are the same.

What is the secret of candlestick pattern? ›

For a Bullish candle, the open is always BELOW the close. For a Bearish candle, the open is always ABOVE the close. That information is the main foundation for reading candlestick chart patterns.

What is the 8 10 rule for candles? ›

The 8-10 Rule: Place one 8 ounce candle for every 10 feet radius of room. It's a good rule of thumb to follow the 8-10 rule to ensure your candle scent permeates the entire room equally.

What is the 84 rule for candles? ›

One of our favorite types comes from the Armatage Candle Company, which encourages new business owners to heed the "84 Candle Rule"—that is, create 84 candles and give most of them away.

What is the rarest candlestick pattern? ›

Technical traders, especially price action traders rely on these patterns to spot trading opportunities in different financial markets. While some are common, many are rare to find. One of the rarest candlestick patterns is the Concealing Baby Swallow.

Which candles are best for day trading? ›

The shooting star candlestick is primarily regarded as one of the most reliable and one of the best candlestick patterns for intraday trading. In this type of intra-day chart, you will typically see a bearish reversal candlestick, which suggests a peak, as opposed to a hammer candle which suggests a bottom trend.

What is the first 5 minute candle strategy? ›

How Does the 5-Minute Trading Strategy Work? This trading strategy looks for momentum bursts on short-term, 5-minute currency trading charts that a market participant can take advantage of, and then quickly exit out of when the momentum starts to wane.

What is the 2 candle theory? ›

The theory behind the pattern is that the failure of the second candle to close below the first candle's close generates a support level for a bullish reversal. Bulls are likely to attempt a rally using the support level as a springboard, creating a new trend higher.

What indicator do most traders use? ›

VWAP. VWAP, or volume-weighted average price, is perhaps the single most widely-used technical indicator among day traders.

What color is best for candlestick charts? ›

Candlestick Colors

For improved presentation, Incredible Charts uses colors such as red and blue/green to indicate filled or hollow candlesticks: Blue (or green) candlestick if the close is higher than the open; Red candlestick if the open is higher than the close (i.e. the candlestick is filled);

What is the best color candlestick for trading? ›

There's no best color for candlestick. Just to let you know that changing colors of the candlestick doesn't increase your odds of winning the markets. So on day's the markets are treating you well, you can have green just to make you feel good. Btw, I'd read that Blue is the most peaceful color.

What time is most profitable to trade? ›

The opening 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Eastern time (ET) period is often one of the best hours of the day for day trading, offering the biggest moves in the shortest amount of time. A lot of professional day traders stop trading around 11:30 a.m. because that is when volatility and volume tend to taper off.

What are the most profitable trading times? ›

The U.S./London markets overlap (8 a.m. to noon EST) has the heaviest volume of trading and is best for trading opportunities.

Which chart is best for timeframe? ›

Line charts are the best when you want to map continuous data over a period of time.

What is a 3 top candle pattern? ›

The triple top pattern occurs when the price of an asset creates three peaks at nearly the same price level. The area of the peaks is resistance. The pullbacks between the peaks are called the swing lows.

Which candlestick pattern is most reliable for swing trading? ›

Candlesticks such as the spinning top and engulfing patterns can help confirm bullish or bearish sentiment that swing traders can take advantage of.

What is the psychology behind candlestick patterns? ›

The longer the body of the candlestick is, the more bullish the signal. Short White Day– In theory, the short white candle cannot make up its mind between a reversal or continuation of the existing trend. In the real world, it performs as a reversal 52% of the time, which is close to the theoretical indecision.

What is a master candle? ›

A textbook master candle forms when an asset price is moving within a range, followed by four candles, all opening and closing within the body of the first (or the MC, engulfs the opening and closing of the four following candles).

Why not to burn a candle for 4 hours? ›

If you burn your candle for more than 4 hours at a time, carbon will collect on the wick, and your wick will begin to "mushroom." This can cause the wick to become unstable, the flame to get too large, your candle to smoke, and soot to be released into the air and around your candle container.

What is the rule of thumb for candles? ›

A good rule of thumb is to let your candle burn at least one hour per inch of container diameter. For instance, if you were burning a brand new luxury candle from the Harlem Candle Co., you should let it burn for at least 3 hours during the first time because the container diameter is around 3 inches.

What is the 5 candle rule? ›

But, after a minimum of five candlesticks duration, there is no clear movement, and the candlesticks have a small candle body – this is the rule of 5 candlesticks. After that, it is worth ignoring the signal and closing the deal, because the market ignored this signal due to some circ*mstances.

What not to do when making candles? ›

6 Mistakes New Candle Makers Should Avoid
  1. Putting the wrong amount of fragrance oil. How much fragrance oil should you use? ...
  2. Using the same wick size for every scent. ...
  3. Burning the candle before curing completes. ...
  4. Using the wrong materials. ...
  5. Starting with way too many supplies. ...
  6. Burn testing.
Mar 24, 2021

What is the candle code? ›

The Candle Code indicator is used to assign a numerical value to each candle based on five candlestick characteristics, including Body Color, Body Size, Upper Shadow, Lower Shadow, and Gap. Positive candle code values represent bullish candles while negative candle code values represent bearish candles.

Where not to burn candles? ›

Don't use lit candles in bedrooms, bathrooms and sleeping areas. Blow them out when you leave a room or home, or when you go to bed. When you use candles, place them in a sturdy, safe candle holder that will not burn or tip over. Consider using battery-operated flameless candles.

What is the most bearish candle? ›

In this blog we will be discussing 5 Powerful Bearish Candlestick Patterns:
  1. Hanging Man: Hanging man is a bearish reversal candlestick pattern having a long lower shadow with a small real body. ...
  2. Dark Cloud Cover: ...
  3. Bearish Engulfing: ...
  4. The Evening Star: ...
  5. The Three Black Crows:
Oct 14, 2022

What is Fibonacci candlestick? ›

Usually, when a reversal candlestick pattern appears when the price collides at the Fibonacci retracement level, the signal to enter or exit a trade is much stronger. Therefore, reversal candlestick patterns combined with Fibonacci retracement levels portray a strong signal that price is likely to change direction.

What are the seven golden candlesticks? ›

An angel explained to John deep spiritual truth pertaining to the seven golden candlesticks, giving the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea as the answer, but is that all there is to it, or did the angel tell John more?

What is the best time frame for weekly trading? ›

You could use the 1-minute time frame on the chart, or 3 minutes or 5 minutes. Some scalpers also use 15 minute timeframe, but very few go beyond that. It does not make sense to use 30 minute timeframe or higher because trades are taken for a very short duration of time.

What type of day trading is most profitable? ›

Intraday trading: This trading type makes you buy and sell your stocks on the same day before the market closes. You need to track your market position the entire day, looking for a good opportunity to sell your stocks. Intraday trading is a great method of making fast profits provided you invest in the right stocks.

What time frame to use for technical analysis? ›

Popular time frames that technical analysts most frequently examine include: 5-minute chart. 15-minute chart. Hourly chart.

What is the best time frame for candlestick patterns for intraday? ›

Which time frame candle is best for intraday trading? 15 minute time frame candle is best for intraday trading.

How do you predict next candle in trading? ›

This pattern usually forms towards the end of an upward trend, where a short green candle is followed and engulfed by a long red bodied candle. It is taken to indicate a slowing in price movement and a potential downturn in the market. The lower the engulfing candle, the more likely the impending downward trend.

How many candles should I start with? ›

You're always 84 candles away from starting a candle business. The 84 Candle Rule is a something everyone interested in starting a candle business should follow before they start one.

What candle indicates a reversal? ›

The first candle appears in the trend, either bearish or bullish. The second is a small-bodied candle opening and closing above or below the first candle in the trend, indicating indecision. The third candle is a confirmation candle that confirms the trend reversal.

What does an upside down candle mean? ›

What is the inverted hammer candlestick pattern? The inverted hammer candlestick pattern (or inverse hammer) is a candlestick that appears on a chart when there is pressure from buyers to push an asset's price up. It often appears at the bottom of a downtrend, signalling potential bullish reversal.

What are the 3 states of matter in a candle? ›

For example, a candle is a solid because it has a definite shape. hen a candle is heated, it starts to melt. A candle changes its state from a solid to a liquid by heating. When the melted candle is cooled, it hardens.

What time frame does heikin ashi candles use? ›

Heikin Ashi charts can be used on any timeframe. The calculation is applied to the chosen time frame. Swing traders typically look at hourly, four-hour, or daily charts.

Do candlesticks have to match? ›

A display of candlesticks looks more interesting when the candlesticks are all different, but have a similar characteristic. For instance, the candlesticks can all be different shapes and sizes if they are all a similar color and have the same color candles.

Do professional traders use Heikin-Ashi? ›

Most traders will use Heikin Ashi candlesticks to keep themselves in a trade much longer once a trade begins, choosing not to change their position or close out until the candlestick changes color.

Why not to use Heikin-Ashi? ›

Heikin-Ashi is a candlestick pattern technique that aims to reduce some of the market noise, creating a chart that highlights trend direction better than typical candlestick charts. The downside to Heikin-Ashi is that some price data is lost with averaging, which could affect risk.

Is it better to use Heikin-Ashi or candlestick? ›

Heikin-Ashi has a smoother look because it is essentially taking an average of the movement. There is a tendency with Heikin-Ashi for the candles to stay red during a downtrend and green during an uptrend, whereas normal candlesticks alternate color even if the price is moving dominantly in one direction.

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