Bullish Candlestick Patterns
upward reversal signals · 18 patterns · average reliability 4.1/5 · 7 top-rated
Bullish patterns signal a build-up of buying pressure or exhaustion of a downtrend — common entry signals for long positions. The 18 patterns below are grouped by candle count and ordered by reliability within each group.
A bullish candlestick pattern is a single- or multi-candle shape that signals a shift in market sentiment from selling pressure to buying pressure. The typical scenario: after a sustained downtrend, sellers run out of steam, buyers take back control, and the next candle confirms the reversal.
The value of a bullish pattern depends heavily on context. It is only reliable near a support level, in an oversold RSI region (typically below 30) or on above-average volume. On its own, a hammer in a sideways market is noise — the same hammer at the bottom of a long decline is a strong reversal signal.
One-candle patterns
Hammer
A one-candle bullish reversal pattern that appears after a downtrend, with a small body near the top and a long lower wick.
1 candle · reliability 4/5
Bullish Marubozu
A large green candle with virtually no wicks, showing clean buyer dominance from the open through the close.
1 candle · reliability 4/5
Inverted Hammer
A bullish reversal candlestick pattern with a small lower body and a long upper wick, appearing near the end of a downtrend.
1 candle · reliability 3/5
Dragonfly Doji
A doji with a long lower wick: sellers pushed price down, but buyers drove it back to the open by the close.
1 candle · reliability 3/5
Bullish Belt Hold
A large green candle with no lower wick: price opens at the period low and rises through the session.
1 candle · reliability 3/5
Two-candle patterns
Bullish Engulfing
A two-candle bullish reversal pattern where a large green body fully engulfs the previous small red body.
2 candles · reliability 5/5
Bullish Kicking
A bearish marubozu is followed by a bullish marubozu after an upside gap, marking a sharp sentiment shift from one session to the next.
2 candles · reliability 5/5
Piercing Line
A bullish two-candle reversal pattern where a large green candle closes above the midpoint of the prior red candle.
2 candles · reliability 4/5
Bullish Harami
A large red candle is followed by a small green body that sits entirely inside the first candle’s body.
2 candles · reliability 3/5
Bullish Harami Cross
A large red candle followed by a doji contained within the first body, showing a sharp rise in indecision after a downtrend.
2 candles · reliability 3/5
Tweezer Bottom
Two consecutive candles share the same low, showing two failed attempts to break lower and a possible bullish reversal.
2 candles · reliability 3/5
Three-candle patterns
Morning Star
A three-candle bullish reversal pattern: large red candle, small indecision candle, then large green candle as sentiment shifts.
3 candles · reliability 5/5
Three White Soldiers
Three consecutive large green candles, each closing higher and leaving only a small upper wick.
3 candles · reliability 5/5
Morning Doji Star
A stronger Morning Star variant: the middle candle is a full doji, making the market’s uncertainty more visible.
3 candles · reliability 5/5
Bullish Abandoned Baby
A three-candle bullish reversal pattern with a fully isolated doji between two gaps — extremely rare and often a strong signal.
3 candles · reliability 5/5
Three Outside Up
A bullish engulfing pattern confirmed by a third bullish candle, forming a three-candle reversal signal.
3 candles · reliability 5/5
Three Inside Up
A bullish harami confirmed by a third bullish candle, signaling a gradual reversal attempt after a downtrend.
3 candles · reliability 4/5
Multi-candle patterns
Rising Three Methods
A bullish continuation pattern: one large green candle, three small red pullback candles inside its range, then another strong green candle.
5 candles · reliability 4/5
How to trade bullish patterns
Four factors improve reliability: multi-candle patterns (three candles beat one), higher volume on the key candle, a confirming green candle in the next period, and a technical level nearby (support, Fibonacci, moving average).
Trend context. Bullish reversal patterns are only meaningful at the end of a downtrend — not in sideways markets and not in an existing uptrend. A bullish engulfing at the bottom of a sharp decline is a strong signal; the same shape in the middle of a two-week range is noise.
Confirmation candle. The confirmation candle is the first candle after the pattern, whose green body confirms the reversal. The most common mistake is entering immediately on the close of the pattern's last candle — wait for the confirmation, which filters out roughly a third of false signals.
Volume. Above-average volume (especially on the key candle, e.g. the third candle of a morning star) significantly improves the pattern's statistical reliability. A low-volume pattern is a weak signal.
Time frame. Reliability rises with the time frame: statistically, daily (D1) and weekly (W1) charts deliver the highest hit rate, 4-hour (H4) is acceptable. On short time frames (1m, 5m, 15m) the noise-to-signal ratio is too poor — the pattern still exists, but its reliability drops sharply.
Entry and stop loss. Enter on the open or close of the confirmation candle. The stop loss belongs below the lowest point of the pattern — below the lower wick, not at the body's low; a tight stop is taken out by normal noise. Take profit at a minimum 1:2 risk/reward ratio — if the next resistance level is closer than twice the stop distance, skip the setup.
Combine with other tools. Do not trade candlestick patterns alone. Combine them with a trend indicator (MA, EMA), a momentum indicator (RSI, MACD) and support/resistance levels. A bullish engulfing at major support, with oversold RSI and positive MACD divergence — that is a setup.
The most reliable bullish patterns
By the reliability rating, the strongest bullish patterns are Bullish Engulfing, Morning Star, Three White Soldiers, Bullish Kicking, Morning Doji Star, Bullish Abandoned Baby, Three Outside Up. Each is either multi-candle or shows strong momentum — but reliability is ultimately determined by context (trend, support level, volume), not by the pattern alone.
The three-candle morning star is one of the most reliable reversal signals: a large red candle continuing the downtrend, a small-bodied middle candle (doji or spinning top) marking indecision, and a large green candle closing above the midpoint of the first candle's body.
The hammer and the hanging man are visually almost identical — small body, long lower wick. The difference is the trend context: a hammer at the end of a downtrend is a bullish signal, a hanging man at the top of an uptrend is bearish. Same shape, opposite role.
The opposite direction is covered in bearish candlestick patterns. The full, filterable list lives in the catalog of 41 Japanese candlestick patterns, and candle basics are explained in the catalog's anatomy section.