Section 3 · Chart Reading
Hammer & Shooting Star
Long wicks that reveal who truly controls price
The Power of a Long Wick
The hammer and shooting star are mirror-image single-candle reversal patterns defined by a long wick relative to a small body. A hammer appears at the bottom of a downtrend: the candle has a small body near the top and a long lower wick (at least twice the body's length). Sellers pushed price far down during the session, but buyers surged back and closed near the open — a powerful statement of rejection. The hammer's color matters less than its location: at support with a long lower wick, it's bullish regardless of whether it closed green or red. The shooting star is the mirror opposite, appearing at the top of an uptrend: small body near the bottom, long upper wick. Buyers pushed price high, but sellers slammed it back down. An inverted hammer is a shooting-star shape at the bottom of a downtrend — it also signals potential reversal but requires confirmation.
3 things to know
Hammer: small body at top, long lower wick at least 2× the body — bullish reversal at lows
Shooting star: small body at bottom, long upper wick at least 2× the body — bearish reversal at highs
Location is everything — both patterns only signal reversals at the extremes of a trend
Dive Deeper
Hammer (Bullish)
- Appears at the bottom of a downtrend
- Small body near the top of the candle
- Long lower wick (2× body or more)
- Sellers tried and failed to hold lows
- Bullish follow-through confirms signal
Shooting Star (Bearish)
- Appears at the top of an uptrend
- Small body near the bottom of the candle
- Long upper wick (2× body or more)
- Buyers tried and failed to hold highs
- Bearish follow-through confirms signal
Key vocabulary — tap each card
Did you know?
A hammer that closes green (bullish) is considered slightly stronger than a red hammer because buyers not only rejected the lows but actually ended the session higher than where they started.