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Lesson 6: The Inverted Hammer and Shooting Star

By: Informedtrades.com The Inverted Hammer and Shooting Star In our last lesson we learned about the Morning and Evening Star Candlestick Patterns. In today's lesson we are going to wrap up our series on candlestick chart patterns with a look at the Inverted Hammer and the Shooting Star candlestick patterns. The Inverted Hammer Candlestick Pattern As its name implies, the inverted Hammer looks like an upside down version of the Hammer Candlestick Chart Pattern which we learned about several lessons ago. Like the Hammer Pattern, the Inverted Hammer is comprised of one candle and when found in a downtrend is considered a potential reversal pattern. The pattern is made up of a candle with a small lower body and a long upper wick which is at least two times as large as the short lower body. The body of the candle should be at the low end of the trading range and there should be little or no lower wick in the candle. What this chart pattern is basically telling us is that although sellers ended up driving price down to close near to where it opened, buyers had significant control of the market at some point during the period which formed the long upper wick. This buying pressure during the downtrend calls the trend into question which is why the candle is considered a potential reversal pattern. Like the other one candle patterns we have learned about however, most traders will wait for a higher open on the next trading period before taking any action based on the pattern. Most traders will also look at a longer wick as a sign of a greater potential reversal and like to see an increase in volume on the day the Inverted Hammer Forms. The Shooting Star Candlestick Pattern The Shooting Star looks exactly the same as the Inverted Hammer, but instead of being found in a downtrend it is found in an uptrend and thus has different implications. Like the Inverted Hammer it is made up of a candle with a small lower body, little or no lower wick, and a long upper wick that is at least two times the size of the lower body. The long upper wick of the chart pattern indicates that the buyers drove prices up at some point during the period in which the candle was formed but encountered selling pressure which drove prices back down for the period to close near to where they opened. As this occurred in an uptrend the selling pressure is seen as a potential reversal sign. When encountering this pattern traders will look for a lower open on the next period before considering the pattern valid and potentially including it in their trading strategy. As with the Inverted Hammer most traders will see a longer wick as a sign of a greater potential reversal and like to see an increase in volume on the day the Shooting Star forms. That completes this lesson and wraps up our series on candlestick chart patterns. In our next lesson we are going to start a new series with a look at Money Management and how this applies to profitable trading so we hope to see you in that lesson.