Guide · By DueTrack Studio · Updated 2026-10-29
Candlestick charts for beginners: how to read them
Each candlestick shows four prices for a time period: open, high, low and close. The body spans open to close — usually green or hollow when price closed higher, red or filled when lower — and the thin wicks show the high and low. Patterns describe how buyers and sellers behaved, but none predicts the future on its own.
What does one candlestick show?
- Open: the first price of the period.
- Close: the last price.
- High and low: the extremes, shown by the wicks.
- Colour: whether it closed above or below the open.
Which patterns do beginners hear about most?
- Doji: open and close almost equal — indecision.
- Hammer: long lower wick — sellers pushed down, buyers pushed back.
- Engulfing: a body that completely covers the previous one.
How should you use patterns?
As one clue among several, with a plan for where you would be wrong. Practise reading them on real prices with paper money before using them for real.
Questions
Do candlestick patterns work?
They describe past price behaviour and are widely used, but they are not reliable predictions on their own.