Japanese Candlestick Patterns

Many traders ask me for the detailed descriptions of the Japanese candlestick patterns that are detected by the MT4 indicator Pattern Recognition Master. So, here is the list of the patterns that it can recognize with the corresponding chart pictures and signal descriptions:
Bearish patterns
Shooting star. Can signal an end of the bullish trend. Should be confirmed by other patterns. The longer the shadow the stronger the signal.
 
Evening star. Acts as a stronger trend reversal signal. Note that the shadows should be very short and the body of the middle candle should not be large as well.
 
Evening doji star. Almost the same as previous, but some traders consider it a stronger signal.
 
Dark cloud pattern. The two-candle pattern is ending a bullish trend. Note the opening of the second candle — it should be above the first one’s close. The second candle should close below the 50% of first candle’s body. Both bodies should be long enough. It is a signal of moderate strength.
 
Bearish engulfing pattern. This two-candle pattern appears at the end of an uptrend. The second candle (bearish) should open higher than the first candle’s high and should close above the first one’s low (completely engulf it). It is a moderately strong signal.
Bullish patterns
Bullish hammer. Can signal an end of a bearish trend. Should be confirmed by other patterns. The longer the shadow the stronger the signal.
 
Morning star. Acts as a stronger trend reversal signal. Note that the shadows should be very short and the body of the middle candle should not be large as well.
 
Morning doji star. Almost the same as previous, but some traders consider it a stronger signal.
 
Piercing line pattern. The two-candle pattern is ending a bearish trend. Note the opening of the second candle — it should be below the first one’s close. The second candle should close above the 50% of the first candle’s body. Both bodies should be long enough. It is a signal of moderate strength.
 
Bullish engulfing pattern. This two-candle pattern appears at the end of a downtrend. The second candle (bullish) should open lower than the first candle’s low and should close above the first one’s high (completely engulf it). It is a moderately strong signal.
If you have never heard about Pattern Recognition Master before and do not want to detect these patterns on your own, then you can simply download this wonderful indicator.