Hammer and shooting-star labels describe a small candle body near one end of a longer range. Traders study them as possible reversal conditions, but a completed shape does not identify the future top or bottom.

Describe the Geometry

A hammer convention uses a body near the high and a long lower wick after a defined decline. A shooting star uses a body near the low and a long upper wick after a defined rise. A wick at least twice the body's length is a common classification rule, not a threshold proven to create an edge.

Specify the maximum opposite wick and how you handle a zero or near-zero body. Colour describes the open-close relationship; it does not establish that a green hammer is more reliable than a red one.

The candle records the range and endpoints, not a complete account of who traded or why. It cannot prove that buyers or sellers now control future prices.

Add a Timing Rule

A study might require the next completed candle to close above a hammer's high. That later condition must exist before an entry is recorded. Entering at the hammer's close while using the next candle as confirmation introduces hindsight.

The later entry can be farther from a stop below the low. Recalculate quantity from the actual entry distance, costs and execution allowance. A planned two-to-one payoff ratio is not a probability that the trade will win.

Evaluate the Full Sample

Define prior trend, location and exit rules rather than selecting only visually striking turning points. Include the shapes followed by continuation or no entry. Compare additional volume or support filters on the same dataset and retain a separate evaluation period.

There is no established universal 55–65% success rate for the pattern names, and higher chart intervals are not automatically more reliable. What matters is the precise rule, observed net outcomes and uncertainty.

For the underlying candle construction, read how to read candlestick charts.

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