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The Evening Star candlestick is a three-candle pattern that signals a reversal in the market and is commonly used to trade forex. Correctly spotting reversals is crucial when trading financial markets because it allows traders to enter at attractive levels at the very start of a possible trend reversal.

This article explores the following talking points:

• What is an Evening Star candlestick?
• How to Identify an Evening Star on forex charts
• How to trade the Evening Star candlestick pattern
• The reliability of the Evening Star in forex trading

WHAT IS AN EVENING STAR CANDLESTICK?

The Evening Star pattern is a three-candle, bearish reversal candlestick pattern that appears at the top of an uptrend. It signals the slowing down of upward momentum before a bearish move lays the foundation for a new downtrend.

HOW TO IDENTIFY AN EVENING STAR ON FOREX CHARTS

Identifying the Evening Star on forex charts involves more than simply identifying the three main candles. What is required, is an understanding of previous price action and where the pattern appears within the existing trend.

1. Establish an existing uptrend: The market should be exhibiting higher highs and higher lows.
2. Large bullish candle: The large bullish candle is the result of large buying pressure and a continuation of the existing uptrend. At this point traders should only be looking for long trades as there is no evidence of a reversal yet.
3. Small bearish/bullish candle: The second candle is a small candle – sometimes a Doji candle – that presents the first sign of a fatigued uptrend. Often this candle gaps higher as it makes a higher high. It does not matter if the candle is bearish or bullish as the main takeaway here is that the market is somewhat undecided.
4. Large bearish candle: The first real sign of new selling pressure is revealed in this candle. In non-forex markets, this candle gaps down from the close of the previous candle and signals the start of a new downtrend.
5. Subsequent price action: After a successful reversal, traders will observe lower highs and lower lows but should always manage the risk of a failed move through the use of well-placed stops.

Traders will often look for signs of indecision in the market where buying pressure subsides and leaves the market somewhat flat. This is the ideal place for a Doji candle to appear.

Evening Star Doji

Doji candles can be observed as the market opens and closes at the same level or very close to the same level. This indecision paves the way for a bearish move as bears see value at this level and prevent further buying. The appearance of the bearish candle after the Doji provides this bearish confirmation.

WHAT ABOUT THE MORNING STAR

The bullish version of the Evening Star is the Morning Star and it signifies a potential turning point in a falling market (bullish reversal pattern). The same analysis applied to the Evening Star can be implemented with the Morning Star however, it will be the opposite direction.

HOW TO TRADE THE EVENING STAR CANDLESTICK PATTERN

The Evening Star pattern can be observed in the EUR/GBP chart below, where there is an established uptrend leading up to the formation of the reversal pattern.

Looking at the chart, once the formation has completed, traders can look to enter at the open of the very next candle. More conservative traders could delay their entry and wait to see if price action moves lower. However, the drawback of this is that the trader could enter at a much worse level, especially in fast moving markets.

Targets can be placed at previous levels of support or previous area of consolidation. Stops can be placed above the recent swing high, as a break of this level would invalidate the reversal. Since there are no guarantees in the forex market, traders should always adopt soundrisk management while maintaining a positive risk to reward ratio.

When trading the Evening Star on forex markets, the price will very rarely gap like they do with stocks and so the three-candle pattern usually opens very close to the previous closing level.

HOW RELIABLE IS THE EVENING STAR IN FOREX TRADING?

The Evening Star, like most candlestick patterns, should be assessed in line with the current trend and whether there is supporting evidence in favour of the trade, when looking at an indicator. Below are the advantages and limitations of the Evening Star pattern:

READING CANDLESTICK CHARTS – TALKING POINTS:

• Candlestick charts differ greatly from the traditional bar chart
• Traders generally prefer using candlestick charts for day-trading because they offer an enjoyable visual perception of price
• It’s important to understand the key components of a candle, and what they indicate, to apply candlestick chart analysis to a trading strategy

WHAT IS A CANDLESTICK CHART?

A candlestick chart is simply a chart composed of individual candles, which traders use to understand price action. Candlestick price action involves pinpointing where the price opened for a period, where the price closed for a period, as well as the price highs and lows for a specific period.

Price action can give traders of all financial markets clues to trend and reversals. For example, groups of candlesticks can form patterns which occur throughout forex charts that could indicate reversals or continuation of trends. Candlesticks can also form individual formations which could indicate buy or sell entries in the market.

The period that each candle depicts depends on the time-frame chosen by the trader. A popular time-frame is the daily time-frame, so the candle will depict the open, close, and high and low for the day. The different components of a candle can help you forecast where the price might go, for instance if a candle closes far below its open it may indicate further price declines.

INTERPRETING A CANDLE ON A CANDLESTICK CHART

The image below represents the design of a typical candlestick. There are three specific points (open, close, wicks) used in the creation of a price candle. The first points to consider are the candles’ open and close prices. These points identify where the price of an asset begins and concludes for a selected period and will construct the body of a candle. Each candle depicts the price movement for a certain period that you choose when you look at the chart. If you are looking at a daily chart each individual candle will display the open, close, upper and lower wick of that day.

Open price:

The open price depicts the first price traded during the formation of the new candle. If the price starts to trend upwards the candle will turn green/blue (colors vary depending on chart settings). If the price declines the candle will turn red.

High Price:

The top of the upper wick/shadow indicates the highest price traded during the period. If there is no upper wick/shadow it means that the open price or the close price was the highest price traded.

Low Price:

The lowest price traded is the either the price at the bottom of the lower wick/shadow and if there is no lower wick/shadow then the lowest price traded is the same as the close price or open price in a bullish candle.

Close Price:

The close price is the last price traded during the period of the candle formation. If the close price is below the open price the candle will turn red as a default in most charting packages. If the close price is above the open price the candle will be green/blue (also depends on the chart settings).

The Wick:

The next important element of a candlestick is the wick, which is also referred to as a ‘shadow’. These points are vital as they show the extremes in price for a specific charting period. The wicks are quickly identifiable as they are visually thinner than the body of the candlestick. This is where the strength of candlesticks becomes apparent. Candlesticks can help traders keep our eye on market momentum and away from the static of price extremes.

Direction:

The direction of the price is indicated by the color of the candlestick. If the price of the candle is closing above the opening price of the candle, then the price is moving upwards and the candle would be green (the color of the candle depends on the chart settings). If the candle is red, then the price closed below the open.

Range:

The difference between the highest and lowest price of a candle is its range. You can calculate this by taking the price at the top of the upper wick and subtracting it from the price at the bottom of the lower wick. (Range = highest point – lowest point).

Having this knowledge of a candle, and what the points indicate, means traders using a candlestick chart have a clear advantage when it comes to distinguishing trendlines, price patterns and Elliot waves.

Bar Chart vs Candlestick Chart

As you can see from the image below, candlestick charts offer a distinct advantage over bar charts. Bar charts are not as visual as candle charts and nor are the candle formations or price patterns. Also, the bars on the bar chart make it difficult to visualize which direction the price moved.

HOW TO READ A CANDLESTICK CHART

There are various ways to use and read a candlestick chart. Candlestick chart analysis depends on your preferred trading strategy and time-frame. Some strategies attempt to take advantage of candle formations while others attempt to recognize price patterns.

Interpreting single candle formations

Individual candlesticks can offer a lot of insight into current market sentiment. Candlesticks like the Hammer, shooting star, andhanging man, offer clues as to changing momentum and potentially where the market prices maytrend.

As you can see from the image below the Hammer candlestick formation sometimes indicates a reversal in trend. The hammer candle formation has a long lower wick with a small body. Its closing pricing is above its opening price. The intuition behind the hammer formation is simple, price tried to decline but buyers entered the market pushing the price up. It is a bullish signal to enter the market, tighten stop-losses or close out a short position.

Traders can take advantage of hammer formations by executing a long trade once the hammer candle has closed. Hammer candles are advantageous because traders can implement ‘tight’ stop-losses (stop-losses that risk a small amount of pips). Take-profits should be placed in such a way as to ensure a positive risk-reward ratio. So, the take-profit is larger than the stop-loss.

Recognizing price patterns in multiple candles

Candlestick charts help traders recognize price patterns that occur in the charts. By recognizing these price patterns, like the bullish engulfing pattern or triangle patterns you can take advantage of them by using them as entries into or exit signals out the market.

For example, in the image below we have the bullish engulfing price pattern. The bullish engulfing is a combination of a red candle and a blue candle that ‘engulfs’ the entire red candle. It is an indication that it could be the end of a currency pairs established weakness. A trader would take advantage of this by entering a long position after the blue candle closes. Remember, the price pattern only forms once the second candle closes.

As with the hammer formation, a trader would place a stop loss below the bullish engulfing pattern, ensuring a tight stop loss. The trader would then set a take-profit. For more forex candlestick charts check our forex candlesticks guide where we go in depth into the advantages of candlestick charts as well as the strategies that can be implemented using them.

FURTHER TIPS FOR READING CANDLESTICK CHARTS

Forex trading is all about eliminating the losing trades and achieving more winning ones.

This is largely achieved thanks to proven Forex trading strategies. Using these strategies, a trader develops for himself a set of rules that help to take advantage of Forex trading.

Quite often, traders will rely on trading strategies that haven’t been tested thoroughly, setting themselves up for a failure. The truth is, you can spend hours searching all over the internet for the right strategy – and have no luck finding one.

The only solution is to try out the leading strategies for yourself and see what actually works.

Forex trade strategies and goals

Before discussing trading setups and possible strategies, we need to first understand why one would consider trading Forex in the first place. There are two main reasons: hedging and speculation.

Hedging refers to companies protecting themselves from losses. They get their daily profits from any overseas country (that has paid revenue in a foreign currency). Then, they transfer it back to their own country, expecting fluctuation in the currency.

This practice isn’t really relevant to Forex strategies.

On the other hand, speculation refers to predicting a move that a company might make in a certain situation. If done correctly, these predictions greatly improve trading results.

Speculation is what day trading is all about. With the help of decent strategies, you can progress in the Forex trading world and ultimately develop your own trading strategy. The downside is that this is a time-consuming and difficult process.

The good news is that there are pre-made strategies available for you to try.

Although it is better to play it safe, especially if you’re new to the game, you need to change your tactics from time to time. This may allow you to see a profit margin you could have missed otherwise.

What is the best Forex trading strategy?

Here we have a few methods that will help you quickly change tactics and gain pips.

We’re going to provide you with an overview of strategies that have worked for many years, so that you can research the ones that are of interest to you. These are the Forex trading strategies that work, and they have been proven to work by many traders.

The Bladerunner Trade

This is suitable for all timeframes and currency pairings. It is, at this moment, one of the trending strategies in the market. The Bladerunner Trade is a price action strategy.

Daily Fibonacci Pivot Trade

This trade uses daily pivots only. However, it can be extended to a longer timeline. It combines Fibonacci retracements and extensions. Fibonacci trade can incorporate any number of pivots.

Bolly Band Bounce Trade

This strategy is perfect for a ranging market. If you use it in combination with confirming signals, it works really well. If you are interested in Bollinger Bands strategy, this one is definitely worth checking out.

Forex Overlapping Fibonacci Trade

These strategies are a favourite among many traders. The reliability tends to be a bit lower, but used in combination with appropriate confirming signals, they become extremely accurate.

The Pop ‘n’ Stop Trade

Trying to chase the price when it goes upside rarely works. That is, unless you know this trick. This Forex trading strategy gives you a simple tip so you know whether the price will continue to rise or decrease.

Trading the Forex Fractal

This is more of a concept rather than a strategy, but you need to know this if you want to understand what the prices are doing. This offer you a lesson in market fundamentals, which will really help you to trade more effectively.

Currency trading strategies are a game of trial and error. It may be worth trying out the strategies from list above to see if any work for you. However, we will look at two further strategies which tend to be more common than the ones previously mentioned.

What’s more, they have been consistently proven to work.

Scalping in a nutshell

Many consider scalping to be tiresome and time-consuming. Indeed, not every trader can successfully pull it off. It may really seem that scalping takes the fun out of the best Forex strategy.

On the other hand, it really does work.

If you are on the lookout for a reliable Forex strategy, this might be your safest choice. As a day trader, you will dip in and out of the market once or twice a day and always carry a position into another period. Ideally, the profit will come back.

If you’re a savvy scalper, this process is usually far more frenetic. You will trade in and out of the Forex markets several times per day. The profit margins may appear small but they’re also steady.

The more you scalp, the more you will make.

For example, if you trade EUR/USD pair and the price of either currency jumped up 20 pips, you get a slight profit for taking an action.

The result is a tiny profit, but that is a profit made in a single minute. The amount and consistency of your overall profits depend on your commitment and reflexes.

If scalpers want to truly take advantage of the news releases, they should wait for the most important ones. When you scalp, you need to remember when GDP, unemployment figures and inflation rates are about to be released.

These factors affect trading strategies, particularly in the currency trading market, where scalping can be most profitable.

Positional trading – consistent Forex trading strategy

While scalping can certainly teach you to trade the currency market, it takes a lot of time and effort. When you scalp, you have to sit in front of the computer for long periods of time.

Positional trading is an interesting way to trade Forex online. While it can take you only a few hours a week, it can provide you with quite extensive profits.

So how does positional trading work?

Positional trading is all about having your positions opened for a long period of time, so you can catch some large market moves. The rule of thumb is to avoid using high leverage and keep a close eye on the currency swaps.

Sometimes these swaps can cost you more than your actual profit.

With positional trading, you can learn not only Forex trading strategies but also the skills you need to become successful. It is a good method of achieving high profits, but it can also put your emotions to test.

Traders may feel the stress from having their funds affected by short term moves. Quite often, traders will have to fight the urge to close their trade when it’s losing points.

With positional trading, you have to dedicate your time to analysing the market and predicting potential market moves. However, there is almost no time spent on the execution of your trading strategy.

Simply start by picking up the pair you know the most about. Calculate the possible volume of your transaction, see what the swap is and how you can break even, analyse the best moment to enter the trade.

And when this moment comes, go for it.

Powerful 123 Forex Trading Strategy

The 123 Forex trading strategy is based on price action and normal Forex market structure that any trader should know.  The 1 2 3 trading strategy is used as a continuation trading setup that is designed to take advantage of the trend of the market.

The failure of the 123 trading strategy is also a trade setup but can also warn you of potential price consolidation in the market or even a trend reversal in whatever Forex pair you are watching.

Keep in mind that even though it is a continuation pattern upon confirmation, it is also a reversal pattern from the short term trend direction.

1 2 3 Trading Pattern Formation

In any trending market, there is a pattern of higher highs and higher lows.  In order for the trend to the upside to remain active, each successive impulse swing must take out the point 2 in the formation.  When price surpasses the price at #2, the trader can use that as confirmation that the 1 2 3 chart pattern is present.

This is a line chart that explains the concept of the 1 2 3 trading pattern and in this case, we are assuming an up trending market

1 2 3 Trading Strategy

Let’s walk through each number and this pattern should be familiar to any trader who’s been looking at charts for a while.

1. When an uptrend pulls back, it will put in a low and from that low, price continues to rally.
2. This acts as short term potential resistance.  Price rallies to this point and then begins to retrace back in the direction of the price at #1.  We DO NOT want to see price retrace all the way to the price at #1.  If it does, we will consider that to be the formation of a double bottom chart pattern and would trade that according to the trading plan you have set up for that price pattern.
3. This level is also considered a #1 only when the price level at #2 is broken.  This price point is the level at which the corrective move completes and the price reversal to the upside begins.

Please note that the 1 2 3 price pattern is only confirmed once the high at point #2 is taken out by price.

You can also see that the 1 2 3 trading strategy is taking advantage of the stair step nature of the market that is needed if a trend is going to continue.  It is at the confirmation of the patter that a trader can place a conservative trading position in the market

1 2 3 Chart Pattern By The Numbers

In an uptrend market situation, price will make 3 points

• Point 1 is the lowest low point, forms a support level.
• Point 2 will be the peak or the highest point, forms a level that we consider as potential resistance
• Point 3 will be the 2nd low point, a support level ( which must be higher that the point 1 which is the lowest low point ).
• The breakout of price above point 2  signals the continuation of the uptrend.

In a downtrend market, the 1 2 3 chart pattern forms when:

• Point 1 becomes the highest peak when price finds resistance and moves down.
• Point 2 becomes the lowest low point (forms support) and price moves up
• Finds another resistance at point 3.
• when price breaks the  point 2 support level,it indicates that the market is most likely to continue downward

Trading Strategy Trading Plan

Let’s take a look at a potential trading method to trade the 1 2 3 trading strategy.  We will look at a conservative method for those traders that need a little extra confirmation in their trades.

Keep in mind there is a cost involved.  The longer you wait to get involved in a trading position, the larger you will have to make your stop loss.

123 Trading Plan

Trade Setup 1

You should be familiar with the numbers and what they represent on the chart.  We can see that price rallied from point 3, found resistance at point 2 and retraced.  We now have a double bottom chart pattern and just as the 1 2 3 trading strategy needs a breach of #2 to confirm the pattern, so does the double bottom.

If you do get a double bottom after a move in price, that could signify weakness in the market.  If bulls were fully in chart during the retrace at 2, we should not see two shots at the level #3.

Price breaks above #2 and you can either enter at the breakout or, my preference, take a position at the close of the candlestick to confirm a true break.  You can also put an order to buy slightly above the candlestick that broke the #2 level.

Your stop loss should be below #2 with buffer room to allow for noise.  You can also, my preference is coming, use a 14 period Average True Range x 2.

Trade Setup 2

Price rallies from #1 and gives us a strong reversal candlestick at #2.  Once price begins to retrace, put this currency pair on your radar.  Price find support at #2 (inside the previous consolidation pattern from trade #1) and shows strength as it rallied to #2

Once price shatters the #2 price zone, enter at the close of the daily candlestick (or whatever time frame you are using) and use an ATR stop.  The average true range stop for this trade would actually be in the middle of the candlestick that printed just before the breakout candlestick.

Trade Setup 3

Each trader should understand this pattern by now so let’s focus on the range that is occurring. We have most variables need for the 1 2 3 trading strategy but price is forming a range near the level at #3.

That is NOT something we want to see for a clean 1 2 3 chart pattern.

When price is basing in this fashion, it shows that the side that was dominant, in this case bulls, have tired.  As a trader for years, I have seen the following occur:

1. Price trends nicely
2. Weakness shows up in this fashion
3. Traders will take another run to the upside, break #2 and then see this fail back inside

This formation of the consolidation is also a great trade entry into the potential of the 1 2 3 chart pattern continuing.

Front Running

We can position early in the 1 2 3 formation when we have basing occurring.  Ideally, we would like to see some form of basing near the resistance level (red line).  You can see the green dashed line and then price rockets to resistance.

That is not conducive to a sustained break of resistance.

The more favorable setup is to have either basing near the extreme or a slight pullback in price which we see with orange box.  The break out then occurs after that pullback.

Those types of breaks are more effective and see if you can understand why.  Some would think the first break would carry more weight because the drive started midway in the range.

But traders who positioned lower will also look for scalping Forex trades at the top of the range – is that not how you play a range??  Yes.  The breakout that occurs is driven by traders who went long at the bottom of the range.

Let’s see some detail in this chart

1. Price could not rally far from the low which is showing the 1 2 3 chart pattern – the stair stepping in a trend – is under attack.  Price can’t break lows so traders go into range trading mode
2. The formation of this smaller range allows traders to position with a tighter stop loss just under the small range.
3. You can see there was a drive to this level and then a very weak candlestick shows up.  This is either traders positioning short in the range or the longs taking profits.

That is the type of thinking you want to have as a trader.  Do not trade blind!

What Is Your Entry Strategy?

As discussed, you can enter at the close of the break out candlestick (signal candlestick) or entering your trading position at a break of the high.

Some traders may want to use a multiple time frame approach and enter on a lower time frame.  In my own trading and in my years as a trader, I look to simplify.  Entering at close or breaks of support levels or resistance levels (highs and lows of breakout candlesticks) is my favored entry

Taking Your Profits

Some traders would like to see specific price targets to add to their trading plan.  Other traders see the power of trailing their stop loss to take as much as the market is willing to give.

You can use structure targets such as higher resistance levels in an uptrend.

You can use legs 1-2=3-4 which suits the 1 2 3 trading strategy.

One to One Targets

I color coded each swing so you can see where I am measuring from.  I use the 3 point Fibonacci tool and set it to the 100%.  You can see the first two trades nailed the targets.  The third trade hits the .618 Fibonacci level which is quite popular when used to portion out swing points.

Summary

The 1 2 3 trading strategy is a pure price action trading method that uses a sound approach to trading.

No trading indicators are required although I do suggest the ATR for stop loss placement.

You must have a proper risk protocol as part of your trading plan.

The Another one of our free forex strategies trades a confluence between daily Pivots and Fibonacci retracement levels.

The Daily Fibonacci Pivot Strategy uses standard Fibonacci retracements in confluence with the daily pivot levels in order to get trade entries. My preferred parameters are the 38% or 50% Fibonacci levels in confluence with the daily central pivot. The examples following show entries at the 38%, 50% and 62% Fibonacci retracement levels in confluence with the daily central pivot.

As with all free forex strategies, there are many possible interpretations and variations. My particular take on this strategy is as follows:

• look for an entry on any currency pair where the average true range for the last five day period has been exceeded in the previous day’s trading session
• at the start of the current trading session draw fibs:

• look for a confluence of Fibonacci retracement levels with the daily central pivot
• If price retraces to the confluence identified, either enter at market or wait for a confirmatory candle signal to occur at the confluence before entry. Obviously, it is more risky to enter before getting the confirmatory signal, but such an approach gives a greater possible reward to risk ratio.

Let’s have a look at a few charts to see how this works.

The first chart shows a long entry at the confluence of the 38% Fibonacci retracement and the daily central pivot:

It was possible to enter either way here, either by buying at the first touch of that level, or waiting for the morning star candle formation to form. Both entries would have given a possible target at the 127% Fibonacci extension level, which was easily reached.

The suggested stop loss for these trades is behind the Fibonacci level one level away from where you take the trade. In this case it would amount to the 50% retracement level, with a few pips extra thrown in for buffering.

The next trade shows the reverse setup of the previous trade, with a sell occurring at the confluence of the 38% retracement and the daily central pivot:

This was a nice set up given the big drop that occurred in the previous trading session. That drop signified a change in sentiment which would have added weight to the decision to sell.

Another example, again, a sell after a long run down the day before:

This time the sell occurs at the 50% retracement level, although it is not in perfect confluence with the daily central pivot. Still, a nice evening star pattern occurred with both the daily central pivot and the 50% retracement level being respected prior to entry,

The last example shows a confluence of the central pivot with the 62% retracement level, plus old lows at the left of the chart:

This is an example of the fact that any pivot level can be used in confluence with the daily central pivot. In this case price retraced to once more retest the entry-level on the next day, but you should have had profit taken out of the trade by then, if not having exited at full profit.

As always with any new strategy, and in particular free forex strategies, remember to fully back test and live test in a demo account before going live with this particular play, if you decide it is a good fit for you.