Candlestick patterns for gold, from the anatomy of one candle to a complete execution system
A candlestick is the smallest complete record a chart gives you: where a session opened, how far buyers and sellers pushed, and where it finished. Candlestick patterns are named shapes made of one, two or three of those records. This course teaches them in order, on gold, with every pattern drawn as a candle sequence and every rule stated exactly, body and wick, so you can test a pattern rather than guess at it. It also insists on the thing most pattern lists leave out: a pattern is a context-dependent clue, not a signal by itself. The whole course is published, so you can read straight through or jump to the module you need.
What this course is
A structured path from the four prices inside one candle to a rules-based way of trading candlestick patterns on XAUUSD. It is not a glossary of shapes. Each module builds on the one before, every pattern is drawn on a chart with its measurements, and the course ends with a single checklist you can run on any candle. The emphasis throughout is on the two things that separate candlestick reading from pattern spotting: knowing what a candle actually records about the session, and knowing where on the chart a pattern is allowed to mean something. A hammer at support after a decline is a trade idea. The same hammer in the middle of a range is a drawing. The course spends as much effort on that distinction as on the patterns themselves, because it is where most of the losses in candlestick trading come from.
How it is organised
Four stages. Foundations teaches the candle itself: the anatomy of open, high, low, close, body, wicks and range; what a candle really records about who won the session, where the close sits and how big the body is, including the marubozu and spinning top extremes; and the context rule, that no pattern means anything without a location, a trend state and a session behind it. Single and double candle patterns covers the doji family, the hammer and hanging man, the shooting star and inverted hammer, engulfing patterns, the harami and inside bar, the piercing line and dark cloud cover, and tweezers, each with exact body and wick rules. Multi-candle patterns covers the morning and evening star, three white soldiers and three black crows, and the continuation patterns, the rising and falling three methods and the three line strike. The Execution system makes it tradeable: patterns at levels with volume and multiple timeframes, failed patterns and traps, and the final system with entry, stop, targets, checklist and journal.
The full curriculum
Sixteen modules, each a drawn lesson on gold. The whole course is live, so every module is linked.
The course runs in four stages. Start at Module 1 even if you already know the pattern names, because the foundations stage teaches how to read a candle before any pattern is named, and the patterns only become useful once that reading is automatic. The whole course is published, so every module below is a live link.
Foundations
- 01. Anatomy of a Candle
Open, high, low, close, body, wicks and range: the parts of a candle and what each one measures. - 02. What a Candle Really Records
Who won the session, where the close sits in the range, body percentage, marubozu and spinning tops. - 03. Context Before Pattern
A pattern in the middle of nowhere means nothing. Location, trend state, session and volume come first.
Single and Double Candle Patterns
- 04. The Doji Family
Standard, dragonfly, gravestone and long-legged doji: what each records and when it matters. - 05. Hammer and Hanging Man
One shape, two names: the long lower wick after a decline and the same candle after an advance. - 06. Shooting Star and Inverted Hammer
The long upper wick at the top of a rise and the same candle at the bottom of a fall. - 07. Engulfing Patterns
Bullish and bearish engulfing with exact body rules, the strongest two-candle reversal. - 08. Harami and Inside Bars
The small candle inside the big one: compression, the harami cross and the inside bar breakout. - 09. Piercing Line and Dark Cloud Cover
Two-candle reversals judged by the midpoint rule, and how gaps really behave on gold. - 10. Tweezer Tops and Bottoms
Matching highs or lows across two candles: a level tested twice and defended.
Multi-Candle Patterns
- 11. Morning Star and Evening Star
The three-candle reversal: a big candle, a small star, and a big candle the other way. - 12. Three White Soldiers and Three Black Crows
Three sustained candles in one direction, the advance block warning, and why chasing them fails. - 13. Continuation Patterns
Rising and falling three methods and the three line strike: pauses that resolve with the trend.
Execution System
- 14. Patterns at Levels, Volume and Timeframes
Where a pattern earns the name setup: levels, volume, what an M15 pattern looks like on H1, and sizing against ATR. - 15. Failed Patterns and Traps
Why patterns fail, how obvious stops get run, and how to read a failure as information. - 16. The Final Candlestick Execution System
Entry, stop beyond the pattern extreme, targets from structure, the checklist and the journal.
How to use it with the live chart
Read a module, then open the free live XAUUSD chart and find one real example of what you just read. One, not ten. Measure it: the body as a share of the range, the wick against the body, the size of the whole candle against the recent average. Then ask where it formed, at a level or in the middle of nothing, and what the next candle did. The levels and zones drawn on the chart are the same locations this course teaches you to demand before trusting a pattern, so you can check your reading against them while you learn. The companion price action course covers structure, swings and levels in depth, the VSA course covers the volume behind each candle, and the SMC and Wyckoff courses cover the bigger picture a candle sits inside.
FAQ
Is this course free?
Yes. Every module is a free article on this site. Read them in order and practise on the live chart by measuring real candles and noting where they formed and what followed.
Do I need any paid tools or indicators?
No. Candlestick patterns are read from the candles themselves. A chart that shows open, high, low and close, a volume histogram and a few drawn levels is enough. An average true range reading helps you size patterns against normal movement, and most charts include it for free.
Which candlestick patterns are covered?
The doji family (standard, dragonfly, gravestone, long-legged), hammer and hanging man, shooting star and inverted hammer, marubozu and spinning tops, bullish and bearish engulfing, harami and harami cross, inside bars, piercing line and dark cloud cover, tweezer tops and bottoms, morning and evening star, three white soldiers and three black crows, rising and falling three methods, and the three line strike. Each has a module or a dedicated section with exact rules and drawn examples.
Which timeframe is this for?
All of them, because a candle records the same contest whether it covers five minutes or a day. Most examples use M15, H1 and H4 because those are the timeframes where gold patterns are cleanest and most traded. Module 14 shows how a pattern on one timeframe looks on the next one up, which is the skill that stops you trading noise.
Do candlestick patterns work on gold?
They describe behaviour, and gold shows that behaviour clearly because it is liquid, session-driven and prone to sharp rejections at levels. But no pattern works by itself. A candlestick pattern is a clue about who won a session; it becomes a trade only with a location, a trend state and a defined risk. This course never quotes a success rate for a pattern, because any honest number depends entirely on the context it is read in, which is exactly what the course teaches you to judge.