Hold on, hold on — how many times have you heard about Japanese candlesticks and thought, "Okay, what are the types of candles I really need to know?" Honestly, most traders start with this, and then forget half of them. I decided to organize all of this because when you begin technical analysis, these candlestick types make a huge difference.

Let's start with Marubozu — probably the most interesting formation. It's a candle that opens at support or resistance and closes at the other end of the range, practically without a shadow. In Japanese, it literally means "bald head." Marubozu candles are powerful because they show a pure move — either buyers or sellers completely dominate. A blue Marubozu in an uptrend? Usually a continuation. But if it appears in a downtrend, it could be a reversal signal. A red Marubozu works the opposite — in a downtrend, it's a continuation; in an uptrend, it could indicate a bearish reversal.

Next, we have Doji — a candle where the closing and opening prices are practically the same. It's a sign of indecision, psychologically significant. When you see a Doji, you know the market is contemplating.

But the real game-changer is the Master Candle. A large candle, usually from 30 to 150 points, that contains several smaller candles within its range. This is a breakout pattern — when the price breaks through the fifth, sixth, or seventh candle after the Master Candle, it's a signal. The types of candles that appear in this context become crucial for planning entries.

Importantly — before you start trading any of these candle types, wait for the last candle to close. That's fundamental. Many times I thought I saw a formation, only for the candle to reverse at the last second. Patience is key.

The second thing is confirmation. Don’t take signals from candles in isolation. Look at support and resistance — if a Marubozu appears exactly at a psychological level, it’s a stronger signal. Pivot points are also useful, especially for day traders.

If you want to practically apply candlestick types in your strategy, I recommend something simple. Set three EMAs — 30, 60, and 100 — on a 4-hour chart. When the blue EMA is below the red and green, the trend is bearish. When the blue is above, the trend is bullish. Now, wait for the price to retrace to one of these indicators. When a bullish or bearish candle appears, depending on the trend, that’s your entry signal. Stop loss? 10 pips above the entry candle. Target? Use Pivot Points.

Most importantly — candlestick types alone are not enough. They are signals, but they need confirmation. Combine them with something else — Bollinger Bands, support/resistance levels, EMAs. Always test first on a demo account. I still do this because the market changes, and you need to stay flexible.

Trading with candles can be really profitable if you know what to look for and have discipline. Traders who learn to read candlestick formations get information faster than others. It’s an art — knowing who is in control between buyers and sellers at any given moment. Practice on a demo, then move to a live account — that’s the only way.