Pin bar (hammer and shooting star)

What it is

A pin bar has a small body at one end and a long wick at the other, usually at least twice the body's length. A hammer (bullish) has the long wick below, showing sellers pushed down and buyers drove price back up. A shooting star (bearish) has the long wick above.

How to spot it

• Long wick, small body, little or no wick on the other side.
• Strongest when the wick pokes through a level or sweeps a low or high and closes back inside.

How to use it

• Enter as price moves past the body end of the pin bar, or on a pullback into its wick.
• Stop beyond the tip of the wick.

Common mistakes

• Calling any long-wicked candle a pin bar, even mid-range.
• Placing the stop inside the wick, where price has already shown it can go.

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