Reading candles
Patterns depend on where the clock cuts the bars
The same price movement makes different candles on different timeframes, so a pattern can appear or vanish depending on the bar boundary.
True by construction. No market data is needed to know it.
Follows from how candles are built.
What it is
A one-hour candle is two half-hour candles joined. Two half-hour candles that make no pattern can join into a hammer, and a pattern on one timeframe can be split into ordinary candles on another.
What it suggests
This is why a candle name describes a slice of time, not a fact about the market. It is one reason to treat patterns as descriptions and to keep the timeframe fixed when judging a setup.
How to check it
Before trusting a pattern, look at the same stretch of price one timeframe lower and see what it was made of.
Common mistakes
- Waiting for one specific pattern on one timeframe and ignoring the same move shown another way.
Related lessons
Written in our own words. Education only, not financial advice.