How do you spot a Doji candle?

Open and close at the same level or very close, so the body looks like a thin horizontal line. A Gravestone Doji (upper shadow only) at a high = bearish.

Is the Doji candle bullish or bearish?

An indecision / balance pattern made of a single candle. Confirmation: required. Reference success rate: 54%. You can spot it on live daily candles for any symbol in the members' technical terminal.

Neutral ◆ · Pattern 05

Doji

A Doji forms when the open and close are so close that the body is almost a horizontal line, shaped like a cross or plus sign. It shows a complete balance between buyers and sellers. Main types: standard, Long-Legged, Gravestone (upper shadow) and Dragonfly (lower shadow).

PATTERN ID

Signal Neutral ◆

Reliability ★★★☆☆

Win Rate 54%

Expected move 2–6%

Timeframe All timeframes

Confirmation Required

The short answer

What is a Doji candle?: A Doji (Doji) forms when the open and close are so close that the body is almost a horizontal line, shaped like a cross or plus sign. It shows a complete balance between buyers and sellers.
How do you spot a Doji candle?: Open and close at the same level or very close, so the body looks like a thin horizontal line. A Gravestone Doji (upper shadow only) at a high = bearish.
Is the Doji candle bullish or bearish?: An indecision / balance pattern made of a single candle. Confirmation: required. Reference success rate: 54%. You can spot it on live daily candles for any symbol in the members' technical terminal. Open the technical terminal →

Pattern illustration

Open ≈ close. Equal shadows point to complete indecision

How to identify the pattern

Step-by-step checks

Open and close at the same level or very close
The body looks like a thin horizontal line
Gravestone Doji (upper shadow only) at a high = bearish
Dragonfly Doji (lower shadow only) at a low = bullish
Context (trend, support/resistance) sets the direction of the signal

Trading psychology

The power struggle between buyers and sellers

Neither sellers nor buyers win. This complete tie suggests the current trend's momentum has exhausted itself and a turning point may be near. The longer the shadows, the fiercer the fight inside the candle and the more the indecision means.

Outlook and confirmation

Entry conditions and expected price move

Needs confirmation in the next session

At the top of an uptrend: 58% chance of a bearish reversal. At the bottom of a downtrend: 58% bullish reversal. The move is 2-6% in the direction of the confirming candle over 3-7 days. A Doji alone is not a signal, it is a warning.

Ideal setting for the pattern

Set by the trend and support/resistance

Suggested timeframe: all timeframes

Where to find it on the platform

Session summary · Today's lesson for members
After each session closes, we classify the daily candle of SPY by its shape. When it takes this shape, its name appears there along with its body and shadow ratios.
Technical terminal for members
Shows the daily-timeframe candles for any symbol on the platform's list. You identify the pattern by eye: the terminal does not name it.

How it is traded in practice

A Doji is a near-perfect tie: the close almost equals the open after a trip in both directions. Its meaning comes only from where it sits. After a long rise it says buyers' fuel is spent. After a long fall it says the same about sellers. It is never traded alone. It is a question mark waiting for the next candle to answer, and the direction of that answer is the signal.

Common mistake

Treating every Doji as an event: in quiet markets and thinly traded symbols, a Doji shows up every few sessions and means nothing. It matters only after a long trend that makes the sudden tie news. Trading against the trend on the Doji itself, before the next candle answers, is a bet on a question, not on an answer.