What it looks like
One long wick, typically at least twice the body, that pokes out clearly beyond the highs or lows of nearby candles. The body sits at the opposite end. Bullish: long lower wick, body at the top. Bearish: long upper wick, body at the bottom.
What it means
Price tried to push past the nearby candles and was thrown back in the same candle. A bullish pin bar shows sellers stopped; a bearish one shows buyers stopped. It is a sign the move is tiring, not proof that it has turned.
Bullish and bearish versions
How to trade it
- 1
Confirm: wait for the next candle to close above the pin bar's high (bullish) or below its low (bearish).
- 2
Enter on that close.
- 3
Stop: just beyond the tip of the long wick.
- 4
Target: 2 times the stop, or the nearest swing level.
- 5
Example: a bullish pin bar on gold 4 hour sticks 10 points below the prior lows at the previous day's low. The next candle closes above its high; you buy with the stop 1 point under the wick and aim for twice that risk.
A close below the pin bar's low (bullish) or above its high (bearish).
Where it works best
At a floor or ceiling that already mattered, where the wick pokes through the level and closes back inside. Higher timeframes give cleaner pin bars.
WickSpeak finds the pin bar automatically on any chart and names it on the candles that made it. Next to the name it writes what the pattern is, how to trade it and what proves it wrong, so you never have to guess the rule. In Playbook you can use the pin bar, or any of the 146 patterns, as a condition alongside up to 12 conditions on any of 12 timeframes, then backtest it on past candles with your costs.
Common mistakes
- Calling any long wick a pin bar even when it does not stick out past nearby candles.
- Entering before the confirming close.
- Trading pin bars in the middle of a range.
Related patterns
Questions traders ask
Is a pin bar the same as a hammer?
A bullish pin bar is close to a hammer, but the pin bar's wick must stick out past the candles around it. That location detail is what makes it a pin bar.
What timeframe is best for pin bars?
Higher timeframes, such as 1 hour, 4 hour and daily, usually give cleaner pin bars because low timeframes are full of wicks.
Where does the stop go on a pin bar?
Just beyond the tip of the long wick. A close past that end cancels the pattern.
Do I need confirmation for a pin bar?
Yes. We wait for the next candle to close above the high for a bullish pin bar or below the low for a bearish one.