I am looking for a good website for telling you what pattern of candlesticks it is. I imagine, the website would have lots of real candlestick charts. I will read one chart, decide what pattern I see in this chart, click on "answers" button, and I will see what patterns there are so I would know if I was doing it right. What I am trying to do here is to learn how to spot candlestick chart patterns. I feel like I don't know if I am seeing the right patterns or I don't see any. So, does anyone know a website that can do this or a software/program that can do this? Thanks.
Not to discourage you, but thought you might find it interesting to know that candlestick analysis is barely used in Japan any longer. Charts in Japan are still printed using candlesticks but if you go to a bookstore in Japan, it's almost impossible to find a book on candlestick analysis on the shelves. Either they found it not to be as effective as once thought or have moved on to something better. Again, this it just FYI, and wish you success in your study. I always wondered what sparked the interest in candlestick analysis in the west. Just something new?
Best to first learn the dictionary terms for many Japanese Candlestick patterns. You can go to Amazon.com and find many books that will teach you each pattern. Yet, do not try to trade them...just learn them (e.g. Candlestick Charting Explained Workbook, Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques, Beyond Candlesitcks). All of these are excellent dictionary resources. Next, you can go to various websites that offers free candlestick scanners. For example...Stockcharts @ http://stockcharts.com/def/servlet/SC.scan (scroll down to the candlestick patterns) If you're looking for stand alone independent Japanese Candlestick software...just use google. Many out there but they ain't cheap. I recommend you only learn one Japanese Candlestick pattern for many months and do not use them all by themselves as trade signals because they were not designed as such.
I've never found candle stick/chart patterns to be consistent. I think people who traded "naked" are just cherry picking a few of many signals and get lucky.
OP, Study Bigalow's work, then learn to spot when the classic formations fail, as this will trigger stops. Think outside the box that is how you get TA to work, those that could not or would not, would call TA useless.
I gave a long essay here once about what you've discussed including the history about Japanese Candlestick patterns. You asked what sparked the interest in it here in the west? In a nut shell in comparison to my prior very detail explanation, several traders (institutional, floor and fund) from the west were transferred or employed in Japan when they met Japanese traders that used the ancient analysis. The few books out there were all in Japanese but many traders used the analysis. The western traders than asked the Japanese traders to translate it for them. One of those traders was a guy name Steve Nison and he then had one of those "light bulb" moments. He decided to be the first to market this analysis in the west to see if there was an interest. There was a strong interest and then later he marketed it in other countries. Today, it has been translated in many different countries but misused by most traders as trade signals. Simply, there's a huge difference between analysis versus trade signals. In other words, analysis precedes trade signals. In other words, Japanese Candlestick Analysis was not designed to be used alone and it was designed to be used with market context. In contrast, most folks that don't understand it or it didn't work for them...they attempted use it alone without context...resulting in them ignoring the analysis for the purpose of using them as trade signals. Heck, even most software or codes do a poor identification job of them and I've never seen any software that's able to identify them with context. The most common problem is that most will try to use them as trade signals. They can be used successfully for position size management, trade management after entry and as clues to search for the market context (analysis) prior to the appearance of any trade signals. Japanese Candlestick Analysis works but you really gotta understand how to use them and most books out there are really for dictionary (illustration) purposes but traders attempt to use those books as trade signals. Unfortunately, most traders are just interest in some easy route or short cut instead of using them the way they were designed along with passing forward that bad habit.
I just start learning technical trading for stock. For the information I got, candlestick chart patterns should be just part of it. There are other parameters I need to learn. From what I have seen so far, technical analysis heavily relies on experience, right? I am going to read some technical analysis for beginners, along with Steven Bigalow's candlestick chart book, which I am reading right now. I am still looking for a good software for technical analysis for stock trading. I am not starting just yet. But I figure I better start getting experience, the sooner, the better.
If I may suggest.., a more fruitful pursuit would be to learn the behavior creating said pattern Then learn to identify / trade that behavior - as / while it occurring ================= Any pattern you learn will have already been made - that what historical data is What you won't pick up on is the myriad of times a given pattern..., in the making - has broke down..., morphed into a totally different pattern Those (any potential forming patter that breaks down / morphs into something else) are totally concealed by any / all subsequent PA There also time frames (time samples) to consider A pattern in one TF--- may appear just the opposite..., or not at all..., in another TF ===================== Behavior never changes Patterns..., are after the fact..., and very open to interpretation based on a number of factors - the biggest being...., whose interpretation you're learning / using Just a thought Sir Much success to you RN