The closing EOD price is very significant. It reflects a trading day's digestion of the information believed to shed value on the security being traded. It also represents a final vote on what the security's value should be, because after the close, it's essentially wait until tomorrow's open. But "closing" prices on intraday charts carry no special significance. They are no more important than any other tick. This is because intraday closes depend on the interval chosen and the whim of when orders were placed and filled. The trades occuring at the three minute, two minute, five minute, thirty mintue ending intervals carry no extra value. Now they do help to point out the trend within a bar, etc. (I am no candlestick expert) but, IMHO, closing prices on intraday charts just don't have the same importance as EOD closes.
I've said it here on ET before in other threads, and I feel compelled to say it again... Do not try to interpret MULTIPLE CANDLE FORMATIONS on short timeframes. It's OK to use candles on 1,2,3,5 minute charts because it's easier to see the open/close from a visual perspective. But I know for a fact through personal experience (confirmed this personally w/ Nison) that what works on a daily timeframe is not relevant to one minute candles with respect to two, three, four and five candle formations. Please don't do it.
My experience seems to be very different. My methodology specifically refrences candle closes on 2 and 5 minute charts. My entry signals are off of patterns from these same time frames. This method is consistant and highly rewarding. I didn't invent it. A floor trader with some great success revealed this to me. A consistant error in judgement occurs when one makes the assumption that just because the idea doesn't work in one circumstance it won't work in any other. If you find something that "doesn't work", don't just drop the idea cold. Analyzing why it didn't work will reap far greater rewards.
I don't go out "looking" for specific candle patterns and then placing a trade because I see something. With day trading, everyone's computer clock is going to be a few minutes off here and there.. thus skewing their charts. Likewise, not everyone is going to be using the same time frame charts. Not everyone will see the same candle pattern and therefore will not react with much reliability. The best thing is to watch for rejection/reversal bars .. especially with relatively long tails. This shows that price was pushed initially to a new area, but could not sustain a close at the new level. Used with significant support and resistance levels, you can then read the pulse of the market to determine where trade is trying to facilitate.
Go with prox and bundlemaker on this one. If anything is fundamentally correct; it owrks on all fractals (time bar durations).