Quote from cashmoney69:
"They are unimportant single candlestick lines. "
Sometimes a single candle has a lot of importance. Like a large real body or hammer 
"The reason why they are unimportant is because the prior price action is either ignored or did not support the single candlestick line that produced your analysis. "
How do you tell if the prior price action is ignored or supported?..do you mean candles that bounce off a trend line or s/r levels?... If not, please post a picture of what you're talking about.
I included 3 charts here that show how a single candle can mean a lot when it comes to forcasting future prices. The candle I'm talking about is the Doji and spinning top. On each of these charts, there was a doji candle before each gap down/ up, that appeared near the top of its trend. On SHLD alone, you have a spinning top and two doji... it's just yelling "reversal" to any trader.
Hi cashmoney69,
The single candlestick lines on
your chart that IronFist had commented about...
Those particular single lines are unimportant due to the price action they had occurred within.
Simply, on another chart with a different type of price action, they may be more important but that does not imply they are
trade signals.
Therefore, single candlestick lines
are not trade signals even though their importance is determine by the price action they are involved in.
As for my statements concerning the words
ignored or
not supported...
It's the same story.
Single candlestick lines are not trade signals because they are not a
pattern all by themselves.
The price action
prior and/or within a few intervals
after will determine if a single
line traverses into a
pattern.
On your prior chart in reference...
http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=1331958
The mentioned Hammer lines by IronFist were not part of a valid candlestick pattern signal.
As for your most recent charts...
http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=1338149
The chart at the above link in which you highlighted a Doji is actually part of a pattern because its in an
engulfing position that's
supported by the green interval prior to it.
Further, the engulfing price action occurred immediately after an expansion interval.
involving the green expansion.
In addition, the first two intervals after the doji in engulfing position confirmed that volatility had
contracted after the expansion interval.
That change in volatility sets up a pending volatility spike.
That volatility spike (not volume spike) occurred in the first red interval that's three intervals after the doji.
That red interval (volatility spike) is also engulfing the prior interval.
That's a confirmed candlestick pattern in which the doji was involved in.
Simply, the doji all by itself did not make the pattern.
Your next chart...
http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=1338151
The first highlighted box is not a candlestick pattern.
Thus, it should have been ignored for trade signal purposes.
Now, as mentioned in the
Trading Hammers (revisited) thread...
Long shadows will often hint to a pending (soon to be) pattern signal.
Do you see the dark (red) line as an expansion interval after your highlighted box?
That's a volatility spike, that tells you to keep alert for a pattern signal that may form because you now have part of the puzzle.
Guess what, the first interval after the dark (red) expansion interval is a green interval in
Harami position.
There's your trade signal to go Long.
Profit target anywhere in the range of the highlighted box because that's your s/r zone especially since the price action in that highlighted box found resistance itself in the s/r zone of 10/23/06 on your chart.
Now, lets talk about that second highlighted box.
What do you see in the most recent price action?
Another dark (red) line as an expansion interval (volatility spike).
Guess what again?
The intervals after that expansion interval develop small ranges to confirm volatility contraction.
Suddenly, that spinning top gets
engulfed by a green candlestick line.
That's another buy signal.
Just as important, it occurred within the s/r zone of a prior gree expansion interval that had volatility spike back on 10/09/06.
In fact, look at the swing points lows of all the price action that occurred within the s/r zone of that 10/09/06 green candlestick expansion interval.
Finally, your third chart...
http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=1338152
The circled highlighted doji is not part of any Japanese Candlestick formation.
In fact, I suspect the way the first dark line that gapped down after the doji...
The price drop that occurred soon afterwards was
news related.
A gap down that produce a big s/r zone.
My point, with all the above.
Don't fool yourself into thinking one single candlestick line can be a trade decision all by itself.
If you do such consistently without doing any other analysis/confirmation of the price action before or after...
I guaranteed that type of Japanese Candlestick Analysis will empty your trading account.
Simply, there was much more occurring on your price charts than those single candlestick lines and you know it.
I mean,
I read your journal here at ET and you sure do mention other things about the price action that you trade that helped formed your analysis and trade decisions.
You have indicators (ROC, Money Flow Index) on your charts, you talk about key economic reports, earnings reports, news alerts, s/r levels, trendlines et cetera.
However, you rarely if ever discuss candlestick lines or candlestick patterns in your journal while you discuss other stuff involving the price action.
Therefore, I'm going to assume you literally didn't mean nor hinted that you are profitable at making trade decisions solely based upon single candlestick lines and nothing else.
Yes, something else was YELLING reversal to you and it sure wasn't a doji nor a spinning top.
P.S. My support/resistance zones are based upon expansion intervals w/ volatility spikes (I call these WRB's), long shadows and valid prior candlestick patterns.
Mark
(a.k.a.
NihabaAshi Japanese Candlestick term