What is the bullish kicker pattern?
The bullish kicker is a bullish candlestick pattern. Price gaps up and never looks back: a red candle is followed by a green candle opening above it.
How to spot a bullish kicker
- 1Find a red candle, ideally after a move down.
- 2The next candle opens above the red candle's open, with a gap.
- 3It stays green and never trades back down into the red candle.
How does the bullish kicker form?
A red bar, then the next bar opens above it and never trades back into it, leaving a gap that stays open.
How do you confirm a bullish kicker?
The defining feature is the gap that does not fill. Sentiment changed between sessions rather than during one, which is why the shape is so abrupt.
When does the bullish kicker fail?
It fails when the gap fills within a bar or two. The reset was mechanical, not a change of mind.
No chart pattern works every time. The examples on this page were chosen because they show the pattern clearly, and in real markets patterns fail often.
Practice on real charts
3 real examples of the bullish kicker, cut off where the pattern completed. Make your call, then see what happened.
The shaded area is a bullish kicker. Where did price go next?
Bullish Kicker: common questions
Is the bullish kicker bullish or bearish?
The bullish kicker is bullish. The gap shows that sentiment changed between sessions, not during one.
How do you spot a bullish kicker?
Find a red candle, ideally after a move down. The next candle opens above the red candle's open, with a gap. It stays green and never trades back down into the red candle.
What is the difference between the bullish kicker and the bearish kicker?
The bullish kicker: Price gaps up and never looks back: a red candle is followed by a green candle opening above it. The bearish kicker: Price gaps down and never recovers: a green candle is followed by a red candle opening below it.
How reliable is the bullish kicker?
No chart pattern works every time. It fails when the gap fills within a bar or two. The reset was mechanical, not a change of mind. That is why it helps to wait for confirmation and to practice on many real examples before relying on it.
How can I practice spotting the bullish kicker?
Use the real charts on this page: each one stops where the bullish kicker completed, so you can make a call and then see what happened. The free Chartle app mixes the bullish kicker in with 48 other patterns in short daily sessions.
Keep learning
- Chart pattern gameGuess where price goes next on real charts, all 49 patterns mixed.
- All 49 chart patternsEvery bullish and bearish pattern, with a printable cheat sheet.
- How to read candlestick chartsBodies, wicks and colors explained from the start.
- Cheat sheet PDFAll patterns on two printable pages.
