What is the hanging man pattern?
The hanging man is a bearish candlestick pattern. The hammer's shape, but after a rally. The long lower wick shows selling appeared for the first time.
How does the hanging man form?
The hammer's shape, but after an advance: a small body with a long lower shadow, following a run higher.
How do you confirm a hanging man?
The shape is identical to a hammer. Only the trend before it differs. That context is the whole signal, so read the twenty bars to its left before naming it.
When does the hanging man fail?
The long lower wick means selling appeared and was absorbed. In a strong advance that absorption is bullish, which is why this one misfires so readily.
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 hanging man, cut off where the pattern completed. Make your call, then see what happened.
The shaded area is a hanging man. Where did price go next?
