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 to spot a hanging man
- 1Confirm price has been rising into the candle.
- 2Look for a small body near the top of the range.
- 3The lower shadow should be at least twice the body; a lower close next confirms it.
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?
Hanging Man: common questions
Is the hanging man bullish or bearish?
The hanging man is bearish. It has the same shape as a hammer, but the preceding trend changes its meaning.
How do you spot a hanging man?
Confirm price has been rising into the candle. Look for a small body near the top of the range. The lower shadow should be at least twice the body; a lower close next confirms it.
What is the difference between the hanging man and the hammer?
The hanging man: The hammer's shape, but after a rally. The long lower wick shows selling appeared for the first time. The hammer: A small body at the top of the range with a long lower shadow, after a decline. Sellers pushed price down and lost it all back.
How reliable is the hanging man?
No chart pattern works every time. 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. 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 hanging man?
Use the real charts on this page: each one stops where the hanging man completed, so you can make a call and then see what happened. The free Chartle app mixes the hanging man 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.
