Candlestick patterns
Doji
No built-in bias
A candle that opens and closes at nearly the same price, leaving little or no body.
What a doji tells you
It signals balance, not direction. A doji after an extended move is worth noting; a doji in a quiet range is meaningless.
Why it forms
Buyers and sellers finish the period exactly where they started.
How traders enter it
Most traders use the break of the doji high or low as the trigger rather than entering on the candle itself.
How it fails
Reading direction into a doji is the mistake. By definition it does not have one.
That last section is the one worth rereading. A pattern is only useful because it comes with a level that proves you wrong — without one you have a shape and a hope.
People also ask
Is a doji bullish or bearish?
Neither. A doji has no directional bias built into it — it describes a change in volatility, not direction. The break decides.
How do you trade a doji?
Most traders use the break of the doji high or low as the trigger rather than entering on the candle itself.
When does a doji fail?
Reading direction into a doji is the mistake. By definition it does not have one.
Can ChartLens spot a doji for me?
Yes. Photograph or screenshot any chart and ChartLens names the pattern if it is clearly formed, with a confidence level and whether it is forming, confirmed or failed — and says nothing if it is not there.
Last updated .