A doji is a candle with almost no body - the open and close finish at nearly the same price, leaving a cross or plus shape. It marks a moment of balance where a prior trend may be stalling, but on its own it only says pause, not turn.
What it looks like
Because the body is tiny, the wicks tell the story. A long-legged doji has long wicks both ways - violent indecision. A dragonfly doji has a long lower wick and no upper one - buyers rejected lower prices, a potential bottom. A gravestone doji is the mirror, a long upper wick rejecting higher prices, a potential top. A standard doji sits between these with small, even wicks.
Anatomy at a glance
How to trade it
A candle is a trigger, not a system. Take it only where it means something - at a level, with the trend - and give it a clear stop and target:
Where traders go wrong: taking the candle anywhere. In the middle of a range this signal is noise. Wait for it to form at support or resistance or in line with the trend, and size the trade with the position size calculator so a failed signal costs a small, fixed amount.
Prove it before you trade it
This candle is a hypothesis about what happens next, nothing more. Replay real charts, take the pattern only at meaningful levels across a large sample, and read the win rate and risk-reward it delivers on your pairs before you rely on it.
Doji FAQ
What does a doji candlestick mean?
A doji means indecision - price opened and closed at nearly the same level, so buyers and sellers finished the bar in balance. After a strong trend it can warn the move is stalling, but a doji alone is not a reversal signal. It needs a level and a confirming candle to become tradeable.
Is a doji bullish or bearish?
Neither by itself - it is neutral indecision. Context decides: a dragonfly doji at support leans bullish, a gravestone doji at resistance leans bearish, and a doji in the middle of a range means little. The candle that follows the doji usually confirms which way the balance broke.
How do you trade a doji?
Do not trade the doji alone. Wait for it to appear at a meaningful support or resistance level after a trend, then enter only when the next candle breaks the doji's high or low in the expected direction, with a stop beyond the doji's far wick. Without that confirmation it is just a pause.