A pin bar is a candle with a small body and one long wick - the wick shows price tested a level and was firmly rejected. A bullish pin bar has a long lower wick rejecting lower prices; a bearish pin bar has a long upper wick rejecting higher prices. It is the signature of a level that held.
What it looks like
The long wick, or tail, is the whole message: price pushed into an area and could not stay there. The body should be small and sit at the opposite end of the bar to the wick, and the wick itself should be at least two-thirds of the total range. Pin bars are close cousins of hammers and shooting stars - the term simply covers the rejection candle in either direction.
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.
Pin Bar FAQ
What is a pin bar in trading?
A pin bar is a candlestick with a small body and one long wick that shows price was rejected from a level. The long tail marks where price tried to go and failed, and the body closes at the opposite end. It is a rejection signal, strongest when the wick pierces a support or resistance level.
How do you trade a pin bar?
Take it only at a meaningful level or with the trend. Enter on a break of the pin bar's body in the direction the wick rejected, place a stop just beyond the tip of the long wick, and target the next level. Because the stop sits at the wick tip, pin bars often give a tight, favourable risk-reward.
What is the difference between a pin bar and a hammer?
They overlap - a hammer is a specific bullish pin bar with a long lower wick at the bottom of a downtrend. Pin bar is the broader term covering rejection candles in either direction, so every hammer is a pin bar, but a bearish pin bar with an upper wick would be called a shooting star instead.