Comparison
Hammer vs Inverted Hammer
Both appear after a decline and have a bullish bias. A hammer has a long lower wick: sellers pushed price down and buyers drove it back up. An inverted hammer has a long upper wick: buyers tried to push higher but could not hold it. The hammer is usually treated as the stronger of the two because it closed near its high.
Hammer
bullish bias
A hammer is a single candle with a small body near the top of its range and a long lower wick, appearing after a decline. It shows sellers pushed price down hard during the session but buyers drove it back up.
Inverted Hammer
bullish bias
An inverted hammer has a small body near the bottom of its range and a long upper wick, appearing after a decline. It shows buyers attempted a push higher, even though they could not hold all of it.
Side by side
| Aspect | Hammer | Inverted Hammer |
|---|---|---|
| Long wick | Lower | Upper |
| Body position | Near the top of the range | Near the bottom of the range |
| What it shows | Lower prices rejected | An attempt at higher prices |
| Relative strength | Stronger | Weaker, needs clearer confirmation |
How to tell them apart on a chart
- Check which side the long wick is on.
- Both need to come after a decline to mean anything.
- Confirmation for both is a following candle that closes higher.
Hammer: confirmation and invalidation
Confirms: A following candle that closes above the hammer's high is the usual confirmation.
Invalidated: A close below the hammer's low means the rejection failed.
Inverted Hammer: confirmation and invalidation
Confirms: A next candle that opens above the inverted hammer's body and closes higher.
Invalidated: A close below the inverted hammer's low.
Frequently asked questions
Is an inverted hammer the same as a shooting star?
Same shape, opposite location. After a decline it is an inverted hammer; after an advance it is a shooting star.
Which is more reliable?
The hammer is generally seen as more reliable because the close is near the high. Neither should be used without confirmation.
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Educational content only, not financial advice. Chart patterns describe probabilities, not certainties, and every pattern can fail. See our disclaimer.