Bullish kicker pattern is a two candlestick reversal signal showing a sharp shift from bearish to bullish momentum after a sustained downtrend
What Is the Bullish Kicker Candlestick Pattern?
The bullish kicker pattern is a two-candlestick reversal setup that shows a hard flip from bearish control to aggressive buying. You usually see it after a clean downtrend, and when it prints “correctly,” it’s one of the more decisive reversal tells on a candlestick chart.
Bullish Kicker Pattern: Key Characteristics
What makes a bullish kicker easy to spot is how clean the handoff is:
Two-candle structure with no overlap between candles
First candle is a bearish marubozu or a strong red candle that keeps the downtrend pressure on
Second candle is a bullish marubozu that opens way higher
Gap up sits between the first candle’s close and the second candle’s open
Marubozu bodies are long with tiny/no wicks, which usually means one side stayed in control all session
It reads like a full sentiment reset, not a “maybe” reversal
The gap is often catalyst-driven earnings, guidance, macro headlines, a risk-on squeeze, anything that forces the price to reprice higher before sellers can reload.
How Do You Trade the Bullish Kicker Pattern?
Spotting the pattern is the easy part. Making money with it comes down to entries, stops, and sizing.
If you don’t control risk, a “perfect” kicker can still turn into a fast loss when the gap fills.
Best Bullish Kicker Entry Strategies
Most traders end up using one of these entry styles:
Conservative Entry: Buy only if the next candle closes above the kicker high. Fewer trades, fewer fakes.
Moderate Entry: Enter on the open of the candle after the kicker. You’re in early, but you still avoid chasing mid-candle.
Aggressive Entry: Enter on the close of the bullish kicker candle. Best price if it runs, highest whipsaw risk.
Pick the approach that matches your timeframe and your tolerance for getting stopped.
Where Should You Place a Stop Loss on a Bullish Kicker?
Stops make or break this setup.
The classic stop goes just below the low of the first (bearish) candle. If price breaks that low, the “instant reversal” idea is basically invalid.
On tighter timeframes, some traders use the low of the second candle for a closer stop, but you’ll pay for that with more stop-outs.
Either way, size the position off the entry-to-stop distance.
If you can’t size it correctly, you can’t take the trade clean.
How Do You Set Profit Targets for a Bullish Kicker?
First target is usually the most obvious: the nearest prior resistance or supply zone.
After that, Fibonacci levels and prior swing highs are practical checkpoints.
A common approach is scaling: take partials into the first resistance, then trail the rest under higher lows or a moving average.
Keep the math honest, minimum 1:2 is a good baseline, and 1:3 is where the trade starts paying for the losers.
Some traders also use measured moves (project the gap height upward) as an aggressive target, as covered in kicker pattern analysis.
What Indicators Work Best with Bullish Kickers?
It pairs well with trend filters like the 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
RSI helps you avoid buying straight into overbought, and clean support/resistance mapping keeps targets and stops grounded in real structure.
The more your tools point the same way, the less you’re relying on the candles alone.
How Do You Spot and Confirm a Bullish Kicker Pattern?
You’re looking for two consecutive candles where the second one gaps up and completely clears the first candle’s range.
First candle closes down, second candle opens above the prior high and closes strong, leaving a clear “air pocket” between them.
Timeframe changes the quality. Daily charts are typically the cleanest for swing trades because the gap is meaningful and participation is broad.
On the 1H or 15m, you’ll get more signals, but also more noise, especially around low-liquidity windows and headline spikes.
How Important Is Volume Confirmation?
Volume on the second candle is a big deal. If the bullish candle rips on strong volume, it’s harder to fade because it usually reflects real demand and positioning, not just a thin book.
If the kicker prints on weak volume, treat it like a warning label; those are the ones that love to fill the gap and roll over.
What Is the Safest Entry for a Bullish Kicker?
If you want to trade it cleaner, wait for a third candle to close above the kicker high.
That extra bar filters a lot of traps, especially in messy markets.
If you’re trading it aggressively, you can take it on the close of the second candle or early next session, but then your stop has to be tight, and you need to accept you’ll get tagged more often.
What Extra Confirmation Signals Improve Accuracy?
Pattern prints into a well-defined support zone (prior swing low, demand shelf, weekly level)
RSI is oversold (sub-30) and starts turning up
Price reclaims a key moving average (or you get an MA crossover that supports the reversal)
Other tools agree with the long idea instead of fighting it
Broader tape and macro tone aren’t screaming risk-off
Why Does Confluence Matter for Bullish Kickers?
The bullish kicker is often called “one of the most reliable” reversal patterns, but the real edge comes from stacking it with context.
A kicker into support with volume, plus a reclaim of a key level, is a very different trade than a random gap in the middle of a range.
How Does a Bullish Kicker Pattern Work?
How Does a Bullish Kicker Pattern Form?
A bullish kicker is basically a “sell pressure, then instant repricing” sequence:
Downtrend Establishment - You want a real downtrend first. Otherwise, it’s just random chop with a gap.
Bearish Candle Formation - The first candle prints heavy red, often marubozu-like, showing sellers still pressing.
Overnight Gap Occurrence - Next session opens sharply higher, usually off news, earnings, or a sentiment shift.
No Overlap Zone - The second candle opens above the first candle’s high, so there’s zero overlap.
Bullish Marubozu Formation - Buyers keep control into the close, often leaving minimal upper wick.
Sentiment Rejection - The market effectively says “those lower prices are done.”
Why Is the Bullish Kicker Pattern So Strong?
The gap matters because it shows sellers aren’t willing (or able) to sell at the old prices. If the market opens above the prior day’s range and never looks back, it’s telling you supply got pulled, and bids are chasing.
That’s why kicker days often line up with catalysts. You get a repricing event, shorts scramble, and institutions step in higher because waiting for a pullback means missing the move.
Marubozu candles amplify the signal because they show control from open to close.
Little to no wick is basically “no meaningful pushback.”
Put that together with the gap, and you’ve got a strong narrative: sellers lose control fast, buyers take the wheel, and price starts searching for the next liquidity pocket.
This is also where volume confirmation becomes the difference between a real reversal and a one-day wonder.
How Reliable Is the Bullish Kicker Pattern?
The bullish kicker can be very reliable, especially when it fires off major support.
Still, it’s not magic. It tends to work best in trending environments where reversals actually run. In ranges, it can just become a gap that gets faded.
Daily/weekly kickers are generally more dependable than intraday versions.
Volume on the second candle is a big differentiator, and the pattern is relatively rare when it shows up with the right context; it usually means something.
How Do You Avoid Bullish Kicker False Signals?
The common failure modes are pretty consistent.
Gap-ups in thin liquidity (pre-market, after-hours spillover, holiday sessions) can snap back fast.
A “kicker” that appears without a real downtrend behind it is usually just noise.
And if the second candle doesn’t have volume, you’re often looking at a trap or a short-cover pop that fades.
Also, watch the broader markets trends;
A textbook kicker in a single name can still fail if the index is dumping and risk is getting sold across the board.
How Can You Improve Bullish Kicker Reliability?
Demand volume, and respect context.
If you can get a confirmation close above the kicker high, even better.
Check higher timeframes so you’re not buying into a major weekly resistance wall.
Make sure there’s an actual downtrend to reverse.
Then trade it with strict risk rules.
That’s how the kicker goes from “nice-looking candles” to a setup you can execute repeatedly, especially when you’re trading the kicker pattern effectively inside a full market read.
Bullish Kicker Pattern: Key Takeaways
The bullish kicker is a strong reversal signal because it shows an immediate repricing: gap up, buyers in control, sellers sidelined.
When the second candle comes with real volume, it’s often the start of a momentum leg, not just a bounce.
Still, the pattern isn’t the strategy.
Execution is.
Wait for the right context, take entries you can actually manage, and keep stops where the idea is invalid.
How Do You Turn Bullish Kicker Setups Into Repeatable, Trackable Execution?
The bullish kicker can look “obvious” in hindsight, but the real work is proving whether your entry style (conservative, moderate, or aggressive), stop placement, and target framework actually hold up across different market conditions. The fastest way to tighten decision-making is to log each kicker trade with the context the article emphasized: trend quality, gap catalyst, volume on the second candle, nearby support/resistance, and whether you waited for confirmation above the kicker high. Over time, reviewing those notes alongside PnL, R-multiples, and drawdown metrics helps you spot where false signals tend to appear (thin liquidity, weak volume, broad risk-off tape) and which filters improve reliability. Using a structured trade journal and analytics dashboard such as Rizetrade trading journal tracker and performance analytics makes it easier to monitor these patterns consistently and turn a good-looking setup into a process you can evaluate and refine.