On the other hand, any timeframe longer than this may be too spread out for the Inside Bar pattern to provide ideal market continuation or reversal signals. When the inside bar setup is spotted, determine how the MACD line is positioned relative to its signal line. In the silver example agove, the MACD line (blue) is below the MACD signal (orange). This creates red bars on the histogram and suggests the daily trend is considered down. If an inside bar setup develops outside of those hours, then do not take the trade as the market is less likely to trend far enough to yield a positive risk to reward ratio.

How to Trade Inside Bars

In the example below, we examine trading an inside bar pattern against the dominant daily chart trend. Here, the price retraced to test a key support level, forming a pin bar reversal at that support, followed by an inside bar reversal. Observe the strong upward movement that followed this inside bar setup. In the example below, we are looking at trading an inside bar pattern against the dominant daily chart trend. In this case, price had come back down to test a key support level , formed a pin bar reversal at that support, followed by an inside bar reversal.

1. Jumping between different technical indicators can lead to poorer trading decisions.
2. If an inside bar setup develops outside of those hours, then do not take the trade as the market is less likely to trend far enough to yield a positive risk to reward ratio.
3. A stop-loss order is typically placed below the low of the pattern in a long trade and above the high of the pattern in a short trade.
4. Inside bars usually have higher lows and lower highs than the previous candles.

For example, both the entry and stop-loss points can be based on the opposite direction of the range of the mother bar or the inside bar candle. This clarity contrasts with other candlestick patterns, where determining entry and stop-loss points can be more tricky. As traders, you may have noticed that the two candles in the inside bar pattern often serve as short-term resistance levels. Therefore, breaking these price levels is crucial for the success of a potential long trade in the market. Inside candles show that there’s indecision in the market, we don’t want to see indecision at places where the market could reverse, we want to see confirmation.

More Trading Tips on the Inside Bar Pattern

It does not imply an obligation to purchase investment services, nor does it guarantee or predict future performance. Our platform may not offer all the products or services mentioned. It signals an expansion of volatility rather than consolidation and can indicate strong buying or selling pressure.

How reliable is the inside bar pattern in trading?

Market Context – The inside bar is a neutral pattern that can occur in any market trend (uptrend, downtrend, or even sideways). It must then be followed by a third candle that serves as a confirmation candle to indicate the likely direction moving forward. In contrast, the harami is exclusively a reversal pattern that must occur in either an uptrend (bearish harami) or a downtrend (bullish harami). The moving average is one of the most straightforward tools for determining the direction of the trend. If the inside bar setup takes place above the moving average, then we’ll anticipate a bullish breakout as the market has been in a bullish trend.

1. As a general rule, any time frame less than the daily should be avoided with this strategy.
2. However, the second entry appears more well-supported due to the additional information from the footprint chart.
3. For more details on the indicator and its settings, check the Knowledge Base.
4. The average profit per trade is $27.67 when trading 1 Bitcoin, excluding other factors.
5. This article represents the opinion of the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand only.

Is an inside bar bullish or bearish?

When volatility is low, inside bars might form without leading to significant price movement, making trading harder. Bright green clusters (1) show bullish activity as the price moves up towards the 53,200 resistance level. On the left side of the 4-hour BTC/USD chart, you can see five inside bars marked with arrows. These bars are completely contained within the high and low of the previous bar. Below are two examples of inside bar patterns that formed in different market conditions.

Trading Inside Bars can be highly profitable if executed with a proper entry and exit strategy. A common question is understanding the differences between Inside Bar and Engulfing Bar patterns, as inside bar trading both involve two candles. Bullish Inside Bars are most effective when they appear after a retracement or consolidation within a strong uptrend. An Inside Bar is a bar which has a high and low range within the previous bar’s range. An Inside Bar Pattern is two consecutive candles with the second candle’s high and low range within the first candle’s high and low range. Modern volume analysis tools enhance the effectiveness of this approach, as we have illustrated in previous examples.

Notice how the bullish inside bar in the above illustration formed at the top of the mother bar’s range. This is what you want to see in a favorable setup, especially if you are using the more aggressive stop loss placement, which means placing your stop loss below the inside bar rather than the mother bar. If using the more aggressive stop loss strategy, this means selecting inside bars that form near the upper or lower range of the mother bar. This allows you to achieve a much more favorable risk to reward ratio. An inside bar that forms on the higher time frame has more “weight” simply because the pattern took more time to form. This means more traders were actively involved in its formation, which as a result equals higher capital flows.

First, in a trending market environment, one strategy that complements an inside bar trading strategy well is the use of one of the most well-known technical indicators—the moving average (MA). Specifically, we are using the 20-period simple moving average (SMA) to act as dynamic resistance and a trailing stop, supporting the static structural pivot points. My goal with this article was to show you how trading inside bars can not only be very simple, but also very profitable if you know what you’re doing. I think in the grand scheme of things you should learn how to trade inside bars after you have mastered how to trade pin bars and engulfing candles.

In trading, an inside bar is a pattern where a candle is fully contained within the range of the previous candle (bar). The high is lower than the previous bar’s high, and the low is higher than the previous bar’s low. The only thing that matters is whether the mother bar is bullish or bearish.

When you have an abundance of buyers and sellers, like in the forex market, the signals from candlestick patterns can be strong. In the example above, a nice inside bar setup appears in the SP500 daily chart. Since the current price was above the 200 period simple moving average, then we would anticipate a bullish breakout. A couple of candles later and the price did break above the high of the inside bar pattern. When trading on a smaller intraday price chart, like the 15-minute chart, traders need to be aware of the typical market conditions.

Volatility is cyclical—a contraction will eventually be followed by an expansion in price, i.e., at some point, the price will break out of an Inside Bar Pattern. Price action analysis will be the key to determining whether the price will break out in the direction of the previous momentum or be a reversal. In other words, relying solely on a mechanical inside-bar strategy is unlikely to be profitable.

Also, making sure your trades are executed quickly can be the difference between success and missing out. Traders should always be alert to market changes and adjust their strategies to get the best timing for their trades. If you need more clarity on the market trend, you can place the 20 EMA indicator as a trend guide just as we did on the Meta chart up there. The accuracy of the Inside Bar pattern is influenced by the size of the Inside Bar relative to the Mother Bar.