Tweezer Tops and Bottoms

A tweezer top forms when two or more consecutive candles make the same, or almost the same, high after a rise. A tweezer bottom forms when consecutive candles make matching lows after a decline. The matching extremes show that price tested a level twice and was rejected both times, like the two arms of a pair of tweezers meeting at one point. They are short term reversal signals, best used at key levels with confirmation.

The rules#

"Very close" depends on the market and timeframe; within a tick or two on liquid futures, or within a small fraction of the average range on stocks.

What the pattern shows#

In a tweezer top, buyers push to a high on the first candle. On the second candle, they try again and fail at exactly the same price, and sellers take over. The repeated failure at one level suggests strong supply there. Tweezer bottoms show the reverse: sellers twice fail to push below a level where demand is strong.

Strength factors#

• Location: at well established support or resistance, or a previous high or low. See Previous Highs and Lows.
• Colour change: the second candle closing strongly in the reversal direction, ideally engulfing or piercing the first. See Engulfing Patterns.
• Long wicks at the matching extreme, showing sharp rejection.
• Higher timeframes: daily and weekly tweezers matter more than 1 minute ones.

Relationship to double tops and bottoms#

A tweezer is essentially a double top or bottom compressed into two adjacent candles. Larger double tops and bottoms form over many candles and are generally more significant. See Double Top and Double Bottom.

Trading the pattern#

1. Look for matching extremes at a key level after a clear move.
2. Prefer a strong second candle closing in the reversal direction.
3. Entry: at the close of the second candle or on a break of the pattern's opposite extreme.
4. Stop: just beyond the matching level. A break beyond it invalidates the pattern.
5. Target: the next opposing level.

The tight, logical stop is the pattern's main appeal: if price trades meaningfully beyond the double rejected level, you are clearly wrong.

Common mistakes#

• Calling any two similar highs a tweezer without a prior trend or key level.
• Ignoring that equal highs and lows attract stop orders, which can lead to a sweep beyond them before the reversal. See Liquidity Sweeps and Stop Hunts.
• Using very low timeframes where matching prices happen by chance.

Frequently asked questions#

What is a tweezer top?#

A pattern after a rise where consecutive candles make the same high, showing that buyers failed twice at one level.

Are tweezer patterns reliable?#

They are moderate signals that improve at key levels, on higher timeframes and when the second candle closes strongly in the reversal direction.

Do the highs have to be exactly equal?#

Not exactly; very close is enough, relative to the market's typical tick and range.

Next, learn the classic indecision candle: the Spinning Top.