Inside Bar

An inside bar forms when a candle stays inside the high and low of the prior candle. It shows compression, not direction by itself.

At A Glance

• Name: Inside Bar
• Category: Indecision And Neutral Candles
• Type: Compression / Indecision
• Number of candles: 2 candles
• Typical context: After a larger candle, inside consolidation, or before expansion.

How To Identify It

• Body: The second candle is usually smaller than the first.
• Wicks: The second candle's full high-low range sits inside the prior candle range.
• Relationship: The first candle is the mother candle. The second candle is contained inside it.

Find the mother candle first. The next candle should have a high below the mother candle high and a low above the mother candle low, sitting fully inside that range.

Context

Inside bars are most useful to study as compression after movement or before a range expands.

Inside bars matter when price is tightening after a move, near a level, or before expansion. The mother candle range is the reference; the inside candle is the pause.

What It Shows

An inside bar shows price getting smaller inside the prior candle range. Buyers and sellers are compressing, and the break of the mother candle range matters more than the inside bar alone.

What To Watch Next

Watch whether price breaks above or below the mother candle range and actually holds outside it. A quick break that snaps back inside the range is not clean expansion.

The read weakens if price stays stuck inside the mother candle range. Until price holds outside it, the behavior is still compression.

Common Confusion

An inside bar is not a single candle pattern. It needs the prior candle for comparison.

Key Takeaway

An inside bar shows compression inside the mother candle range. The important read comes from whether price can leave that range and hold outside it.

Related Lessons

• High-Wave Candle
• Full Body Candle
• Indecision And Neutral Candles
• Candlestick Basics