Hikkake

Three-bar trap. An inside bar sets up a breakout that immediately fails on the next bar, trapping breakout traders and pointing the opposite way.

Quick reference

Field	Value
Family	Candlestick Patterns
Input type	Candle
Output type	f64 — +1.0 bullish setup, -1.0 bearish setup, 0.0 otherwise
Output range	{-1.0, 0.0, +1.0}
Default parameters	none — Hikkake::new()
Warmup period	3 (first two bars always 0.0)
Interpretation	Failed-breakout trap; fade the false break

Formula

inside bar:  bar2.high < bar1.high  &&  bar2.low > bar1.low
bullish (+1.0): bar3 makes a LOWER high AND LOWER low than bar2
                (a false downside break -> expect a move up)
bearish (-1.0): bar3 makes a HIGHER high AND HIGHER low than bar2
                (a false upside break -> expect a move down)

The detector fires when the three-bar setup completes on bar3; it does not separately flag the optional later confirmation bar. A range-based pattern (uses highs/lows, not bodies). See crates/wickra-core/src/indicators/hikkake.rs.

Parameters

None. Constructed with Hikkake::new().

Signed ±1 encoding

Emits the uniform candlestick sign convention — +1.0 bullish setup, −1.0 bearish setup, 0.0 no pattern — a single feature-matrix dimension.

Inputs / Outputs

use wickra::{Indicator, Hikkake, Candle};
// Hikkake: Input = Candle, Output = f64
const _: fn(&mut Hikkake, Candle) -> Option<f64> = <Hikkake as Indicator>::update;

• Always emits a value. Never None; warmup and no-match bars return 0.0.
• Node. update(open, high, low, close) → number; batch(open, high, low, close) → Array<number>.
• Python. update(candle) → float; batch(open, high, low, close) → 1-D numpy.ndarray (0.0 on warmup / no-match).

Warmup

warmup_period() == 3. The first two bars return 0.0 (first_two_bars_return_zero, accessors_and_metadata).

Edge cases

• Bar 2 must be an inside bar. If bar2 is not contained by bar1 the result is 0.0 (not_inside_bar_yields_zero).
• Bar 3 must break one way cleanly. A bar3 that engulfs bar2 (both higher high and lower low, an outside bar) yields 0.0 (outside_bar3_yields_zero).
• Reset. reset() clears the two-bar cache (reset_clears_state).

Examples

Rust

use wickra::{Candle, Indicator, Hikkake};

fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    let mut t = Hikkake::new();
    println!("{:?}", t.update(Candle::new(10.0, 15.0, 5.0, 12.0, 1.0, 0)?)); // wide bar
    println!("{:?}", t.update(Candle::new(11.0, 13.0, 8.0, 12.0, 1.0, 1)?)); // inside bar
    println!("{:?}", t.update(Candle::new(9.0, 12.0, 6.0, 7.0, 1.0, 2)?));   // lower high & low
    Ok(())
}

Output:

Some(0.0)
Some(0.0)
Some(1.0)

Bar3's high 12 < 13 and low 6 < 8 — a false downside break of the inside bar, so the bullish hikkake fires. This matches bullish_hikkake_is_plus_one.

Python

import numpy as np
import wickra as ta

o = np.array([10.0, 11.0, 9.0])
h = np.array([15.0, 13.0, 12.0])
l = np.array([5.0,  8.0,  6.0])
c = np.array([12.0, 12.0, 7.0])

print(ta.Hikkake().batch(o, h, l, c))  # [0. 0. 1.]

Node

const ta = require('wickra');
const t = new ta.Hikkake();
t.update(10, 15, 5, 12);
t.update(11, 13, 8, 12);
console.log(t.update(9, 12, 6, 7)); // 1

Streaming

use wickra::{Candle, Indicator, Hikkake};

let mut t = Hikkake::new();
let candle_stream: Vec<wickra::Candle> = Vec::new(); // your live OHLCV candle feed
for bar in candle_stream {
    match t.update(bar) {
        Some(1.0)  => { /* false downside break — lean long */ }
        Some(-1.0) => { /* false upside break — lean short */ }
        _ => {}
    }
}

Interpretation

1. Trap the breakout crowd. A failed break of the inside bar's range traps traders who chased it; the hikkake points the other way.
2. Optional confirmation. Classic hikkake waits for a later close beyond the inside bar; this detector flags the setup — pair it with your own confirm.
3. Works in ranges. Especially useful in choppy, range-bound markets where false breaks are common.

Common pitfalls

• Outside-bar bar3. A bar3 that makes both a higher high and a lower low is not a clean one-way break and does not qualify.
• Range-based, not body-based. The pattern reads highs/lows, not candle bodies.

References

• Daniel Chesler, "Inside Bars / Hikkake Pattern" (technical-analysis literature); Steve Nison, Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques (1991).

See also

• HikkakeModified — close-confirmed variant.
• Harami — the inside-bar reversal pattern.
• Indicators-Overview — the full taxonomy.