The candlestick patterns performance ranking analysis was presented in 2008 by Thomas Bulkowski in his book "Encyclopedia of Candlestick Charts". His research was performed on a collection of data that contained the prices of the 500 stocks of the S&P 500 index over 10 years, and covered over 100 candlestick patterns. The general statistics presented in the research include performance over time, where performance is best, and where reversal or continuations are most likely to appear in the yearly price range.

Many traders prefer Candlestick charts and consider them easier to interpret than the traditional Bar Charts, which show the same information, just in a different way. Each candlestick provides a clear visual picture of price movement between market open and close, as well as lows and highs.