Tweezer top and tweezer bottom
Also called: Tweezers, Tweezer top, Tweezer bottom, Tweezer pattern, Cımbız tepe, Cımbız dip
Two neighbouring candles that stop at the same high or the same low; it shows price tested a level twice and couldn't get through.
4 min read · one puzzle on the page
What is a tweezer pattern?
A tweezer is two candles side by side that end at the same price. If their highs match, it's a tweezer top; if their lows match, a tweezer bottom. On the chart the two wicks touch the same point, like the two tips of a pair of tweezers.
In the classic arrangement the first candle goes with the trend and the second goes against it. In a tweezer bottom, a red candle drops to a low, then the next green candle touches the same low and closes higher. In a tweezer top, a green candle reaches a high, then the next red candle tests the same high and closes lower.
The story is a level being defended twice. Sellers pushed price to the same low on two candles in a row and couldn't get it any lower either time. That suggests buyers are waiting at that level, a bit like a very short double bottom.
How do you spot a tweezer on a chart?
Say support sits around 1.0750. The first candle opens at 1.0775, drops to 1.0751 and closes at 1.0758. The next opens at 1.0758, dips to 1.0752 and closes at 1.0779. The two lows are 1 pip apart. In forex the lows don't have to match exactly; a pip or two of difference is normal because of the spread.
Look at the second candle's close. In a tweezer bottom, the read gets stronger if the second candle takes back most of the first one's body. In the example above it even closes above 1.0775, the first candle's open. If the second candle touches the low and still closes near it, the level hasn't really been defended yet.
Then check the location. A tweezer bottom means something at a support price has reacted from before, at the end of a decline. A tweezer top belongs at resistance, at the end of a rally. Two equal lows side by side in the middle of a range are just a coincidence.
The logical stop sits a little below the shared low. The idea is that buyers are defending the level; if price closes below both lows, that idea is invalid. In the example, buying at 1.0779 with the stop at 1.0744 makes 1R 35 pips. Don't glue the stop right under the low; leave room for the spread and small pokes.
Try it on a chart
This chart may not show a textbook two-candle tweezer; it shows the wider version of the same idea: price came back to a support it reacted from before and held with lower wicks. Check whether the wicks stop at the same level, which side of support the closes are on, and where the stop would go.
Price came back to a support it bounced from before and held with lower wicks. What's your call?
No sign-up needed. Take a guess; when the chart opens, you'll see why.
The most common tweezer mistake
Calling every pair of equal lows a tweezer. In a quiet hour, with price moving a few pips, neighbouring candles touching the same low is ordinary. A tweezer's meaning comes from the level being known in advance and the two candles arriving there at the end of a move.
Not waiting for the second candle's close. Enter as soon as the second candle touches the low and starts turning up, and you've decided without knowing where it will close. Many candles finish in the middle, and some break below the low. Waiting for the close removes that uncertainty.
Putting the stop just a pip or two under the shared low. Equal lows are levels everyone sees, and a lot of stops pile up right under them. Price sometimes dips briefly just to take those stops, then turns up. Give the stop a little more room and size the position down to match.
When does a tweezer not work?
When equal lows become liquidity. Two matching lows are an open map of the stops waiting beneath them. Larger players can push price under that low and trigger them. Then the tweezer isn't a defence but the target of the next move. If price closes below the low, the pattern is done.
Inside a strong trend. With a decline still running, two candles stopping at the same low is a breather. If a strong red candle in the trend's direction follows, the tweezer only showed you a short pause.
Before news. Ahead of a major release candles narrow, and equal lows and equal highs form by themselves. That equality comes from silence, not structure, and it breaks with the data.
Frequently asked questions
Is a tweezer bottom bullish?
Not on its own. A tweezer bottom shows sellers twice failed to get price below the same level. At support, at the end of a decline, with a strong close up on the second candle, it suggests buyers are defending the level. But that's a possibility, not a promise. If price closes below the shared low, the read is invalid and your stop should be there.
Do the lows in a tweezer have to be exactly equal?
No. The textbook definition says the same price, but in forex and crypto a pip or two of difference is normal because of the spread and the flow of prices. What matters is whether the two candles lean on practically the same level. If the gap is tiny compared with the candles' size, it counts. If the lows are clearly different, it's just two ordinary candles.
What's the difference between a tweezer and a double bottom?
The idea is the same: price tests the same low twice and can't get through. The difference is time. A tweezer bottom is two neighbouring candles, an event lasting minutes or a few hours. A double bottom has a clear rally and dozens of candles between the two lows. It's a bigger structure and usually carries more information.
