Belt Hold Candlestick Pattern: What It Looks Like and What It Means
A belt hold is a one-candle pattern that opens at its highest or lowest price, with no wick at the open, and then moves away from that price through the period. It is read as a possible reversal. It has a bullish and a bearish version, and on its own it is a weak clue.
How It Forms
Every candle summarizes a single period of trading. The body is the stretch from open to close, and a wick is a thin line beyond the body marking the period's high or low. If the close ended above the open the candle is bullish; if below, bearish.
A belt hold is marked by the missing wick at the open end. In the bullish version, the open is also the period's low, so the price never drops below where it began. In the bearish version, the open is the period's high, and the price never climbs above it. Either way, the price opened at one extreme and never traded beyond it.
| Candle (made-up prices) | Open | High | Low | Close |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $33 | $36 | $26 | $28 |
| 2 | $27 | $29 | $19 | $21 |
| 3 (belt hold) | $17 | $37 | $17 | $35 |
| 4 | $35 | $41 | $33 | $39 |
| 5 | $39 | $45 | $37 | $43 |
Candles 1 and 2 close below their opens, so these made-up prices are sliding to $21. Candle 3 opens at $17, and its low is also $17, so nothing hangs beneath the body. It climbs to $37 and closes at $35: a body $18 wide and a top wick of only $2. Candles 4 and 5 close at $39 and $43.
How to Read It
Look at the open end first, then the direction, then the location.
- The bare open. Some traders read the bare open as one side taking control from the start.
- The direction. A bullish belt hold opens at its low and rallies. A bearish one opens at its high and falls.
- The location. It counts most as a possible reversal at the end of a trend. In the drawing, candle 3 comes after two falling candles.
What to Watch For
A belt hold is a weaker clue when it stands alone. It works best alongside another pattern or reading, not as the whole story.
Two nearby patterns differ from it, each in its own way:
- A marubozu is a full-body candle with little or no wick at all. A belt hold requires only a bare open end; the far end can carry a wick, like the $2 one on candle 3, so a tall belt hold can look almost like a marubozu. The difference is the far-end wick.
- An engulfing candle is defined by the candle before it: its body must fully cover the previous body. A belt hold is defined by its own open. Candle 3 happens to cover candle 2's body, but it does not have to.
Free or Premium
Belt Hold counts as an extended pattern, so its chart marker is part of Rapunzl Premium. Inside Rapunzl's Stock Scanner, the pattern filters include it for free.
Try It in Rapunzl
Set the chart type to Candlestick or OHLC first. Then open Customize Chart → Chart Indicators → Levels, Patterns & AI Charts and turn on Pattern Markers. Bullish patterns get a ▲ marker and bearish ones a ▼, and a detected-patterns list sits below the chart. To see Belt Hold plotted, add the opt-in that brings 10 advanced patterns to the 13 core ones. It is part of Rapunzl Premium.
Because it has two versions, Belt Hold sits in both the Bullish candlestick and Bearish candlestick filters of the Stock Scanner; pick the one that matches the version you want to practice. The ready-made "Bullish candlestick today" idea works the bullish side and warns that candlestick patterns are hints, not promises.
A 15-Minute Class Activity
Case File: Belt Hold or Not? Pairs get the made-up case file below.
| Case (made-up prices) | Open | High | Low | Close | Comes after |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $60 | $68 | $60 | $65 | a fall |
| 2 | $60 | $60 | $52 | $56 | a rise |
| 3 | $60 | $66 | $57 | $64 | a fall |
- 3 minutes. Pairs sketch the three candles, marking the open on each.
- 5 minutes. For each case, pairs check whether the open equals the high or the low, then give a verdict. Case 1 is a bullish belt hold (open and low are both $60). Case 2 is a bearish one (open and high are both $60). Both have a clear far-end wick ($3 and $4), so neither is a marubozu. Case 3 is not a belt hold: its $57 low leaves a $3 wick under the $60 open.
- 4 minutes. Ask why a clean belt hold is still only a clue. Pairs name one other reading to check beside it, such as a second pattern.
- 3 minutes. Exit ticket: in one sentence, say why case 1 is a belt hold and not a marubozu.
Related Patterns
- Marubozu: a full-body candle with little or no wick.
- Engulfing: a body that fully covers the prior candle's body.
- How to Read a Candlestick Chart: how to spot where a candle opened.
- Support and Resistance Levels: the price levels that give a lone belt hold context.
Frequently Asked
Questions
Find a candle with no wick at its open end: it opens at its high or its low, then moves away from that price.
The bullish version opens at its low and rallies. The bearish version opens at its high and falls.
No. It is a hint worth checking against the candles around it, not a promise.
Give Students Candlestick Practice
Request a demo to see how Rapunzl's charts and simulator give students hands-on reading practice. Families can find more on our parents page.
Indicators, patterns and examples in this article are for education and are not investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security.
By Nate Thomas, School Partnerships Lead at Rapunzl.