Candlestick patternsCounterattack Lines
Two opposite candles that close at the same price — a reversal where the tide turns back.
Works best in trending marketsEngine-computed on a fixed sample series
What it is
Counterattack lines, also called meeting lines or gyakushu-sen in Japanese, are a two-candle reversal pattern in candlestick charting, where a strong candle in the direction of the trend is answered by an opposite candle that closes right back at the prior candle's close. The defining feature is that the two closes are essentially equal: the second candle counterattacks the first by erasing the follow-through and returning price to the same closing level. There is a bullish version, appearing in a downtrend, and a bearish version, appearing in an uptrend. The pattern signals that the prevailing trend may be stalling as the opposing side steps in forcefully. It is a weaker cousin of the piercing pattern and dark cloud cover, which push further into the prior candle's body rather than merely meeting its close.
How it is formed
In the bullish counterattack line, the market is in a downtrend; the first candle is a long black bearish candle that extends the decline, and the second candle opens sharply lower, often gapping down on the open, but then rallies through the session to close at or very near the first candle's close. In the bearish counterattack line, the market is in an uptrend; the first candle is a long white bullish candle, and the second gaps higher on the open but sells off to close back at roughly the prior close. The essence in both is that the second candle fully reverses the day's initial gap and meets the previous close, rather than closing deep inside the first body. Because the two closes match, the pattern is defined by the meeting of closing prices, not by penetration depth.
Reading it, step by step
Read a counterattack line as a sign that the trend's momentum has met sudden, equal opposition. In a downtrend, the bullish version shows sellers gapped price lower but buyers fought all the way back to the prior close, hinting the decline is losing its grip. In an uptrend, the bearish version shows buyers gapped price higher but sellers drove it back to the prior close, hinting the advance is stalling. Because the counterattack only returns to the prior close rather than penetrating the earlier body, it is considered less potent than a piercing pattern or dark cloud cover, which show the opposing side gaining even more ground. The pattern therefore demands confirmation from the next candle, a follow-through in the reversal direction, before it is trusted. The matching closes are what define and validate the pattern.
Best timeframes and settings
Counterattack lines are most reliable on daily charts, where the opening gap that defines the pattern is meaningful and reflects a genuine shift in sentiment between sessions. They also appear on weekly charts for longer-term signals and can be spotted intraday, though the gap element is weaker in continuously traded markets like forex, where true opening gaps are rare. Unlike an indicator, there are no numeric periods to tune; the settings are qualitative, namely the strength of the prior trend, the size of the first candle, and how cleanly the second candle's close meets the first. The pattern is stronger when the first candle is long and the prior trend is well established. Because it hinges on a gap and a matching close, it works best in markets that gap between sessions, such as stocks.
When and where to use it
Use counterattack lines as an early, tentative heads-up that a trend may be reversing, to be confirmed before acting. They are best applied to stocks and other markets that gap between sessions on daily and weekly charts, where the opening gap carries information. They fit within a broader candlestick-pattern approach, flagging potential turning points at the end of established trends. Because they are among the weaker reversal patterns, they should not be traded in isolation; they are most useful when they appear at a significant support or resistance level and are confirmed by the following candle. Reach for them as one signal among several rather than a standalone trigger, and give more weight to the stronger piercing or engulfing patterns when both are options.
Strategies that use it
Confirmed reversal entry: after a bullish counterattack line forms in a downtrend at support, wait for the next candle to close higher as confirmation, then enter long with a stop below the pattern's low; mirror this for the bearish version in an uptrend at resistance, entering short on a confirming lower close with a stop above the pattern's high. Level-confluence filter: act on the pattern only when it coincides with a meaningful support or resistance zone, a moving average, or a Fibonacci level, ignoring counterattack lines that form in the middle of nowhere. Trend-exhaustion signal: use it as an early warning to tighten stops on an existing trend position, anticipating a possible turn. In all cases confirmation and context are essential given the pattern's modest reliability.
Combining it with other indicators
Because counterattack lines are relatively weak on their own, confluence is key: they are far more trustworthy at established support and resistance, prior swing points, or round numbers. A momentum oscillator such as RSI or the stochastic showing a divergence or an overbought or oversold extreme at the pattern strengthens the reversal case. A moving average that price is testing as the pattern forms adds a dynamic level of significance. Volume can corroborate the counterattack, since a strong second candle on heavy volume shows the opposing side arriving in force. The consistent approach is to treat the pattern as a candidate reversal that other tools must ratify, since by itself it only signals a meeting of closes, not a confirmed turn.
Where it fails
The pattern's main weakness is that it only returns price to the prior close without penetrating the earlier body, so it reflects a weaker counterattack than a piercing pattern or engulfing candle and fails more often. In continuously traded markets like spot forex, the defining opening gap barely exists, so the pattern loses meaning. Without confirmation it frequently resolves as a mere pause rather than a reversal, resuming the original trend. Loose interpretation is another pitfall: if the two closes are not genuinely close, it is not a true counterattack line. The remedies are to require the next-candle confirmation, to demand confluence with a real support or resistance level, and to prefer stronger reversal patterns when they are available.
A worked example
Imagine a stock in a clear downtrend. The first candle is a long black one that opens at 52 and closes at 48, extending the decline. The next session gaps down and opens at 46 on renewed selling, but buyers step in through the day and drive price all the way back up to close at 48.05, essentially the same close as the prior candle. That is a bullish counterattack line: sellers pushed price lower on the open, yet buyers counterattacked and reclaimed the entire gap to meet the previous close. A candlestick trader would not buy immediately; they would wait for the following candle to close above 48 as confirmation, then enter long with a stop just below the 46 low, treating the matched closes and the strong intraday reversal as an early sign the downtrend may be ending.