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Technical Analysis

Three White Soldiers and Three Black Crows

Three white soldiers and three black crows are three-candle patterns of long bodies in one direction, the last two opening in the prior body, that can signal a reversal.
Also Called
  • Three White Soldiers
  • Three Black Crows
  • Three Advancing White Soldiers
By InsiderFinance TeamUpdated Sources & Methodology

Three White Soldiers and Three Black Crows

The three signal bodies measure $1.75, $2.20 and $2.25. Compare their opening placement and short closing-side shadows.

Three White Soldiers After a Base

Three White Soldiers After a BaseZoomed candlestick chart of 7 bars: 4 closing at or above open in emerald and 3 closing below open in rose, each showing the open-to-close body and high-low wicks.$52$54$56R1R21234567
Three White Soldiers After a BaseZoomed candlestick chart of 7 bars: 4 closing at or above open in emerald and 3 closing below open in rose, each showing the open-to-close body and high-low wicks.$52$53$54$55$56$57R1R21234567
Close ≥ openClose < open
  • Bars 1 to 4: Base
  • Bars 5 to 7: Soldier

Pattern: bars 5 to 7.

  1. R1Three-Candle Low $52.20
  2. R2Base Low $52.10

Three Black Crows After a Base

Three Black Crows After a BaseZoomed candlestick chart of 7 bars: 3 closing at or above open in emerald and 4 closing below open in rose, each showing the open-to-close body and high-low wicks.$54$56$58R1R21234567
Three Black Crows After a BaseZoomed candlestick chart of 7 bars: 3 closing at or above open in emerald and 4 closing below open in rose, each showing the open-to-close body and high-low wicks.$53$54$55$56$57$58R1R21234567
Close ≥ openClose < open
  • Bars 1 to 4: Base
  • Bars 5 to 7: Crow

Pattern: bars 5 to 7.

  1. R1Three-Candle High $57.80
  2. R2Base High $57.90
On This Page
  1. What are three white soldiers and three black crows?
  2. Three white soldiers and three black crows: this example’s rules
  3. Three white soldiers example
  4. Entry and stop distances for soldiers and crows
  5. Advance block, deliberation and identical three crows
  6. Limitations of three white soldiers and three black crows
  7. Bottom line
  8. FAQ

Key Takeaways

  • Three white soldiers is three consecutive long up candles that each close near their own high, with the second and third opening inside the prior real body, and three black crows is the exact mirror image after an advance.
  • Compare the completed sequence with its preceding trend or base, then mark the full three-candle range.
  • The example’s bodies increase from $1.75 to $2.20 to $2.25, and each upper shadow measures $0.20.
  • An entry at the $56.85 close with a stop at $52.19, just under the $52.20 three-candle low, risks $4.66 a share, 8.2% of entry.
  • Hold one body baseline and one shadow cap for all three candles: here, bodies above the $0.85 average and shadows at most 25% of the body.
  • Bring the underlying target and timing into the option’s premium, expiration and volatility scenario.

What are three white soldiers and three black crows?

Three white soldiers and three black crows are mirror-image three-candle patterns. Three white soldiers is three consecutive long up candles with progressively higher closes, each closing near its high and the last two opening inside the prior real body, traditionally read as a bullish reversal after a decline or base. Three black crows reverses the body direction and close sequence, with closes near the lows, and is read as the bearish counterpart after an advance.

Each candle closes near its extreme: the shadow beyond the close is capped at a fixed share of the body, 25% in this entry. Read the completed sequence against the preceding trend or base.

Three white soldiers and three black crows: this example’s rules

For soldiers, require C > O on all three bars, C1 < C2 < C3, and O(i−1) < Oi < C(i−1) for bars 2 and 3. Cap each upper shadow, H − C, at 25% of that body.

For crows, require C < O, C1 > C2 > C3, and C(i−1) < Oi < O(i−1). Cap each lower shadow, C − L, at 25% of that body.

Each signal body must exceed a fixed baseline: here, the $0.85 average body of the 20 completed sessions before the sequence.

Formula

Three white soldiers: close(i) > open(i) for i = 1, 2, 3; close(1) < close(2) < close(3); open(i−1) < open(i) < close(i−1) for i = 2, 3; and high(i) − close(i) ≤ 0.25 × [close(i) − open(i)]
  • Use open and close for body length and opening placement. Use high for the soldiers’ upper shadows and low for the crows’ lower shadows.
  • The third condition is the open-inside-the-prior-body test, which is what separates the pattern from three unrelated up days.
  • Each closing-side shadow is capped at 25% of its real body.
  • Crows mirror it: Ci < Oi, C1 > C2 > C3, C(i−1) < Oi < O(i−1) for i=2,3, and Ci − Li ≤ 0.25 × (Oi − Ci), a lower shadow of at most 25% of the body.
  • Each signal body must beat the $0.85 average body of the 20 completed sessions before soldier 1. One fixed bar applies to all three candles.

Three white soldiers example

After a decline, XYZ builds a four-session base between $52.10 and $53.75. Its average body over the 20 completed sessions before soldier 1 is $0.85. The next three candles have OHLC $52.35/$54.30/$52.20/$54.10, $53.20/$55.60/$53.05/$55.40, and $54.60/$57.05/$54.45/$56.85.

  • Soldier 1 body = $1.75, or 2.06 times the $0.85 baseline; upper shadow = $0.20, or 11.4% of its body
  • Soldier 2 opens at $53.20, inside the $52.35 to $54.10 body of soldier 1, and closes $1.30 above the prior close on a $2.20 body
  • Soldier 3 opens at $54.60, inside the $53.20 to $55.40 body of soldier 2, and closes at $56.85 on a $2.25 body
  • Bodies are $1.75, $2.20 and $2.25. Their $0.20 upper shadows are 11.4%, 9.1% and 8.9% of the bodies.
  • Advance measured from the first open to the third close: $56.85 − $52.35 = $4.50, or 8.6% in three sessions
  • Entry $56.85 minus the $52.19 stop under the three-candle low = $4.66, or 8.2% of entry

All three bodies exceed the fixed $0.85 baseline. Opens 2 and 3 lie inside the preceding bodies, closes rise, and each upper shadow is below the 25% body cap: the pattern qualifies. The first open to third close advances 8.6%. A $56.85 entry with a $52.19 stop under the $52.20 three-candle low risks $4.66 a share; size the position from that distance and set the target before the order.

Entry and stop distances for soldiers and crows

The first open to third close gains $4.50, or 8.6%. The three-candle low is $52.20; the preceding base low is a separate $52.10 reference.

Enter at $56.85 with a stop at $52.19, and the trade risks $4.66 per share, or 8.2% of entry. Size the position from that distance and set the target before the order.

The mirrored crows example ends at $53.15 with a three-candle high of $57.80. A $53.15 short entry with a $57.81 stop also risks $4.66.

Three long candles raise realized volatility, but the option is priced on implied volatility, so set IV in the Options Profit Calculator and read each structure at the $52.19 stop and at the target.

Advance block, deliberation and identical three crows

An advance block is a rising sequence whose bodies shrink or whose upper shadows grow. Deliberation ends on a small final body near the prior close. Three white soldiers shows the opposite: bodies that grow, with short upper shadows.

Identical three crows opens each candle at the preceding close, so the opening test moves from inside the prior body to its endpoint. The lower-shadow cap still applies.

Limitations of three white soldiers and three black crows

  • Check the preceding trend first. The reversal reading needs a decline before soldiers or an advance before crows; inside an existing trend in the same direction, the same three candles describe continuation.
  • Size down for the wide stop. The pattern completes after a large move: the example’s soldiers gained 8.6% from the first open to the third close, so a stop below the three-candle low sits 8.2% from entry, and the same dollar risk buys a smaller position.
  • Set the body baseline, shadow cap and opening rule before you scan, and hold them fixed. This entry uses the 25% cap and the $0.85 baseline, and identical three crows moves the opening test to the prior close.
  • The candles set the trigger and the stop. Bring the target and holding period from your plan, and run the screen on the interval and session you trade.

Bottom line

Three white soldiers and three black crows mark three strong, overlapping candles in one direction, with clear highs and lows to plan around. Check the preceding trend, apply one fixed body and shadow rule to all three candles, and size from the stop distance, which the three-candle range can make wide.

Clear answers

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources and Further Reading

  1. Nasdaq: Overview of Triple Candlestick Patterns
  2. Thomas N. Bulkowski, Investment Candles (Stocks & Commodities 29:5, hosted by Fidelity)
  3. Benjamin R. Marshall, Candlestick Technical Trading Strategies: Can They Create Value for Investors? (PhD thesis, Massey University)

How entries are sourced, calculated and updated: editorial methodology.

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Related Terms

Candlestick Patterns

Candlestick patterns are named arrangements of open, high, low and close across one or more completed candles, read as reversal or continuation setups.

Candlestick Chart

A candlestick chart is a price chart that draws each interval’s open, high, low and close as a candle with a real body and upper and lower shadows.

Engulfing Candlestick (Bullish and Bearish)

An engulfing candlestick pattern is a two-candle reversal signal in which the second real body fully covers the first and closes in the opposite direction.

Morning Star and Evening Star

A morning star is a three-candle bullish reversal pattern that forms after a decline, and an evening star is its bearish mirror image after an advance.

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