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Triple candlestick patterns: three soldiers and crows

Three soldiers candlestick pattern

The three soldiers pattern is a reversal pattern. It is also sometimes called the “three advancing soldiers” or “three white soldiers”. It is found at the end of a downtrend and it is a clear indication of a shift in the balance from the sellers to the buyers.

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The three soldiers pattern forms as follows:

  1. After a downtrend, there are three consecutive bullish candlesticks.
  2. The bodies of the second and the third candlesticks should be of approximately the same size – if the third candlestick is visibly smaller than the preceding two candles, this means that the buyers are not completely in control and may indicate weakness among the buyers.
  3. The candles have small or no upper wicks.

A three soldiers reversal pattern indicating a shift in power from the sellers to the buyers.

 

Three crows candlestick pattern

The three crows pattern, also referred to as the “three black crows”, is a reversal pattern found at the end of an uptrend.

The three crows pattern forms as follows:

  1. It consists of three consecutive bearish candlesticks.
  2. The bodies of the second and the third candlestick should be approximately the same size – if the third candlestick is visibly smaller than the preceding two candles, this means that the sellers are not completely in control and may indicate weakness among the sellers.
  3. They have small or no lower wicks.

1 A three crows reversal pattern indicating a shift in power from the buyers to the sellers.

Additional considerations

The three soldiers and three crows pattern provide very strong signals, however, you should bear the following in mind:

Overextended bodies

An overextended body within the pattern might mean that the price has advanced too quickly and the market could be overbought or oversold. You should take care when considering a trade based on this.

Considerations: Take care when you see an overextended body, as this could mean an overbought or oversold market. Also, do not seek a candle that only has a body and no wicks within these patterns as they rarely occur.

Caution with wicks

Do not seek perfect Marubozu candlesticks (a candlestick that only has a body and no wicks) within these patterns as they rarely occur. However, if the wick of any of the candlesticks forming the pattern (especially the second and the third candles) is equal or longer than one of the bodies, then caution is advised when perceiving it as a three soldiers or three crows pattern.

Summary

So far, you have learned that:

  • the three soldiers and the three crows are reversal patterns.
  • the three soldiers consist of three consecutive bullish candlesticks after a downtrend that have approximately the same size and small or no wicks.
  • the three crows consist of three consecutive bearish candlesticks after an uptrend that have approximately the same size and have small or no wicks.
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