Three Black Crows
Three black crows is a three-candle bearish reversal made of three consecutive down sessions, each with a substantial real body closing near its low, and each opening within the prior candle's body. It signals sustained selling rather than a single shock.
- Bias
- Bearish
- Category
- Short Setups
- Scan cadence
- Every close
What has to be true for a Three Black Crows to trigger
- Three consecutive down candles
- Each with a meaningful real body, closing near its low
- Each opening within the previous candle's body
- Small lower wicks, showing closes are not being bought
How PatternGrade grades it
Larger bodies, smaller lower wicks and a clearer preceding advance raise the grade.
Every scanner grades its hits A+, A or B from the pattern's own measurable structure. The grading is deterministic — the same chart always produces the same grade. It describes how closely the chart matches the pattern, not how likely anything is to happen; no hit rate or probability is attached to a grade. The reasoning is set out in the methodology.
What a Three Black Crows looks like in practice
After a two-month advance, a stock posts three consecutive down sessions: $64.80 to $62.10, then $62.30 to $59.40, then $59.60 to $56.70. Each opens within the prior candle's body, each closes near its own low, each real body is substantial, and volume rises across the three. Lower wicks are short throughout.
How a Three Black Crows fails
The third crow has a long lower wick and closes well off its low. Buyers absorbed the selling, and the sequence frequently marks a short-term bottom rather than the start of a decline. The pattern is also late by construction: three strong down days in, any short entry is extended and the invalidation sits well above.
What this pattern is telling you
Three strong down days also means the stock is short-term oversold. The pattern is a reversal signal and an extension reading at the same time.
PatternGrade is not a financial advisor and does not give buy or sell recommendations. Targets and stops shown on a pattern are reference levels derived from its geometry, not advice.
How to scan for Three Black Crows setups
PatternGrade rescans every liquid US stock (~4,500 names) for this pattern after every close and returns the hits as a graded list, with the pattern drawn on each chart, so you review setups rather than hunt for them.
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Three Black Crows FAQ
What do three black crows indicate?
Three consecutive strong down sessions closing near their lows, read as a sustained shift from buying to selling, typically after an advance.
What makes three black crows valid?
Three consecutive down sessions, each with a substantial real body, each closing near its low, and each opening within the previous candle's body. That last condition matters. Three down days separated by large gaps is a different and more exhausted pattern.
Is three black crows a strong signal?
It demonstrates sustained selling, which is more than any single-candle pattern offers. The trade-off is timing: by the third close the decline is well advanced, so the entry is extended relative to any sensible invalidation.
What weakens the pattern?
Long lower wicks, especially on the third candle, and shrinking real bodies across the three. Both suggest sellers are meeting demand. Declining volume across the sequence is a third warning. PatternGrade weights all three.
Does it need an uptrend before it?
For the reversal reading, yes. Three strong down days inside an existing downtrend are continuation rather than reversal, and considerably less notable.
Patterns a Three Black Crows is mistaken for
- Evening Star
- Three candles, but up-indecisive-down. Three black crows are three consecutive strong down candles.
- Three White Soldiers
- The bullish mirror after a decline.
- Bearish Engulfing
- Two candles defined by body containment. Three black crows is a three-session sequence with no containment requirement.
Last reviewed . Structure and grading for the Three Black Crows are reviewed against the scanner's own rules.