Lesson T3.5 · 5 of 6 · Japanese candlesticks
Three-candle patterns: morning star and three white soldiers
Three-candle patterns tell a whole story: the trend, a day of hesitation or struggle, then a day that confirms the turn. The third candle already acts as confirmation, and in Bulkowski’s tests some did well: the morning star 78%, three white soldiers 82%. They are still wrong roughly once in five.
Terms in this lesson
- Candlestick chart
- The chart that shows the open, close, high and low price for each day.
- Stop-loss
- An order that sells automatically if the price falls to a level you choose.
Morning star and evening star
Definition
What is a morning star?
Three candles: a big falling one, a small one lower down, a big rising one.
The middle candle, the “star”, has a small body and sits below the first candle’s body, usually after a gap. The third opens above the star’s body and closes at least halfway up the first candle’s body. The evening star is its mirror image after a rise: a big rising candle, a star higher up, a big falling candle.
- Star
The price falls from about 110 to about 100.5. A big falling candle drops to 97.73, a small candle follows lower down (body between 96.88 and 97.03), then a big rising candle closes at 99.83, above the middle of the first (99.13). The price then climbs towards 102.5.
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Create a free accountAbandoned baby: the star cut off by gaps
Definition
What is an abandoned baby?
A star that is a doji, cut off by gaps on both sides.
It is a stricter version of the star: the middle candle is a doji, and gaps separate its wicks from those of its neighbours, so the price never touched the days before and after. Bearish: after a rise. Bullish: after a fall.
- Isolated doji
The price rises towards 104. After a big rising candle with a high of 103.92, a doji appears between 104.42 and 105.24 without touching the candle before. The next day a falling candle has a high of 104.02, still below the doji, and closes at 101.42; the price then falls towards 98.5.
Three white soldiers and three black crows
Definition
What are three white soldiers?
Three big rising candles in a row, each closing higher.
Each one opens inside the previous candle’s body and closes near its high. They appear after a fall and show that buyers came back three days running. Three black crows are the mirror image: three big falling candles after a rise.
- Three white soldiers
The price falls towards 103.8. Three big rising candles follow, each opening inside the previous body and closing higher: 105.84, 107.74 and 109.54. The price then moves almost sideways around 110.
Three white soldiersafter a fall
- Turned up: 82% of the time
- Ranked 32nd of 103
Three black crowsafter a rise
- Turned down: 78% of the time
- Ranked 3rd of 103
Three inside and three outside: confirmation built in
These patterns take a two-candle pattern from the previous lesson and add a third candle that confirms the direction.
A bullish harami, then a rising candle that closes above the previous day’s close.
A bullish engulfing pattern, then a candle that closes higher.
Three inside down and three outside down appear after a rise and point to a fall.
- Engulfing
- Confirmation
The price falls towards 100. A small falling candle (from 100.33 to 99.63) is engulfed by a big rising one that opens at 99.33 and closes at 101.83. On the third day the price closes at 103.03, then drifts up towards 104.
| Pattern | Without the third candle | With the third candle |
|---|---|---|
| Bullish harami → three inside up | 53% | 65% |
| Bullish engulfing → three outside up | 63% | 75% |
How often the price turned up in Bulkowski’s tests. The bearish versions: three inside down 60%, three outside down 69%. These are different sets of cases, so the comparison shows a tendency, not a rule.
Lessons are educational. They are not a recommendation to buy or sell. Investing involves risk and you can lose money. Sources: Thomas N. Bulkowski, thepatternsite.com (morning star, evening star, bullish and bearish abandoned baby, three white soldiers, three black crows, three inside up and down, three outside up and down, bullish harami, bullish engulfing), accessed 29 October 2026. The charts are teaching diagrams, not real prices.