IdenticalThreeCrows

Three-bar bearish reversal: three consecutive black candles with steadily lower closes where each opens at (or very near) the prior candle's close, so the bodies stack in an identical staircase down.

Quick reference

Field	Value
Family	Candlestick Patterns
Input type	Candle
Output type	f64 — -1.0 bearish, 0.0 otherwise (never +1.0)
Output range	{-1.0, 0.0}
Default parameters	tolerance = 0.001 (10 bps); bindings use the default
Warmup period	3 (first two bars always 0.0)
Interpretation	Strong, orderly bearish continuation/reversal down

Formula

tol_n = tolerance · max(|open|, |prev.close|)
all three red:        close < open
declining closes:     bar2.close < bar1.close,  bar3.close < bar2.close
bar2 opens at bar1's close:  |bar2.open − bar1.close| <= tol_2
bar3 opens at bar2's close:  |bar3.open − bar2.close| <= tol_3

Bearish-only (never +1.0). Each candle opening exactly where the previous one closed — no gap, no overlap — is the "identical" staircase that distinguishes this from ordinary ThreeSoldiersOrCrows. See crates/wickra-core/src/indicators/identical_three_crows.rs.

Parameters

Name	Type	Default	Valid range	Source
tolerance	f64	0.001	[0.0, 1.0)	IdenticalThreeCrows::with_tolerance (identical_three_crows.rs)

with_tolerance outside [0, 1) errors; pinned by rejects_invalid_tolerance and accepts_valid_tolerance. The Python (ta.IdenticalThreeCrows()) and Node (new ta.IdenticalThreeCrows()) constructors use the default tolerance.

Signed ±1 encoding

Single-direction shape: −1.0 bearish, 0.0 no pattern — one feature-matrix dimension.

Inputs / Outputs

use wickra::{Indicator, IdenticalThreeCrows, Candle};
// IdenticalThreeCrows: Input = Candle, Output = f64
const _: fn(&mut IdenticalThreeCrows, Candle) -> Option<f64> = <IdenticalThreeCrows as Indicator>::update;

• Always emits a value. Never None; warmup and no-match bars return 0.0.
• Node. update(open, high, low, close) → number; batch(open, high, low, close) → Array<number>.
• Python. update(candle) → float; batch(open, high, low, close) → 1-D array.array('d') (0.0 on warmup / no-match).

Warmup

warmup_period() == 3. The first two bars return 0.0 (first_two_bars_return_zero, accessors_and_metadata).

Edge cases

• Opens must match prior closes. A gap or overlap beyond tolerance yields 0.0 (non_identical_opens_yield_zero).
• Closes must keep falling. Any non-declining close yields 0.0 (rising_close_yields_zero).
• Reset. reset() clears the two-bar cache (reset_clears_state).

Examples

Rust

use wickra::{Candle, IdenticalThreeCrows, Indicator};

fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    let mut t = IdenticalThreeCrows::new();
    println!("{:?}", t.update(Candle::new(13.0, 13.1, 11.9, 12.0, 1.0, 0)?));
    println!("{:?}", t.update(Candle::new(12.0, 12.1, 10.9, 11.0, 1.0, 1)?));
    println!("{:?}", t.update(Candle::new(11.0, 11.1, 9.9, 10.0, 1.0, 2)?));
    Ok(())
}

Output:

Some(0.0)
Some(0.0)
Some(-1.0)

Each candle opens at the previous close (12 → 12, 11 → 11) and closes one unit lower — an identical-three-crows staircase. This matches identical_three_crows_is_minus_one.

Python

import numpy as np
import wickra as ta

o = np.array([13.0, 12.0, 11.0])
h = np.array([13.1, 12.1, 11.1])
l = np.array([11.9, 10.9, 9.9])
c = np.array([12.0, 11.0, 10.0])

print(ta.IdenticalThreeCrows().batch(o, h, l, c))  # [ 0.  0. -1.]

Node

const ta = require('wickra');
const t = new ta.IdenticalThreeCrows();
t.update(13, 13.1, 11.9, 12);
t.update(12, 12.1, 10.9, 11);
console.log(t.update(11, 11.1, 9.9, 10)); // -1

Streaming

use wickra::{Candle, Indicator, IdenticalThreeCrows};

let mut t = IdenticalThreeCrows::new();
let candle_stream: Vec<wickra::Candle> = Vec::new(); // your live OHLCV candle feed
for bar in candle_stream {
    if t.update(bar) == Some(-1.0) { /* orderly, persistent selling */ }
}

Interpretation

1. Orderly distribution. Identical opens with falling closes show steady, unhurried selling — often a more reliable bearish read than the gappy ordinary three crows.
2. Continuation or reversal. At a top it reverses; mid-decline it confirms continuation. Read the location.
3. Confirm. Persistent staircases can become oversold quickly; manage entries with a momentum filter.

Common pitfalls

• Expecting tick-perfect opens. The match is within tolerance (10 bps by default), not exact.
• Confusing with Three Crows. The "identical" constraint (open == prior close) is what sets this apart.

References

• Steve Nison, Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques (1991).

See also

• ThreeSoldiersOrCrows — the general three-crows / three-soldiers pattern.
• Indicators-Overview — the full taxonomy.