Long-Legged Doji Candlestick Pattern: The Candle at Block's 2021 Top and SLB's 2025 Low

On October 26, 2021, Block, then still called Square, printed a long-legged doji at a prior high. Sold at that close with a stop above its high, the trade risked 2.6%. By January 21, 2022 the stock was down 55.2%, with no gap down along the way.

On October 17, 2025, the day it reported quarterly results, SLB printed one at its lowest price since April. Bought at that close with a stop under its low, the trade risked 3.0%. By March 27, 2026 the stock was up 64.0%.

Same candle, opposite moves. A long-legged doji says the day ran hard both ways and ended in a draw, and the next close says who won. Block has not traded above its doji's high since, and SLB has not traded below its doji's low. Here is how to read a long-legged doji, where the stop goes, and how to find the next one.

What the long-legged doji did#

A long-legged doji at a high is a sell signal for holders and an entry for short sellers. One at a low is a buy for the bounce.

The $10,000 and reward rows use the 120-session numbers. Prices are split-adjusted, as on the chart.

The long-legged doji in one table#

A long-legged doji is one wide daily candle whose close lands almost exactly on its open. Price ran far above the open and far below it, and still ended where it began. It is a doji with a bigger fight inside it.

These are the rules the VCP Scanner terminal uses to name a long-legged doji on a daily chart.

The colour does not matter. Block's closed 36 cents above its open and SLB's 7 cents below it.

Both shadows have to be long. When one shadow takes 70% of the range or more, the candle is a dragonfly doji at a low or a gravestone doji at a high instead, and those point one way.

Same shape, different place#

A spinning top has a bigger body than a doji, up to 30% of its range. When a long-legged doji's body sits inside a long red body after a decline, the pair is a bullish harami cross, and the terminal names the two-day pattern first.

Example 1: Block (XYZ) at a prior high, Oct 26, 2021#

Open XYZ in the VCP Scanner terminal →

Block traded as Square (SQ) then. It took the name Block on Dec 10, 2021, and its ticker became XYZ on Jan 21, 2025.

What followed:

• Next session (Oct 27): closed at 253.02, down 3.9% and below the doji's low of 259.06. Its high of 262.31 is the highest Block has traded since.
• Ten sessions later (Nov 9): 230.78, −12.4%.
• Jan 21, 2022: 118.10, −55.2%, its lowest close since Jul 2, 2020. That is 21.5 times the 6.77 risked on each share.
• Feb 23, 2022: 88.72, −66.3%, its lowest close since Jun 12, 2020.
• The high of 270.16 was never taken out. On Nov 3, 2026 Block closed at 76.00, 71.1% below the doji's close.

The fall to Jan 21 came without a single gap down of 5% or more. The two in early February 2022 were under a tenth of the fall to Feb 23.

With $500 at risk, the stop sized a short at 73 shares, about $19,227. At the Feb 23, 2022 close the short was up $12,751.

Example 2: SLB at its October 2025 low, Oct 17, 2025#

Open SLB in the VCP Scanner terminal →

SLB is the oilfield-services company once called Schlumberger.

What followed:

• Next session (Oct 20): closed at 33.43, up 2.5% and above the doji's high of 33.26. Its low of 32.50 is the lowest SLB has traded since.
• Ten sessions later (Oct 31): 36.06, +10.5%.
• Jan 14, 2026: 46.97, +43.9%, its highest close since Jul 31, 2024.
• Mar 27, 2026: 53.50, +64.0%, its highest close since Apr 11, 2024. That is 21.1 times the 0.99 risked on each share.
• The low of 31.64 was never broken. On Nov 3, 2026 SLB closed at 52.13, 59.8% above the doji's close.

One gap did about an eighth of the run to Mar 27: SLB opened 7.0% higher on Jan 5, 2026, after weekend news from Venezuela lifted oilfield-service stocks.

With $500 at risk, the stop sized the trade at 505 shares, about $16,478. At the Mar 27, 2026 close those shares were up $10,539.

Where a long-legged doji counts: key levels#

A long-legged doji on a level is a test of that level, from either side. In the terminal, the Only at a key level switch is on by default. For a long-legged doji it keeps the ones at any of these:

Block's was a prior-high doji: it traded above the Sep 23 high and closed back below it, so it shows with the default switch. SLB's matched its Oct 13 low without undercutting it, so it sits on none of these levels. To see ones like it, turn Only at a key level off.

Block was in Stage 3, Stan Weinstein's topping stage: after an advance, the 30-week average flattens and the stock trades around it. SLB was in Stage 4, the declining stage, and its doji marked the end of the decline.

How to trade a long-legged doji#

1. Find the place. A long-legged doji means little in the middle of a range. Look for it at a prior high or a fresh multi-month high after a rally, or at a prior low or a multi-month low after a decline, like Block's in October 2021 and SLB's in October 2025.
2. Check the shape. A tiny body and long shadows both ways, on a range of at least a full ATR. Block's body was 3.2% of its range and SLB's 4.3%.
3. Wait for the next close. At a high, sell the first close below the doji's low. At a low, buy the first close above its high. Block and SLB both gave that close the very next session. Some traders take the doji's own close instead, an entry closer to the stop, as in the table above.
4. Put the stop on the other side. Above the doji's high when you sell, under its low when you buy. The terminal draws no stop for a long-legged doji, so set it yourself from the doji's high or low. Its wide range makes the stop wider than a plain doji's.
5. Size from the stop. Shares = money at risk ÷ (entry − stop). With $500 at risk on SLB: 500 ÷ (32.63 − 31.64) = 505 shares.

Find long-legged dojis on any chart in VCP Scanner#

• Open a stock in the terminal, for example XYZ or SLB.
• Open Candles in the chart toolbar and tick Long-legged doji under Neutral.
• Only at a key level is on by default. Turn it off to see every long-legged doji on the chart.
• The chart jumps to the latest long-legged doji. A dot marks each one under its low.
• The inspector lists the close, level, volume and stage. When the long-legged doji is the bar's only name it shows no stop, because it points neither way. Walk through the others with the ← and → keys.
• Mark the ones you care about with the drawing tools. The arrows in the charts above are the Arrow Marker (Alt+A): click where the arrow starts, then click the candle.

Candles are free, on daily, weekly and monthly charts.

Bottom line#

• A long-legged doji is a wide day that ends where it began: price ran far both ways, and neither side won.
• Block's marked its October 2021 top and SLB's its October 2025 low. They risked 2.6% and 3.0%. Block fell 55.2% within 60 sessions, and SLB rose 64.0% within 120.
• The next close decides the direction, and the doji's other end is the stop. It defines your risk before you take the trade.

Data: VCPScanner daily market data through Nov 3, 2026, split-adjusted. The examples are for education, not recommendations.