Three Black Crows Candlestick Pattern: The Three Days That Started Etsy's 72% Fall

On November 26, 2021, the day the Omicron variant was named and the Dow fell 905 points, Etsy touched its all-time high of 307.75 and closed lower. It closed lower again on each of the next two days: three black crows. Sold at the third close with a stop above the first day's high, the trade risked 12.1%. By May 23, 2022 Etsy was down 72.3%, at its lowest close since May 2020.

On June 12, 2026, Deckers ran above its May high and printed the same three-day shape by June 16. That trade risked 5.7%. By September 15, 2026 Deckers was down 29.6%, at its lowest close since June 2023, with no gap down of 5% or more along the way.

Three black crows are three days in which sellers won from the open to the close. Neither stock has traded above its pattern's high since. Here is how to read them, where the stop goes, and how to find the next set.

What the fall cost#

Three black crows are a sell signal for holders and an entry for short sellers.

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

Three black crows in one table#

Three black crows are three long red days in a row. Each opens inside the body of the day before, falls all session and closes near its low. Each close is lower than the last.

These are the rules the VCP Scanner terminal uses to name three black crows on a daily chart.

Day 1 can open with a gap. Both examples did: Etsy's opened 2.7% above the prior close, Deckers' 1.9%.

Three black crows and their look-alikes#

Three red days with long lower shadows fail the shadow rule: buyers took back each day's low. For the bullish mirror, see three white soldiers. A single long red day with no shadows is a bearish marubozu, and a bounce that fails inside a move down is a falling three methods.

Example 1: Etsy (ETSY) off its record high, Nov 26 to 30, 2021#

Open ETSY in the VCP Scanner terminal →

Etsy was one of the pandemic's online-shopping winners, and it closed at a record on November 24, 2021. Two days later, on the shortened session after Thanksgiving, the World Health Organization named the Omicron variant and the Dow had its biggest drop of 2021. Etsy opened above its record close, touched 307.75 and closed down 1.9%. Two more long red days followed.

What followed:

• Next session (Dec 1): closed at 259.28, down 5.6%, its first close below the pattern's low of 273.97.
• Ten sessions later (Dec 14): 217.66, −20.7%.
• Feb 23, 2022: 116.51, −57.6%, its lowest close since Sep 24, 2020.
• May 23, 2022: 76.07, −72.3%, its lowest close since May 26, 2020. That is 6.0 times the 33.17 risked on each share.
• The high was never taken out. The highest Etsy has traded since is 279.23. On Nov 6, 2026 it closed at 89.93, 67.2% below day 3's close.

Gaps of 5% or more did little of it. To February 23, one gap down (Jan 24) made under a tenth of the fall. To May 23, two gaps down made about a sixth, the bigger on May 5, 2022 after the first-quarter report, and the Feb 25 gap up after the fourth-quarter report gave about a tenth back.

The 12.1% stop is wide. With $500 at risk, it sized a short at 15 shares, about $4,119. At the May 23, 2022 close the short was up $2,978.

Example 2: Deckers (DECK) at a prior high, Jun 12 to 16, 2026#

Open DECK in the VCP Scanner terminal →

Deckers, the maker of HOKA and UGG, reported record fiscal-2026 results on May 21 and peaked at 115.83 on May 27. On June 12 it opened at 116.50, its highest price since February, and never traded higher: it closed back under the May high. Two more long red days followed.

What followed:

• Next session (Jun 17): closed at 105.72, down 4.0%, its first close below the pattern's low of 110.10.
• Ten sessions later (Jul 1): 100.33, −8.9%.
• Sep 10, 2026: 79.88, −27.5%, its lowest close since Nov 10, 2025.
• Sep 15, 2026: 77.51, −29.6%, its lowest close since Jun 1, 2023. That is 5.2 times the 6.33 risked on each share.
• The high was never taken out. The highest Deckers has traded since is 111.92. On Nov 6, 2026 it closed at 86.71, 21.3% below day 3's close.

The fall to September 15 came without a gap of 5% or more. The biggest down day, −6.1% on Jul 23, opened only 1.6% lower and fell the rest inside the session.

With $500 at risk, the stop sized a short at 78 shares, about $8,593. At the Sep 15, 2026 close the short was up $2,547.

Where three black crows count: key levels#

Three black crows at a level are sellers turning price back at resistance. In the terminal, the Only at a key level switch is on by default and keeps the patterns at one of these:

Deckers' crows sat at a prior high, so they show with the switch on. Etsy's came at a record high, with no level above it. To see sets like Etsy's, turn Only at a key level off.

Etsy was in Stage 2, Stan Weinstein's advancing stage, where the stock trades above a rising 30-week average. Three black crows in Stage 2 mark a top forming inside an uptrend: a place to take profits or tighten a stop as much as a place to short. Deckers was in Stage 1, a base, and the crows turned it down from the top of its range.

How to trade three black crows#

1. Count three red days. Each with a long body, a short lower shadow and a lower close.
2. Check the opens. Days 2 and 3 open inside the body of the day before, not with a gap.
3. Choose your entry. Some traders sell day 3's close. Others wait for a close below its low. Both Etsy and Deckers gave that close the next session.
4. Put the stop above day 1's high. The terminal draws it there. Three days of losses make the stop wider than a one-day candle's: Etsy's was 12.1%.
5. Size from the stop. Shares = money at risk ÷ (stop − entry). With $500 at risk on Deckers: 500 ÷ (116.50 − 110.17) = 78 shares.

Expect bounces. Twenty sessions after its crows, on Jul 16, Deckers was back at 109.03, just 1.0% under day 3's close, before the fall resumed. A short also carries more risk than a long: a stock can gap up past the stop overnight.

Find three black crows on any chart in VCP Scanner#

• Open a stock in the terminal, for example ETSY or DECK.
• Open Candles in the chart toolbar and tick Three black crows.
• Only at a key level is on by default. Turn it off to see every set on the chart.
• The chart jumps to the latest one and shades its three days. A dot marks it above its high, and the selected one shows its stop on the price scale.
• The inspector lists the close, stop, risk to stop, level, volume and stage, and other names under Also. 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#

• Three black crows are three long red days in a row, each closing near its low and below the day before.
• Etsy's off its 2021 record and Deckers' at its May 2026 high risked 12.1% and 5.7%. Etsy fell 72.3% within 120 sessions, Deckers 29.6%.
• Day 1's high is the stop. It defines your risk before you take the trade.

Data: VCPScanner daily market data through Nov 6, 2026, split-adjusted. The examples are for education, not recommendations.