Three-Line Strike (CDL3LINESTRIKE)

Summary

A four-candle pattern: three same-color candles with consecutively higher (or lower) closes, each opening within or near the prior real body, then a fourth opposite-color candle that opens beyond the third close and closes past the first candle's open. TA-Lib emits a signed continuation-style signal keyed to the color of the first three candles, traditionally read as significant only inside a trend matching those three candles.

Notes

Does not verify the surrounding trend the pattern classically assumes for significance.
TA-Lib's sign follows the classic continuation reading. Thomas Bulkowski's statistical study of the pattern (Encyclopedia of Candlestick Charts) found the opposite in practice — it acted as a reversal far more often than a continuation — so traders who follow his research read this pattern's signal in the opposite direction from what its sign here suggests.

Inputs

inOpen — Open price of each bar
inHigh — High price of each bar
inLow — Low price of each bar
inClose — Close price of each bar

Outputs

outInteger — +100 for a white (rising) three-line strike, -100 for a black (falling) three-line strike, 0 otherwise. Sign is the color of the first three candles: candlecolor(i-1)*100

Output Values

Value	Meaning
-100	Bearish Three-Line Strike — three falling candles abruptly erased by one strong reversal bar; classically read as a bearish continuation despite the apparent reversal
0	No pattern
100	Bullish Three-Line Strike — three rising candles abruptly erased by one strong reversal bar; classically read as a bullish continuation despite the apparent reversal

Properties

Numerical Stability: Start-Independent


☐ Overlap Input
✅ Independent Y-Axis i
✅ Candlestick i
☐ Can Output NaN or ±Inf
☐ Identity at Period 1

Implementation

TA-Lib Definition: cdl3linestrike.c · cdl3linestrike.yaml

Native	File
C	`ta_CDL3LINESTRIKE.c`
Rust	`cdl3linestrike.rs`
Java	`Core_CDL3LINESTRIKE.java`

TA-Lib is also available for Python, R and more using a wrapper.

Aliases

Three-Line Strike, 3-Line Strike