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Abandoned baby

A rare three-candle reversal where a doji gaps clear of the candles on both sides, with no overlap of shadows at all.

Stricter than a morning-star or evening-star: the middle doji must gap away from both neighbours so that even the wicks do not overlap. That total isolation shows an abrupt handover from one side to the other.

Because the requirement is so strict, genuine abandoned babies are rare, which cuts both ways: the pattern has a decent reputation but such a small sample that reputation is hard to verify. Anyone claiming a precise win rate for it is reporting on a handful of instances.

It is effectively impossible in continuously traded markets, where overnight prices fill the gaps. Look for it on daily equity charts after earnings or news, and confirm with volume rather than trusting the shape.

Related: morning-star, evening-star, doji-star, sample-size

See it drawn

Original diagrams for the ideas on this page. Illustrative, not real market data.

The parts of a candlestickAn up candle and a down candle with the same high and low, labelled with open, high, low, close, the real body and the wicks.UP CANDLEclose above openHigh 41.00Close 40.30Open 38.20Low 37.40upper wickreal bodyopen to closelower wickDOWN CANDLEclose below openHigh 41.00Open 40.30Close 38.20Low 37.40Same high and low; only the open and close swap places.
The parts of a candlestick. One candle sums up a slice of time: the thick real body runs from the opening price to the closing price, and the thin wicks reach out to the highest and lowest prices traded. Colour tells you which way the body ran.

Educational only, not advice. Spotted an error? Post in Site Feedback.