Candlestick Pattern Priority
Which formation is reported when several match the same candles — the specific pattern must be checked before the generic one it contains.
Also called: overlapping candlestick patterns · pattern conflict · which pattern wins
What it means
Candlestick patterns overlap constantly. Three Black Crows contains the geometry of Identical Three Crows; a Dragonfly is a Doji; an Abandoned Baby is a Morning Star with a gap. If you test for the generic shape first you will never report the specific one, because the generic test matches and returns.
That is not a cosmetic labelling problem. The specific patterns carry different reliability and different context requirements than the loose shapes they contain, so collapsing them loses the distinction that made them worth naming.
Most charting tools do not expose their checking order, which is why two platforms can disagree about what a candle "is" while both being internally consistent.
How OptionLab Pro’s engine uses it
In the live engine
Our detection order is fixed and the sequence is load-bearing: Identical Three Crows and Mat Hold are checked BEFORE Three Black Crows and Rising Three Methods; Dragonfly and Gravestone before generic Doji; Abandoned Baby before Morning and Evening Star; Advance Block before Three White Soldiers. In each pair the first is the more specific formation, and reversing any one of them means that pattern can never fire.
go/internal/engine/candles.go (pattern priority chain)The common mistake
Where traders get this wrong
Assuming a tool reports the "best" match. Almost all of them report the FIRST match, so the checking order silently decides the answer — and if the generic pattern is tested first, the specific one is unreachable regardless of how well it fits.
Go deeper
There is a full lesson on this in the Academy, with an interactive widget and a Hindi translation.
Related terms
Educational and analytical content only. OptionLab Pro is not a SEBI-registered investment adviser or research analyst and does not give buy or sell recommendations. Derivatives trading carries a high risk of loss.