7 Books For Trader's
Apr 05, 2024
I believe reading is a wonderful way of expanding our consciousness and changing our mundane paradigms. Reading has the power to invoke emotions that can lead to action and change. If we spend 8 hours looking at the charts then we need to spend time educating ourselves double that. The only way you can become the best trader (person) you want to be is by continuously learning.
Here are a few books I believe can help any level of trader. No doubt, these titles have changed the way I trade for the better and have helped me remain accountable and staying disciplined with my trading rules.
TRADING IN THE ZONE by Mark Douglas
Trading in the Zone or, as I call it, ‘The Trader’s Bible’, guides you from beginner concepts to intermediate traders to advanced concepts and ideas for those who have been in the field for years. After 6 years of first discovering it, I still make an effort to read it through at least once a year because although the lessons are clear and concise, it’s easy to forget.
Mark Douglas covers things like probability, edge, the importance of having a trading plan, and the reasons behind why most traders fail entirely or fall back into inconsistency. Hint: consistency is a mindset. Trading in the Zone is my all-time favorite trading related book and has provided so much value. Definitely a must-read for any and all traders.
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“Developing a winning attitude is the key to your success.”
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“The process of becoming consistent is psychological in nature.”
TRADING FOR A LIVING by Dr. Alexander Elder
Trading for a Living is basically Trading in the Zone but an “older” version. So yes, it is the second most important trading book, to me. Similar to Trading in the Zone, I listen to this book multiple times throughout the year to keep me sharp with trading. In fact, Dr. Alexander Elder hits more key emotional notes in my opinion. He addresses certain failing aspects of any trader directly and cures to becoming consistent. Here are a few nuggets of wisdom:
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“Losers do not know that trading is intellectually, fairly simple."
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“The goal of a good trader, paradoxically, is not to make money. His goal is to trade well. If he trades right, money follows almost as an afterthought.”
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“The market does not know you exist. You can do nothing to influence it. You can only control your behavior.”
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“If you let the market feel high or low, you will lose money.”
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“A trade does not end when you close out your position. You must analyze it and learn from it…an essential part of growing to become a professional trader – Review and self-analysis.”
THE DAILY TRADING COACH by Brett N. Steenbarger, Ph.D.
One of the main books that I have been listening to since the start of the year. Great reminder of rules to abide by and keeping my mind accountable. It is an invaluable resource for being your own trading coach. There is a lot of information in this book to digest but all worth listening/reading to as it goes deep into the inner trader, the psychological aspect of trading, in-depth.
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“Traders often think they’re managing a trade when they exit prematurely, when in fact they’re managing their thoughts and feelings about that trade”.
You can download the PDF of this book for FREE by clicking this link: https://epdf.pub/the-daily-trading-coach-101-lessons-for-becoming-your-own-trading-psychologist-w.html (not an affiliate link)
ONE GOOD TRADE by Mike Bellafiore
An introduction to the inner works of proprietary trading by Mike Bellafiore who spits fire in this book. It’s a behind the scenes look at how professional traders in a proprietary fund operates and the daily ins and outs that come along with it. A real-life of a trader and how to overcome struggles that not only relates to trading but also how it intertwines into life like how to approach holiday trading (still watch the charts, an opportunity may be there). Mike’s writing is entertaining and captivating because he sounds like a guy’s guy that has a family and enjoys things like sports but at the same time, shares stores of other traders and their lifestyles.
It provides valuable insight into not only the job of a professional trader but the experiences, thought process and important challenges that may surface if one decides to embark on the career of a prop trader. Mike Bellafiore is the real deal and speaks the truth about trading as a profession.
WAY OF THE TURTLE by Curtis M. Faith
In the way of the turtle, It’s about if successful and well-established traders could take random students from the streets and turn them into successful traders – similar to the way turtles are raised in Singapore. It emphasizes the intricacies of what really makes a trader. This book really cements how you can have a group of people executing the same trades, receiving the same information, and using the same approach yet, still fail to reach consistent profits; it all comes down to a disciplined mindset. Also, the overall approach is long term trends and longer holds.
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The Turtle Way –
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Think in terms of the long run when trading.
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Avoid outcome bias.
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Believe in the effects of trading with positive expectations.
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“Trading is simple, but it is not easy.”
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“Human emotion is both the source of opportunity in trading and the greatest challenge. Master it and you will succeed. Ignore it at your peril.” – know what emotion arises when you are trading.
MARKET WIZARDS by Jack D. Schwager
According to some random article about smart money, I read a statistic that 80% of traders lose to the top 20% of traders. Market Wizards is the book where these top performers have been interviewed and share their invaluable knowledge along with lessons and for sights on proper trading psychology. Overall, this book exposes how traders should think and how it’s possible to emulate similar feats. With a vast array of strategies, styles, and tips from veteran traders, Market Wizards is a paramount tool for any beginner trader.
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“Never invest emotionally, analyze everything.”
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“Being a successful trader also takes courage: the courage to try, the courage to fail, the courage to succeed and the courage to keep going.”
You can download the PDF of this book for FREE by clicking this link:https://www.optionboost.com/Market_Wizards.pdf (not an affiliate link)
MILLIONAIRE TRADERS by Kathy Lien
Similar to Market Wizards, Millionaire Traders is an interview-style book that crosses paths of different traders, revealing a plethora of styles, strategies, and lifestyles. Every trader has a nugget of wisdom to share that may be beneficial to your trading style. Recommend checking it out to see the broad spectrum of traders all across the world in our Modern electric trading age.
Other Good Trading books:
Calm Trader: win in the stock market without losing your mind; Steve & Holly Burns
What I learned losing a million Dollars Winning
Methods of the Market Wizards
Trade your way to financial freedom
Principles: Life And Work Ray Dalio New Trader, Rich Trader
Books traders should read (unrelated to trading):
THE POWER OF YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS MIND by Joseph Murphy
EGO IS THE ENEMY by Ryan Holiday
STILLNESS IS THE KEY by Ryan Holiday
GRIT by Angela Duckworth
THREE FEET FROM GOLD by Greg S. Reid
THE 5 AM CLUB by Robin Sharma
THE 5 SECOND RULE by Mel Robbins
*RICH DAD POOR DAD by Robert Kiyosaki – helps to break old habits of who we are and why we do things we do, hint because of our upbringing, we need to change certain beliefs.
*BREAKING THE HABIG OF BEING YOURSELF & YOU ARE THE PLACEBO by Dr. Joe Dispenza
*SECRETS OF THE MILLIONAIRE MIND by T Harv Eker
No time to read? Here are a few tools you can use:
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Audible (listen as you do mundane things or sit in traffic, which is pretty mundane) – most of these books
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Blinkist
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SparkNotes
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cliff notes
I’ve been blessed to have read (audible) over 230 titles over the last 5 years with an average reading time of 20 hours every month. It can be a variety of spirituality, health, fitness, diet, but the main topics I focus on are along the lines on trading education/career and psychological change. Through all that reading, I have learned that there is a universal connection between what we feed our consciousness and the quality of our life.
Trading is a full out war against yourself. Your old habits need to die and replaced with healthier ones. The only way we get better at trading is by acknowledging bad habits but we must first learn about what traits to change through experience and through reading. There’s no better way to learn than through reading, in my opinion. It’s easy, it just takes time. But, even in a short amount of time, a single sentence has the power to awaken something in you that can change your life forever.
Hawaii Traders that are trading or interested in Forex or Futures, should all be well read in order to become the best version of themselves! Although it's an individuals journey, at Hawaii Trading Academy, we can do this trading journey together; which is why we have an entire section dedicated to Books and lessons we've gained from them.
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Mahalo for reading.
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