These books have been helpful to me as I learn to trade.
The New Trading for a Living by Dr. Alexander Elder | | Here is the book that started it all for me. This is a reference standard for people who are serious about getting into trading full- or part-time, detailing trading psychology, methods, and risk and money management. There is also a companion Study Guide. If you are a brand new to trading, you might find the concepts here advanced. I surely did, and benefitted from my broker’s educational materials on technical analysis. TD Ameritrade, for example, has excellent online training, live instructors, and webcasts. |
Come Into My Trading Room by Dr. Alexander Elder | Where The New Trading For a Living is deep and wide on psychology, discipline, tools, risk, and trade management, Come Into My Trading Room brings these concepts home on an even more practical level by putting them into the context of a professional trader’s routines and day-to-day approach. See also the Study Guide. |
Trading In the Zone by Mark Douglas | Mr. Douglas is well known for establishing a new approach to trading psychology in The Disciplined Trader. In Trading In the Zone, he writes an even more accessible and practical book for new traders, finishing it with a structured means of applying principles that will help traders develop consistency by removing emotion from the trading process. Combine this method with your favorite system and you have an approach that will allow you to become a more consistent trader through practice while relieving yourself harmful thoughts that obscure the markets’ signals. I have adapted and applied Mr. Douglas’s “Trading the Edge Like a Casino” exercise to help improve my own trading consistency and reduce emotions while trading. |
Mastering the Trade by John F. Carter | This lengthy, well-written book contains straightforward and detailed descriptions of a variety of trading setups, and also refers readers to Mr. Carter’s supporting videos, which are also helpful. Setups include Mr. Carter’s famous Squeeze Play, the Opening Gap, Tick Fades, HOLP, Pivots, and many more. Also available in audio and Kindle formats, I’ve found the hard cover the most useful and I am wearing my copy out as I sort through all the setups. |