{"id":38696,"date":"2014-08-29T11:22:43","date_gmt":"2014-08-29T15:22:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/?p=38696"},"modified":"2014-08-29T11:23:59","modified_gmt":"2014-08-29T15:23:59","slug":"top-ten-trading-books","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/top-ten-trading-books","title":{"rendered":"Top Ten Trading Books"},"content":{"rendered":"

I had a wonderful conversation with a retail trader who has read 194 trading books.\u00a0 Wow!\"books\"<\/p>\n

This gentlemen has a passion for trading and reading about trading.\u00a0 I was actually speaking to him about our firm backing his trading.\u00a0 He has developed a track record while working full-time in the Heartland.<\/p>\n

For those of you trading retail who dream of one day trading pro, here is one guy taking the steps to achieve that goal.\u00a0 It can be done!<\/p>\n

I thought it would be interesting to the trading community to learn his Top Ten Trading Books since he has read so many.\u00a0 (In any list like this, there will be many great contributions to the trading literature excluded.\u00a0 My apologies in advance to those outstanding authors and hope those who read this blog will add their favorites in the comments section.)\u00a0 Below is his aspiring pro trader’s list.<\/p>\n

Top Ten Trading Books I Have Read<\/strong> (in no particular order)<\/p>\n

1. Reminiscences of a Stock Operator<\/em> by Edwin Lefevre (the Illustrated Edition!)<\/p>\n

–\u00a0 This was probably one of the first couple of trading books I ever read and it completely captured my imagination.\u00a0 At the time of reading this, I was just starting to trade stocks and it was then that I fell in love with trading.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 The Market Wizard Books<\/em> by Jack Schwager (Market Wizards, Hedge Fund Market Wizards, The New Market Wizards, and Stock Market Wizards)<\/p>\n

–\u00a0 I really enjoy these books and keep coming back to them to reread.\u00a0 I believe there is a great deal of wisdom to be gained from learning from the people who are the best in the world in an area where you also strive to excel.\u00a0 I think I most enjoyed the original Market Wizards book with Paul Tudor Jones, Ed Seykota, Bruce Kovner, Michael Marcus, William O’Neill, Marty Schwartz, etc.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0 How to Make Money in Stocks<\/em> (4th Edition) by William O’Neill<\/p>\n

–\u00a0 This was also one of the very first if not the first books on trading I ever read.\u00a0 I love that it combines the basics of technical analysis along with important fundamental components that make for big stock moves.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0 The Playbook<\/em> by Mike Bellafiore<\/p>\n

–\u00a0 One Good Trade<\/em> introduced me to the world of proprietary trading.\u00a0 But The Playbook<\/em> was more influential on my trading.\u00a0 That book really got through to me what kind of work is needed and expected of a successful trader.\u00a0 It gave me an idea of what kind of “process” I should be going through each day in order to prepare and then review in order to keep getting better each day.<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0 Market In Profile<\/em> by Jim Dalton<\/p>\n

–\u00a0 This was Jim’s second book on Market Profile but I believe it is the better of the two.\u00a0 This book contains more of the nuances of Market Profile and contains more of his recent thinking regarding the profile as compared to his first book.\u00a0 My knowledge of the profile and the help I’ve gotten from Jim has helped me tremendously.<\/p>\n

6.\u00a0 Trading In The Zone<\/em> by Mark Douglas<\/p>\n

–\u00a0 This book helped me to think in terms of finding an edge and then acting consistently, without hesitation, and with discipline to exploit my edge.\u00a0 The book talked a great deal about thinking in probabilities.\u00a0 Overall, this was a great book for developing the proper trading mindset.<\/p>\n

7.\u00a0 Trading To Win<\/em> by Ari Kiev<\/p>\n

–\u00a0 This is a book I’m just now reading and it’s already in my top ten.\u00a0 Might be subject to recency bias?\u00a0 I consider myself a student of trading psychology because I will do whatever it takes to enhance my edge.\u00a0 The great thing about this book is that it gets specific with ideas for visualization exercises as well as ideas for how to center yourself.<\/p>\n

8.\u00a0 Enhancing Trader Performance<\/em> by Brett Steenbarger<\/p>\n

–\u00a0 I love all of Dr. Steenbarger’s work and I always read his blog.\u00a0 This book includes sections on cognitive behavioral techniques to enhance trading performance.<\/p>\n

9.\u00a0 The Psychology of Trading<\/em> by Brett Steenbarger<\/p>\n

–\u00a0 Another great book.\u00a0 My biggest takeaway from this book was about how we should learn to observe ourselves while we are trading.\u00a0 Dr. Steenbarger calls it “invoking our internal observer.”<\/p>\n

10.\u00a0 Thinking, Fast and Slow<\/em> by Daniel Kahneman<\/p>\n

–\u00a0 This is not specifically a trading book but I think it has many applications to trading.\u00a0 This book talks about the difference between your System 1 (intuitive\/fast) thinking and your System 2 (Slow) thinking.\u00a0 The book goes on to describe the amazing thinking your system 1 can do but also describe where your system 1 thinking can get you into trouble.\u00a0 You can benefit greatly be recognizing when your system 1 is in control and then using your system 2 in conjunction with system 1 for better decision making.<\/p>\n

At SMBU we ask: What books would you have included?<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can be better tomorrow than you are today!\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Mike Bellafiore is the Co-Founder of SMB Capital and SMBU, which provides trading education in stocks, options, forex and futures. Bella is the author of One Good Trade<\/a><\/em>and The PlayBook<\/a><\/em>. He welcomes your trading questions at mbellafiore@smbcap.com.<\/p>\n

no relevant positions<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I had a wonderful conversation with a retail trader who has read 194 trading books.\u00a0 Wow! This gentlemen has a passion for trading and reading about trading.\u00a0 I was actually speaking to him about our firm backing his trading.\u00a0 He has developed a track record while working full-time in the Heartland. For those of you trading retail who dream of … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":144,"featured_media":38699,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1316,664,555,38],"class_list":["post-38696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-comments-2","tag-books","tag-ten","tag-top","tag-trading"],"yoast_head":"\nTop Ten Trading Books | SMB Training<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/top-ten-trading-books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Top Ten Trading Books | SMB Training\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I had a wonderful conversation with a retail trader who has read 194 trading books.\u00a0 Wow! 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