10 Books Every Trader Needs to Read
Whether a trader is a seasoned professional or just starting their career, they can turn to books written by experts who know the market to advance their trading knowledge. The books included in this list are stalwarts of the industry, having been resources for some of the most successful traders. They cover a wide range of topics, including technical analysis, trading psychology, futures and Forex trading, meaning any trader can find something they can learn from. Hit and Run Trading: The Short-Term Stock Trader’s Bible by Jeff Cooper Over his professional trading career, Jeff Cooper has developed dozens of proprietary strategies that help traders profit in any market. In “Hit and Run Trading,” Cooper explains how traders can use these strategies – which have helped trading pros like CNBC’s Jim Cramer — to succeed in both day and swing trades. This books is the foundation of a storied 30+ year career, and includes dozens of secrets for gaming institutions, playing gaps, and finding the best momentum names. (click here for a special deal on this classic) How to Make Money in Stocks by William J. O’Neil William J. O’Neil published the most recent edition of “How to Make Money in Stocks” after the 2008 market crash. He believes that proper market timing, trading, and interpretation of charts can have a massive impact on your profitability. Choosing the most profitable stocks and knowing when to buy and sell is crucial to making profits, and this book instructs traders on those principles. O’Neil has developed a powerful system — called CANSLIM — to minimize risk and maximize profits, even teaching traders how to earn more in a bearish market. Trading in the Zone: Master the Market with Confidence, Discipline and a Winning Attitude by Mark Douglas While Douglas’ book includes technical information about choosing markets to trade and determining entry triggers, most of the book focuses on how to overcome psychological barriers that prevent traders from succeeding. Douglas takes a closer look at the patterns within the market that lead to negative behaviors and mentalities for traders, proposing strategies that help traders understand the risk they are taking on and how to be more comfortable with the market. This book is a favorite of T3 Live’s Sami Abusaad. Reminiscences of a Stock Trader by Edwin Lefèvre Unlike other books on trading, ‘Reminiscences of a Stock Trader’ is a fictional story, although it’s based on the real life of famous trader Jesse Livermore. The book follows the career of Larry Livingston as he progresses from a quotation-board boy to an experienced trader. Readers can learn from the mistakes that Larry makes and watch him improve his own techniques. The Market Wizards Series of by Jack Schwager Schwager turned to legendary traders to provide advice for “The Market Wizards” series of books. He interviewed some of the most successful traders in the business to describe their experiences with trading psychology, strategy development, and profit maximization. The lessons in this book can apply to traders at any level, whether they are just starting out as interns or have been trading for years. There practically isn’t a trader alive that hasn’t devoured the Market Wizards series of books. One Up on Wall Street: How to Use What You Already Know to Make Money in the Market by Peter Lynch Most people believe that accomplished professionals have an advantage over average traders because they have more experience or work for major financial companies. But mutual fund manager Peter Lynch thinks the average investor actually has a leg up on Wall Street pros. He believes traders can use simple, everyday observations to gain an edge, and explains exactly how to do so. The Way of the Turtle by Curtis M. Faith In 1983, two professional traders, Richard Dennis and William Eckhardt, set up an experiment to determine whether or not traders were born with a special gift or if they could be taught how to trade successfully. Dennis believed he could train a group of people to be traders, just like turtles were raised on farms in Indonesia, so the group members were called “turtles.” The most successful of the group, Curtis Faith, wrote “The Way of the Turtle” to give further insight into the experiment, including everything the turtles were taught and the results they experienced from the lessons. The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham Benjamin Graham is often considered to be the “father of value investing” or the “dean of Wall Street” because his ideas have been foundational to so many investors; one of his students was Warren Buffett, famous investor and one of the richest people in the world. Graham wanted to teach traders how to manage risk, increase profits and remain disciplined. “The Intelligent Investor” is key to developing smart investment strategies. Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets: A Comprehensive Guide to Trading Methods and Applications by John J. Murphy In order to be successful, traders must understand technical analysis so they can predict market moves and know when to buy or sell. John J. Murphy’s “Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets” takes a deep dive into understanding market trends, chart patterns, intermarket relationships and trading tactics, among other things. It includes the basics of analytical methods, making the book a great resource for beginning traders or for anyone looking to advance their technical analysis skills. Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom by Van Tharp All traders want to make profits and have winning trades, but trading is just as much about reducing or avoiding losses. Van Tharp’s book focuses on helping traders manage their risk and reduce their losing trades so they can profit as much as possible. “Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom” also includes information on trading psychology, which can put traders in the mindset they need to get over their personal biases about the market and bounce back from losses. Tharp’s techniques can be applied to a variety of trading styles, including futures and Forex trading.
Continue Reading -->Options in Play – The 2 Scenarios When I Will Enter a Trade Early Ahead of a Catalyst
Typically, I prefer to wait until the day of or the day before a catalyst to initiate an options trade but there are a couple of scenarios where I will get involved earlier. Both require some directional bias for the event, however.
Continue Reading -->2020 Trader Poll Results: You LOVE Amazon
Yesterday, we held an informal, unscientific poll to measure traders’ expectations for 2020. This is what we found: 52.8% of survey respondents believe the SPX will rise more than 10% in 2020. 17.6% said it would fall more than 10%, with 29.6% saying it would finish somewhere in the middle. Then, we measured expectations for a crash. 31.7% of respondents said the SPX will fall more than 10% in a singly day. This seems awfully high, considering that this has only happened three times going back to 1929. In terms of asset classes, traders are most bullish on stocks. 55.1% said stocks would perform best in 2020. We next took a lot at sectors to see which sectors traders are most bullish and bearish on. Survey respondents were most positive on tech, with 71.1% said they were bullish on technology. Real Estate was down at the bottom, with just 15% bullishness reported. Traders’ positive view on tech is no surprise given that QQQ is up almost 40% in 2019, with the Semiconductors ETF (SMH) up 63%. And finally, we asked traders what their #1 stock of 2020 was. And the positivity towards tech continued there. AMZN was the #1 choice by a country mile, with more than double the number of votes of the second place pick, AAPL. MSFT and TSLA were in the 3rd and 4th positions, respectively. Want to participate in our next Trader Survey in January? Join our mailing list below:
Continue Reading -->T3 Live’s 2020 Trader Poll: Where Do YOU Think the Market’s Going?
Take our year-end trader poll and give us YOUR analysis of what’s coming next. Then, click here to save 40% on education and subscriptions. Loading… P.S. Don’t forget to click right here to save 40% on education and subscriptions.
Continue Reading -->Options in Play – Walking in a Bullish Wonderland
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Continue Reading -->Options in Play – Gingerbread SNAP
It may be a cheesy holiday-themed title but the SNAP setup is legit. The stock is showing a possible bullish pattern, with an interesting option scenario we have talked about recently.
Continue Reading -->Options in Play – Managing Risk with Spreads
A lot of times we will have option trades start out as call spreads or put spreads but that isn’t the only way to use them. Turning an existing position into a spread can be a great way to manage risk, versus the typical rolling/closing of contracts.
Continue Reading -->How to Write a Trading Plan (for serious traders only)
If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail. It’s a cliché, but it’s 100% true. In this hard-hitting, in-depth lesson — previously only taught at his LIVE Mentorships, Sami Abusaad shows you how to write your own trading plan: In this webinar replay, Sami will show you: What RadioShack (RSH) taught him about trading Why most people don’t understand their own psychology How your trading strategy should relate to your personality What kind of strategies you should choose Why you don’t need a perfect trading plan to get started The reason most people are afraid to get started His actual personal trading plan with all the details Sami’s trading principles that he reads to himself over and over again P.S. Want to make Sami your mentor? Click here to learn about his first 2020 trading Mentorship.
Continue Reading -->Actionable Swing Trade Ideas for Dec 16-20 | Weekly Market Update
This week is the last full trading week of 2019. T3 Live’s Director of Education Sami Abusaad takes a look at the current market conditions and what traders can look forward to in the next week. In this video, Sami explains: Why we might see QQQ grow weaker What he loves about DXC Why DTIL looks good despite a crash Which two stocks he likes best as short trades Why he doesn’t plan to trade ARWR, BYND or CENTA
Continue Reading -->How I Set Up 7 Screens for Day, Swing, and Earnings Trades (4K 40 Inch Monitors)
Today, Sami Abusaad gives traders an inside look into his office so you can see how he trades and scans for day, swing, and earnings opportunities. In this video, Sami explains: How he sets up his seven 40-inch 4K monitors for trading and scanning Why he always stands up to trade What he likes best about a U-shaped desk How he divides his swing trading equipment from his day trading equipment Why he uses 4K monitors
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