"The Way of the Warrior-Trader" by Richard McCall is a great book. Read it years ago while playing Baccarat professionally in LV. Picked it up again when I started trading FX 6 mths ago. Not only is Richard a great Sensei (teacher) but he is the real deal as far as trading is concerned. A great guy that just oozzes a confidence and yet very humble and gracious. Helped me get started in trading..."Gave me" the methodology he uses. I trade in a cyber-dojo with him and a few other traders...he rips apart the market most days...and when he screws up he doesn't try to hid the fact that he did screw up... He's also a great Hold'em player, just won a tourny in LV. Highly reccommend his book.
Very much agreed ! http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...102-5754053-9924965?v=glance&s=books&n=507846 Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why (Paperback) by Laurence Gonzales
non-trading books that helped me : winning every day-lou holtz power of positive thinking-norman peale
Along Nitro's thought process, I have found non trading books, generally in the field of sports psychology to be very helpful. I think "The Inner game of Tennis" written a while back is very helpful. I have also found biographies about people who have displayed unusual amounts of discipline, single minded focus on a specific goal and intestinal fortitude to be helpful. For example, books on Shackleford the explorer and books on some of the US Army Generals. The common theme is being able to repress your emotions for periods of time and be purely rational and when your emotion creeeps to the surface, to be able to use it to your advantage.
Are emotions ever practical for use in trading? Can natural (mostly negative) emotions be turned towards one's advantage? For me, the danger of allowing emotions to overcome rationality is being overaggressive in terms of risk-taking at the worst possible moments (when my emotions are most strained). Theoretically, could I somehow capture the same aggressiveness yet apply it selectively for premium opportunities -- somehow harness that appetite for risk and save it for when it would be most profitable? Or is it best just to learn to let emotions slide through you and operate at a separate level?