Study yourself. Right down a list of all the major weaknesses that have cost you money in the past, they're going to cost you money again in the future. Taking a very good inventory of yourself will definitely help. "Secrets of Profiting in Bull and Bear Markets" Stan Weinstein. Great book for technical analysis, its a timeless book, and author does a great job in explaining the fundamental concepts of TA. Good luck.
This is a good post. It's like the athlete who is up with the crack of dawn exercising for hours every morning when no one notices.
These books will start to show their value once you have traded with your own money and have a few war scars on you. Then the REAL learning begins. Until then, it is almost certainly "in one ear and out the other" ... Here is all you need to know - "Start slow with 100 shares - don't lose money." It is sooo hard to recommend a book for the complete newbie. I guess if there was something out there that gave you the most chance of success is Tony Oz's stuff because it gives you a TRADING PLAN instead of isolated strategies: "How to Take Money from Wall Street." + Oz calculator + Oz Scanners for RealTick (then knowing how to sift thru the scan results for the gold.) nitro
Agree about Weinstein. But, what is with that picture on the front of the book? Nice hair!!! Is that what you look like Ramoutar?
ROTFLMAO! Weinstein's picture reminds me of the old male model pictures you see in old barber shops. I usually warn people about that hairdo. Nah! My hair doesen't look like that. Here's what my hair looks like....
but a few that pop to mind include: 1. Afore mentioned Weinstein book: not so good for smaller time frames, but well structured book (and cheap). 2. Market Wizards 1 & 2 3. R.O.A.S.T.O. 4. Darvas - How I made... 5. A T/A only book - there are a few good ones (ie Murphy, etc.) 6. Douglas, Mark 7. 15 Irrefutable Truths About Trading - It's pretty cheap now and there's some good review of Douglas' work 8. Taleb Hope this helps
Rather than "wasting" time reading books without prior trading experience, you should trade first. Get some scars... then get a book according to your current "problems". One example would be... umm... ! You read Van's book and you might be thinking, "I have to", "I will", and "I know"s when you're reading it. But in a sense it's BS. It's either "I do"s and "I am"s or not. To understand this, you have to trade. Pretty much what nitro's saying. For me, a starter book after Van Tharp would be something more technical. Jack Schwager's book... don't read those psychology books... stick to technical knowledge and psychology comes when you start trading.
Interesting inputs! Thanks to all! The diversity of viewpoints from people really amplifies the internal nature of trading. Many paths to the goal..... Thanks again all. I'm saving this off (printed) to review in the future as I progress..... Tom
Learn the basics of trading, then write your own trading book based on your own experience. Iâve written my own book on trading and risk/money management. I try to keep it as pithy and mathematical as possible, and Iâm always hacking away at what doesnât work and adding techniques that do work. I also integrate what I learn from trading with what I learn from the rest of my life as the two are not separate. (Some people would refer to it as âa journalâ)